Green party calls on mayors from South Moravia to discuss the train station in Brno

Brno - Jiří Hlavenka, a regional councilor for the Green Party in South Moravia, has called on the mayors of municipalities to discuss the future location of the new train station in Brno with the county leadership. He is not pleased that some council clubs have already indicated they want to relocate the station. He stated this in a press release. Jiří Klement from the county's press department told ČTK that the matter will be discussed in the committees of the county council and the committees of the council where there are also mayors present. Both the regional and Brno councils must provide a clear position by the end of January. Ultimately, the decision rests with the Ministry of Transport.

A decision is being made on whether the new station will be located in the center, under Petrov, approximately 150 meters from the current building, or whether it will be moved about a kilometer toward the river. The current station will not be sufficient in the future, even with modernization. The Railway Infrastructure Administration (SŽDC) has presented a feasibility study that compared both options. While the relocated station could ideally begin construction as early as 2020, the station in the center could be delayed by up to six years due to lower preparedness. The SŽDC is preparing a presentation for county councilors next week, having already presented it to Brno councilors this week.

The study indicates that both options are feasible and the overall costs do not significantly differ. The relocated station, along with the urban transport infrastructure, would cost between 42 and 45 billion crowns, while the central station would range from 42 to 57 billion, depending on the chosen solution for the overall modernization of the Brno junction.

The station is used daily by approximately 30,000 people who travel to Brno for work or leisure. It is expected that as infrastructure improves, this number will increase. The station is currently at capacity, and it is practically impossible to add new trains during morning and afternoon rush hours.

"The study (SŽDC) is a fundamental expert document and was published a few weeks ago - it is wrong to make such a fundamental decision hastily, without quality discussion with those who will be directly affected," says Hlavenka. In his opinion, everything is heading toward the councilors adopting a definitive stance by December 14. Klement, however, stated that councilors will meet in January to discuss this topic and vote.

The study from the railway administration also indicates that the relocated station would be less accessible by public transport - there would be fewer lines servicing it and travel times from large parts of Brno would increase by several minutes. According to the authors of the study, the main risk is the failure to complete the urban infrastructure on time. Conversely, the advantage of relocating the station to the river is its greater preparedness, which allows construction to begin about six years earlier. The station in the center is not even included in Brno's land use plan, so there is a risk of time uncertainty during the construction preparation phase.