City centre to Prague Airport in 25 minutes: private company to build new track and stations
The journey to Prague’s Václav Havel Airport by public transport is for many an ordeal, involving changes between different metro lines and buses. However, the current plans presented by the Ministry of Transport will simplify and speed up the process, with trains to the airport running from Masaryk Station every ten minutes.
From 2030, there will be direct trains to Prague Airport that will stop at nine stations, travelling on a route that leads through the airport and onwards to the city of Kladno. A section of the line will be underground. The central terminus of the line will be Masaryk Station, which this year began its extensive renovation. This will include a raised platform and green spaces above the tracks themselves. On the other side of the river, the route to the station will pass through the newly redeveloped Praha-Bubny station, with two tracks for trains towards Dejvice and the airport. The Výstaviště area in Bubeneč is set to get its own dedicated stop.
The full modernisation of the line to Kladno is estimated to cost 28 billion crowns. As a first in the history of Czech railways, the work will be carried out by a private company and will be funded by the state. The contractor for the project has not yet been decided, but the selection process will soon be underway. Minister of Transport Martin Kupka reported that the project had aroused great interest from potential foreign investors as well.
