In Cheb, the renovation of the listed railway station building has begun

Cheb – In Cheb, the reconstruction of the heritage-protected railway station building has begun. The Czech Railways (SŽ) will invest 428 million crowns in repairs and modernization, of which 90 percent will be covered by grants and loans from the European Union. The renovation of the building from 1962 will take two years and, according to the CEO of SŽ, Tomáš Tóth, will proceed in coordination with heritage authorities, he said at today's groundbreaking ceremony.

The seven-story building, designed by architect Josef Danda in the 1960s, will undergo repairs to its interiors and the exterior of the building. All significant artistic elements that contribute to the appearance of the building should be preserved. Additionally, a multipurpose space with a view of the city will be created on the seventh floor.

"Here in Cheb, it is the most important railway hub in the Karlovy Vary region, and with this in mind, we are approaching it accordingly. The entire heritage-protected part will be reconstructed; we will return the station its original historical clock, furniture, stained glass, mosaics, and so on. At the same time, the exterior of the building will also undergo reconstruction. By that, I mean, of course, the plaster, and we will also replace windows and doors; passengers can look forward to a new orientation information system," Tóth described.

According to Minister of Transport Ivan Bednárik (for SPD), investments in railway buildings are always complicated because these buildings serve passengers for free, and thus investments in them are not returnable. Even at the Cheb railway station, the construction was initially postponed, and only when a suitable combination of European sources was found was it included in the SŽ investment program.

The financing of the repairs amounting to 428 million crowns will thus be supported by 170 million crowns from the Just Transition Fund. Another part consists of a loan from the European Investment Bank. These two supports will cover 90 percent of the total costs, with the rest paid by the State Fund for Transport Infrastructure (SFDI).

The Cheb railway station, where the lines to Chomutov, Plzeň, Aš, and Germany intersect, has already undergone significant investments in previous years. The reconstruction of the track, platforms, underpass, escalators, and elevators cost over 500 million crowns.

The city of Cheb has also invested in the station, having built a new pedestrian bridge over the tracks for 240 million crowns. The repair of the heritage-protected building is expected to complete the transformation of the Cheb railway station.