Pardubice train station will open a modernized eastern section in June

Pardubice - Half of the building of the main train station in Pardubice will again serve travelers from June. The Railway Administration will complete an expensive modernization by then and move construction work to the second part of the protected heritage building. The entire construction will be completed by the end of the year. This was said to journalists today by Radomil Novák, deputy for investments at the Eastern Construction Administration of the Railway Administration.

The construction company is working on the eastern part of the building; upon opening, travelers will find ticket offices, offices for carriers, the transport company, and refreshments there. "The easternmost part, which is currently open, will be boarded up, and commercial spaces will be created there," added Novák.

The post-war railway building with a hotel was designed by architect Karel Řepa along with Josef Danda and Karel Kalvoda. The state contract was drafted in the late 1940s, and construction lasted until 1958. The building shows a transition between pure functionalism and later socialist architecture. After modernization, the building will resemble as closely as possible its original appearance.

"The biggest problem is that it was already a socialist building; the quality of the concrete was poor. When the plaster chips off, it comes off down to the reinforcements. That's a kind of evergreen that the concrete is not as load-bearing as it should be," said Novák. Modern technology allows for lightening the structure, and old heavy partitions are replaced with drywall. The building features modern air conditioning and heating, the deputy added.

Some parts could be preserved; two large mosaics on the walls have been cleaned, but for example, the mosaic floor has been destroyed after years of use, so it is being replaced with replicas, including glass block skylights that illuminate the underground parts of the station. The Railway Administration will use these, for example, as an archive. Initially, there was to be an underground parking lot, but a silver maple stands at the entrance, and an ecological association opposed its felling and succeeded.

The original yellow and blue colors are on the ceiling's soffits. On the balconies, around which are large glass sections, there will again be grown flowers. However, they will have modern rainwater irrigation. The building will also have solar panels.

The exterior of the station building will be washed, and damaged cladding will be replaced, which will account for about ten percent of the material. Preservationists participate in every inspection day, and the construction company consults with them on the procedures. "We will repair the joints on the exterior facade, and it will take on the character of 1958," said Novák.

The repair of the station building and its two later constructed wings will cost 833 million crowns excluding VAT. In 2023, the Railway Administration converted the hotel into an educational center, which belongs to the complex. The entire corridor, including the platforms and the signaling system, has been modernized since 2024, with the work costing around seven billion crowns. A pedestrian bridge across the tracks leading to the southern part of the city, where the Dukla housing estate is located, has also been created.