Prague’s Jiřího z Poděbrad metro stop to close for 10 months starting Jan. 14

The metro stop at náměstí Jiřího z Poděbrad will close on Jan. 14 and be out of service until the end of October due to ongoing renovations. When it reopens, the station will have a new escalator that meets EU standards. An elevator that will make the station barrier-free will go into service in May 2024.

During the closure, trains on the metro A (green) line will go between the náměstí Míru and Flora stations without stopping at Jiřího z Poděbrad in either direction. There will be no substitute bus service since the 11 and 13 trams, which stop at Náměstí Jiřího z Poděbrad, already go between the Flora, I.P. Pavlova, and Muzeum metro stops.

In addition, the nearby Vinohradská vodárna tram stop, located some 200 meters to the south, has service to and from náměstí Míru via the 10 and 16 trams.

The náměstí Jiřího z Poděbrad stop for the 101 bus in the direction of Viktoria Žižkov will also be moved 50 meters to the north due to the need for construction crews to be located around the original stop.

"The replacement of the escalators was planned long in advance and is part of the modernization of the station, which has not undergone any major reconstruction in almost 42 years of operation. Simultaneously with the replacement of the escalators, a pair of original shelters at the exit from the metro station to Vinohradská and Slavíkova streets will also be removed," Prague Integrated Transport said on Facebook.

Flyers will be distributed, information panels will be placed in metro stations, and announcements will be made in cars and metro stations. Information will also be spread on the transit system's social networks.

All of the old escalators in Prague’s metro system will eventually need to be replaced with stainless steel ones that are more energy efficient and safer. For some stations like Anděl, it was possible to keep the station in service while the escalators were swapped out since there were multiple exits. Jiřího z Poděbrad, though, only has one main vestibule and there is no alternative once it is closed.

The station has not had an extensive renovation since it went into service on Dec. 19, 1980, as part of an extension starting at Náměstí Míru and ending at Želivského.

Work on renovating the station began on Sept. 1, 2021, and has already been underway for almost 500 days. The overall cost of the entire renovation of the station was previously estimated at CZK 1.29 billion. It is taking place to coincide with other changes that have been planned for the surface of náměstí Jiřího z Poděbrad to make the square more user-friendly.

The installation of an elevator is technically demanding, as Jiřího z Poděbrad is the second-deepest metro stop in the city, after Náměstí Míru. So far, a total of 50 meters in height and 60 meters in length have already been excavated. The placement of the elevator was complicated by the presence of the lower levels of the Church of the Most Sacred Heart (Kostel Nejsvětějšího Srdce Páně).

Jiřího z Poděbrad will become the 47th barrier-free station in the Prague metro after the modernization is completed.

The elevators will be at the opposite side of the station from the escalators. The kiosk of the upper station of the lifts will be located in the park next to the pavement on Vinohradská Street, near the existing Jiřího z Poděbrad tram stop in the direction of the center.

The renovation work will also fix leaks and repair damaged tiles and paving, completely replace all air conditioning and cable ducts, and remove the existing street-level shelters. The station and its lobby will get LED lighting to replace the current system. A new unified system to enable remote control and monitoring of the metro lighting will be installed.