PHOTO GALLERY: A sneak peek at a Prague railway station's 21st-century modernization

Prague’s Masarykovo nádraží, the third-busiest railway station in Czechia, will be expanded to make room for a planned train to Václav Havel Airport. The station will also become better integrated into the new neighborhood that is developing between the station and Florenc.

The Czech Railway Administration last week obtained building permission for modernizing the platforms and creating new areas. Construction work should begin later this year and is to be completed in 2026.

The project will expand the number of tracks from seven to nine, renovate all the platforms, add a new walkway above the tracks, and offer a direct transfer to the metro B line. The walkway will make it easier to go between the Na Florenci and Hybernská streets.

There will also be a new vestibule for waiting passengers with escalators, stairs, and elevators leading directly to the individual platforms. Part of the walkway will be planted with greenery to create an oasis in the center of the metropolis.

Construction will take place during operation, with only partial restrictions due to the individual stages of project implementation. The work will not change the historical parts, which underwent a long renovation that ended in 2019.

The area near the station is also being developed with an office and shopping complex called Masaryčka designed by the late British-Iranian architect Zaha Hadid, already under construction, and a residential project called Florenc21.

The station, which began operation in 1845, was designed by architect Antonín Jüngling. It serves regional and commuter lines and is Prague’s second-oldest station after the one in Dejvice.

Originally, the station was simply called Praha. Starting in 1862 it was called Praha státní nádraží (Prague State Station). It was first called Masarykovo nádraží during 1919–40, again in 1945–52, and then finally since 1990.

The work at Masarykovo nádraží is part of the modernization of the railway from the center of Prague to Kladno. Last year, work began on sections from Kladno to Kladno-Ostrovec, and between the Bubny station and the future new stop at Výstaviště.