Prague’s public transit will experience disruptions due to renovations

Some metro, tram, and bus services will be disrupted this weekend due to planned infrastructure works. The Prague Public Transit Company (DPP) will continue replacing ceiling beams at the metro station C Florenc, and the C line will not run between Hlavní nádraží and Vltavská stations on Saturday and Sunday. Passengers will be able to use the replacement XC tram service and special line number 36. DPP started the repair project last spring.

A replacement tram line XC will run from main train station Hlavní nádraží to Opletalová Street, through Těšnov and Vltavská to the terminal at Výstaviště. Special line 36 will go from Zvonařka to Karlovo náměstí and Wenceslas Square and through Těšnov to Vltavská and then through Výstaviště to Nádraží Holešovice. From there, it will head either go via Kobylisy and Ládví to the Ďáblice or change to line number 12 and go toward Barrandov.

A total of 131 ceiling beams need to be replaced, and the project will be completed by the end of 2026. The closures are only for the replacement of the beams, while other types of work can be done without affecting timetables.

The project includes the renovation of the vestibule and the installation of new escalators at the Florenc bus station. The restorers will also repair the abstract Battle of Sokolovo 1974 stone mosaic by Sauro Ballardini and Oldřich Oplt, which depicts a battle from World War II. The Florenc station was originally called Sokolovská.

Tram and bus service this weekend will be disrupted between Anděl, Klamovka, and Sídliště Řepy from the start of service on Saturday to the end of service on Sunday. The lines affected are day trams 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 21, night trams 98 and 99, and buses 123 and 167. A substitute bus X9 will run between Na Knížecí, Anděl, and Sídliště Řepy.

This project will continue until Aug, 11, with just the section between Klamovka and Sídliště Řepy closed. The whole section from Anděl to Sídliště Řepy will be closed again from July 29 to 30. This project will replace rails and sleepers, adjust track height, and fix supports, among other changes.

"Even though it doesn't seem like it, it's already been 13 years since we renovated the tram line from Klamovka to Sídliště Řepy," Miroslav Penc, head of DPP’s tram transport route unit, said in a press release.

"During peak hours, an average of 37.5 tram sets pass in each direction per hour. Therefore, we have to make the necessary repairs on the track. We are concentrating the work in a single shutdown lasting less than four weeks," he added. “The positive news is that the modifications at the entrance to the Kotlářka loop will help to increase the smoothness and speed of tram travel in this section."

Prague has also just opened a new elevator at the Nádraží Holešovice metro station, replacing an outdated one that had a limited capacity and slow speed. The new elevator has a load capacity of 1,000 kilograms, a cabin floor plan of 110 by 210 centimeters, a capacity of 13 people, and a speed of 1 meter per second.

There are now 46 barrier-free stations in the Prague metro out of a total of 61. The 47th will be the Jiřího z Poděbrad station once it reopens next spring. The construction of the elevator at the Nádraží Holešovice station took less than six months and cost about CZK 19 million.