Confirmed: trams are coming back to Prague’s Wenceslas Square

Along with reconstruction of Prague’s National Museum buildings at the top of the Square, tram tracks were also laid down with the idea of eventually connecting Vinohrady to Prague 1. Where they might lead in the city center had yet to be confirmed.

But yesterday, Prague Deputy Mayor Adam Scheinherr confirmed that trams would indeed be returning to Wenceslas Square, and gave a four-year timeframe for the project to be completed.

“The interconnection will allow the people of Prague 2 to travel quickly through the city by tram,” he told reporters yesterday.

“At the same time, it will enable new tram lines and routes for emergency responders.”

Scheinherr is making good on pre-election promises, and while Prague City Hall has nixed proposals for the return of trams to Wenceslas Square in the past, he might have some new allies this year. Incoming Prague 1 Mayor Pavel Čižinský, and his brother and PRAHA SOBĚ co-councillor Jan Čižinský have also promised change in Prague’s city center.

PID – Prague Integrated Transport, the city’s transportation authority – is also a fan of the plans for a new tram line at Wenceslas Square.

“The new leaders of Prague plan to build a tram line at Wenceslas Square,” PID tweeted yesterday.

“The new line on Wenceslas Square would strengthen the connection from Vinohrady to the center, ease traffic on Ječná Street, and would be very welcome with the planned and unplanned restrictions on tram traffic in the center of Prague.”

What is still unclear is where, exactly, the new tram would lead. While some plans call for a line from Vinohrady all the way down to Jindřišská, halfway through the Square, others would divert the tram lines towards Prague’s Main Train station before reaching that far.