Prague rally marks 125 years of Výtoň Railway Bridge with plea to save it

Around 100 people gathered at Prague’s Výtoň riverfront Sunday to urge Prime Minister Andrej Babiš to support preserving and repairing the railway bridge linking the area with Smíchov.

Marking the current bridge’s 125th anniversary, supporters displayed a banner reading “Andrej Babiš, fix the bridge!” and brought 125 roses as a symbolic birthday tribute.

The peaceful gathering lasted approximately half an hour. It renewed attention on a long-running dispute over whether the protected steel structure should be repaired or replaced, as its deteriorating condition continues to restrict rail services.

The bridge’s future has been debated for years, pitting proposals to replace its steel spans against arguments that its historic riveted construction is an important technical monument within Prague’s protected historic center.

In 2022, the Railway Administration selected a design through an international competition that would replace the existing steel structure while retaining its original piers.

The proposal drew opposition from local districts, civic groups and heritage organizations. That resistance led to a reassessment of the plan during the previous parliamentary term.

Preservation advocates received support in June from an international expert group established by the National Heritage Institute.

The group concluded that, with appropriate reconstruction, the bridge could be retained and remain in operation for at least another 100 years. It recommended increasing rail capacity by building a separate bridge carrying a third track.

Sunday’s appeal sought the prime minister’s backing for preservation, but the gathering did not produce a new decision on the crossing’s future.

The bridge remains an important connection for trains between Prague, western Bohemia and Bavaria, as well as commuter services arriving from the Beroun direction.

Its condition currently permits only one train on the bridge at a time, traveling at a maximum speed of 20 kilometers per hour.

Since September, the Railway Administration has been working on temporary reinforcement using carbon-fiber strips. It says the intervention is intended to maintain the existing restricted service until at least 2028.

Transport industry representatives argue that uncertainty over the bridge is holding back railway development in Prague and Central Bohemia.

The Transport Union said this year that the existing two-track crossing needs a third track to accommodate future demand. It warned that the bridge already faces capacity constraints and will become more important to the rail network.

The heritage experts’ recommendation offers one approach to reconciling those demands: repair the historic structure and provide additional capacity alongside it.

For now, temporary strengthening is intended to keep trains moving while the larger question remains unresolved. Sunday’s anniversary gathering underscored preservation supporters’ demand that the bridge’s next chapter begin with repairs to the structure already standing over the Vltava.