Prague's Jiřího z Poděbrad metro station to be closed for 10 months for renovations

The Prague Public Transit Company (DPP) is preparing a complete modernization of the Jiřího z Poděbrad metro station on the A line. It will include three stages: barrier-free access to the station, revitalization of the vestibule and the platform, and replacement of the existing escalators.

Construction work at the Jiřího z Poděbrad station is planned to start in November 2020, and will last until mid-March 2023. Most work will take place while the station is in operation, but a closure of up to 10 months will be required when the escalators are replaced.

The winner of a tender for the contractor of the entire project should be announced at the end of this summer vacation.

The modernization of the metro station will start with a pair of elevators. After an archaeological survey, the DPP will start excavating a shaft and transfer corridor as well as a stairwell for the emergency exit from the station.

After the modernization is completed, two pairs of elevators will serve passengers. The first two will go from the platform to a transfer corridor about 60 meters long, at the end of which there will be a second pair of elevators that will transport passengers to the street level. New escape stairs will be built around both pairs of elevators to fulfill safety measures.

According to the architects’ design, DPP will build a separate kiosk in Vinohradská Street behind the sidewalk edging for the exit of the elevators. The Jiřího z Poděbrad station will thus receive a separate barrier-free exit.

The vast majority of work on building barrier-free access will take place on Jiřího z Poděbrad during full operation of the station. Only when the ceiling of the station is breached will the operation of the metro in the station be limited.

In addition to building elevators, the entire station will undergo extensive revitalization. DPP plans to reconstruct or replace power lines and lighting. DPP will also repair all leaks, completely replace all air conditioning, and install new cable trays. At the same time, DPP will install a unified system enabling remote control and monitoring of metro lighting, and a new information system. All damaged parts of the station’s tiles will also be repaired.

“In the case of the revitalization of the Jiřího z Poděbrad station, we are placing greater emphasis on design; we are working intensively with a team of architects on this matter. The Prague metro has not only its invaluable transport function, but also its artistic and architectural one. With the modernization of each station, we want to strengthen all its values,” Prague Deputy Mayor Adam Scheinherr (Praha sobě), responsible for transportation, said in a press release.

Petr Witowski, chairman of the board and CEO of DPP, said the planned modernization of the Jiřího z Poděbrad metro station is one of the largest the company has undertaken in the last few years in terms of the scope and length of work and the size of investments. “Due to local conditions, barrier-free access to the station is even the most historically extensive. We will build a second, barrier-free entrance to the station, that is, a pair of elevators and stairs. The scope of work corresponds to the costs of the entire project; we plan to invest up to CZK 1.3 billion in modernizing the station,” Witowski said.

“We considered dividing the modernization into separate stages, which would significantly extend the construction work to for several years. This has long made the inhabitants of Prague 3 uncomfortable. For DPP, we preferred the option of realizing everything at once in the shortest possible time, even at the cost of temporarily closing the station,” he added.

Prague 3 Mayor Jiří Ptáček said that closing the station during the renovation will be a complication for citizens. “However, we will finally see barrier-free access to the metro in Prague 3, which will be appreciated not only by people with disabilities, but also by mothers with baby carriages and many others for whom traveling on the escalator is a problem. Together with the planned revitalization of the entire square, there is a chance that within a few years the locality will move significantly forward,” he added.

The third stage of the modernization of the Jiřího z Poděbrad metro station is the replacement of the existing escalators with new ones. Due to the fact that Jiřího z Poděbrad is a station with one entrance vestibule, in the period from the removal of the current escalators to the commissioning of the new escalators, it will not be possible to enter the vestibule to the platform and vice versa. For this long period, which should not exceed 10 months, the metro trains will only pass through the station without stopping. The nearest alternative stations on the metro A line are Náměstí Míru and Flora.