Representatives of Prague rejected the association's claim that the bridge at Výtoň only needs two tracks

Prague - After the Railway Administration (SŽ), representatives of the capital city also rejected the claims of the association Nebourat, which states that it is not necessary to expand the railway bridge at Výtoni to include a third track. They argue that the study the association relies on contains serious flaws and that the bridge in its proposed form cannot function. This was stated today in a joint statement by Prague's Deputy Mayor Petr Hlaváček (TOP 09), the director of the city's Institute of Planning and Development Ondřej Boháč, the head of the organizer of Prague transport Ropid Petr Tomčík, and the director of SŽ Jiří Svoboda.

The association Nebourat, whose online petition against the replacement of the bridge with a new one has been signed by around 19,000 people so far, published a study last week prepared by a team led by transport expert Jiří Pospíšil. According to the study, achieving the required capacity of the bridge at Výtoni by 2035 would only require adjustments on the rail line, such as increasing the number of signals. According to SŽ, the study is flawed.

This was also stated by representatives of Prague in a joint statement with SŽ. In a three-page statement, they questioned several factual aspects of the document. While the study forecasts only 17 trains per hour in one direction, representatives of the city say that there will realistically be 20, and after the construction of the planned tunnel for the high-speed line to Beroun, up to 25. The construction of new train tunnels under Prague, sometimes referred to as Metro S, will not reduce the number of connections such that two tracks would suffice on the bridge.

Another issue with the study is the fact that it attempts to address capacity problems by minimizing the intervals between individual trains. The third track is supposed to be designated for the suburban line S61 from Vršovice to Běchovice so that it does not conflict with other trains. In the absence of a third track, trains would have to pass each other at the Vyšehrad stop, which would mean a collapse of the line even with a minute's delay of some connections. "The schedule proposed for the double-track bridge in the study is practically unworkable. And this is even with a reduced number of trains crossing the bridge, which Metro S would allow," the statement reads.

According to city representatives and SŽ, another problem with the study is the poorly designed solution for the planned stop at Výtoni, which is placed near the former Vyšehrad station. This is, firstly, far from the trams, and secondly, it would mean building platforms in a curve with too small a radius to allow for barrier-free access, thus making the solution again unfeasible. The last mentioned issue is the distance between the tracks, which the study states as 4.75 meters. However, according to the statement, the distance between the axes on the bridge is only 3.8 meters based on a historical exemption, so three tracks could not fit into the stop.

Last year, SŽ presented the results of an international architectural competition, in which a project was successful that considers preserving only the lower part of the bridge with pillars and replacing the historical upper riveted structure with a new one. This has raised a wave of resistance among local residents, municipal politicians, and preservationists who demand the preservation of the current form. Minister of Transport Martin Kupka (ODS) previously stated that he wants to decide on the next steps by the end of the year.

The railway bridge at Výtoni was opened in its original form on August 15, 1872. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, it was replaced by the bridge that still spans the Vltava. SŽ has managed the bridge since 2008, and in 2004 it was declared a cultural monument. SŽ has unsuccessfully attempted to revoke this status twice since 2010.