The planned railway promenade in Prague 10 was complicated by other plans of the Railway Administration

Prague’s plan to build a promenade with a park on the site of the canceled railway line between Vršovice and Zahradní Město encountered a complication due to land owned by the Railway Administration (SŽ), which will be needed for the planned construction of the high-speed line. According to the mayor of Prague 10, Martin Valovič (ODS), the city is discussing this with the state organization. SŽ spokeswoman Nela Eberl Friebová told ČTK that the solution could be in the order of months.

The original railway line through Strašnice disappeared at the end of 2020 after the construction of a new railway corridor with stops Eden and Zahradní Město. On the site of the former track, according to the city’s plan, a rest area with greenery and a pedestrian and bicycle connection with a length of over four kilometers should be created. The municipality obtained planning permission for the construction of the so-called railway promenade last year.

In order to start construction, however, an agreement must be made with SŽ, which holds the necessary land. “The CEO of SŽ is now looking for a technical solution for the construction. This could be the provision of part of the land to SŽ and the management of the affected section of the promenade, which in this place comes into conflict with the planned high-speed line, in an alternative route,” said Valovič.

Friebová stated that SŽ is now working on the documentation for the high-speed line between Vršovice and Běchovice, as well as on the feasibility study of the Prague railway junction, which is supposed to propose the possibility of increasing the capacities of the railway network in the metropolis.

“The land will be released immediately after we finalize the technical solution so that all plans can be implemented in the affected area without unnecessary delay. It should be a matter of months, however, everything will depend on mutual cooperation with the city and city districts,” said the spokeswoman.

The city is now preparing an update of the sustainable mobility plan until 2026, which includes a new list of priority investments. He wants to limit the administration of the municipality due to a lack of money, for example the railway promenade or the Radlická radial or the reconstruction of the transport terminal at Černý Most have disappeared from the list of priorities. Valovič said that he considers the removal of the promenade from the city’s priorities extremely unfortunate.