The state is working on the construction of a new railway station in Brno by 2030

The construction of a new railway station and the overall reconstruction of the railway junction in Brno should begin this decade, Jiří Svoboda, director general of the Railway Administration, said at a conference in Brno today. Transport Minister Martin Kupka (ODS) added that the state is working to ensure that the new station will be operational in 2035. However, Brno councillor Petr Kratochvíl (ODS) said for the first time today that the long-discussed underground railway to connect the new station with the centre and north of Brno is not a priority and will not be built for a long time.

Although Brno has had an architectural study of the new station and a physical three-dimensional model of the wider surroundings for several years, the design of the giant structure is only just beginning. Therefore, it is also still unclear how much money will be needed to build the new station and rebuild the interchange. Almost seven years ago, a feasibility study calculated 50 billion crowns, today the Railway Administration is considering more than 60 billion. Kupka said that he will strive to get as much money as possible from European funds for the Czech Republic. At the same time, he admitted that it would be appropriate to consider financing from the private sector, i.e. in the form of PPP.

Similarly, the city is not yet able to quantify the costs it will have to invest in the transport and associated structures to ensure a comprehensive transport connection to the new station. This will be on the site of today's lower station, which is one kilometre south of the current main station. City officials are today talking about billions of crowns from the city budget. "We have to connect Hněvkovského Street with Heršpická Street with the flyover," Kratochvíl said, referring to the two exit routes from Brno to the south. Thanks to the new construction it will be possible to serve Brno railway station from the south. Similarly, the city must prepare and construct the buildings that will enable the station to be served by public transport.

However, according to city officials, the new station will not be served by a fast and high-capacity underground railway for many years. All public transport, which has been overloaded in the north-south direction for many years, will run on the surface. Brno has been talking about an underground railway, the so-called North-South Diameter, since the 1970s. It should connect the new station with the city centre and continue further north, where it will turn roughly to Královo Pole or Řečkovice and connect to the Tišnov line. According to Kupka, the feasibility study should lead to a decision within two years whether the Brno underground will one day be used by train or tram. According to Kratochvíl, however, Brno is expecting such investments that it will be possible to consider the construction of an underground railway when the new railway station, high-speed lines and all other transport constructions related to these investments are ready.

In addition, the Brno city centre will lose its railway connection with the currently accessible periphery with the construction of the new station, because not only will the station be moved, but the line connecting Horní Heršpice and Židenice via the main station is also to disappear.

Source:CTK