In the middle of next year, the modernization of Pardubice station will begin

Pardubice - In the middle of next year, the reconstruction of the listed train station building will begin in Pardubice. The investment will cost the Railway Administration 618 million crowns, the company stated in a press release. This month, the design phase of the reconstruction will begin. The contract for the repair was won by a company formed by Chládek a Tintěra, Pardubice and Eurovia CS. The tender winner will be responsible for both construction and design. The construction work will be completed at the turn of 2024 and 2025.

"The selected contractor will begin the design process in November this year, with actual construction work starting in the middle of next year," said SŽ spokesperson Nela Friebová.

In the first phase, the construction company will renovate the central part of the station building, known as Sirius, where there used to be a cinema. It will now serve as a training center for the Railway Administration. New escalators will also be created from the underpass to the hall.

Starting around January 2023, work will continue in the station building, including publicly accessible areas. "Thanks to the division of the construction into phases, the negative impact on passengers is minimized," Friebová stated.

The façade of the building will undergo a complete renewal, including the original ceramic cladding. The building is listed as a cultural monument, so the entire reconstruction will be monitored by heritage conservationists. "The interiors will be restored to their original state as much as possible, but while meeting the requirements for future use," Friebová said.

The public areas of the building will be equipped with Wi-Fi, and SŽ will modernize the passenger information system, as well as the camera and emergency systems. There will be more shops in the hall. A separate waiting area for mothers with children will be newly established.

The rooms for traffic control and administrative spaces for the railway operator and carrier will also undergo a complete reconstruction, and an automatic parking system is proposed for the operational needs of the building. The service offerings will be expanded to include bicycle boxes with the option of charging electric bikes.

The Pardubice train station, built in the functionalist style, was designed by Karel Řepa along with Josef Danda and Karel Kalvoda in the late 1940s, with construction lasting until 1958.