The Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Bohuslav Sobotka, and Prague mayor Adriana Krnáčová formally opened an extension to the city’s metro line A last month.
Four new metro stations are sited along the length of the 6.1km-long extension, all of which are accessible by wheelchair. This is the first extension to the Prague metro for seven years since the expansion of Line C in 2008.
‘The metro is a unique and irreplaceable transportation system and the four new stations and will certainly benefit transportation in the capital, and make life more comfortable for its inhabitants,’ said Mayor Krnáčová at the ceremony.
The expansion and new stations primarily benefit residents of Prague’s sixth and largest municipal district in the north-west of the metropolitan area. However it also shortens journeys between the city centre and the Czech Republic’s main international airport, Václav Havel Airport Prague.
Work on the metro extension began in January 2010 and more than 50 Czech and international companies worked on the project over five years.
The final costs of the extension came in under budget. The original investment was calculated at 20bn Czech koruna ( € 730m) – 2.5bn koruna ( € 91m) less than originally thought. The project was co-financed by the EU’s Cohesion Fund.
Original author: Lewis Macdonald
