Wagner considers the construction of the underground railway in Brno to be unrealistic

Brno - Senator and former constitutional judge Eliška Wagnerová (SZ) considers the construction of an underground railway in Brno to be almost unrealistic. She stated this to reporters in Brno today. Like the Greens, she supports the construction of a train station in the city center under Petrov, near the current station, which is inadequate in capacity. However, the Brno City Council approved the relocation to the river and conditioned it on the construction of an underground railway, akin to a metro system. This is expected to help overloaded public transport. According to Wagnerová, this will cause delays in the proceedings and court disputes for at least ten years. According to the study, construction is scheduled to begin by the river in 2020, and under Petrov in 2026. The final location will be decided by the government.

The coalition of ANO, KDU-ČSL, TOP 09, and Žít Brno on Tuesday supported the relocation with the condition of early construction of the underground railway. The Greens, who are also members of the Brno coalition, did not support this and will continue to promote the station under Petrov. They will also reach out to members of the government, senators, and MPs.

Wagnerová considers the construction of an underground railway similar to the metro to be almost unrealistic. "There will be legal battles between opposing parties. In the optimistic scenario, I see at least ten years ahead," Wagnerová said. However, she did not specify anything concrete about the lawsuits, rather she pointed to general delays at all levels of proceedings. "There are a number of corridors under the center, plus archaeologists will get involved and everything will be at a standstill," the senator outlined potential problems.

The Greens highlight the significant issue of the relocation being that the new station would lack transport connections to public transport. This is precisely what the underground railway is supposed to address. However, Wagnerová reminded that a similar situation exists at the Zvonařka bus station. "How long has it been in its current location and still does not have a solid connection to the center, even though it was promised. The same would happen with the relocated station," emphasized Wagnerová.

The necessity for modernizing the station has been discussed in Brno for almost 100 years. The current station is inadequate in capacity. That is why the option of placing it under Petrov, near the current station where public transport infrastructure exists, or relocation to the river, where it would be built on a greenfield site, was considered. The South Moravian Region, the Brno-střed district, and the Office of the Architect of the City of Brno have all previously expressed support for the relocation, seeing advantages in faster construction and the possibility of tapping into European Union funds. On Tuesday, this was also approved by the Brno City Council.

The construction of the station is expected to take about six years. The cost by the river is projected to be between 42 and 45 billion crowns, while under Petrov it is estimated to be between 42 and 56 billion crowns. Wagnerová pointed out that the construction of the underground railway would significantly increase the costs for the river option. It would cost billions of crowns. According to a feasibility study commissioned by the Czech Railway Administration, construction could begin by the river in 2020, while under Petrov, it would not start before 2026.