Prague has begun preparing the tender for new metro trains for lines C and D. The proposed trains are expected to be fully automated, operating without a driver and with walls on the platforms. According to the city’s Deputy Mayor Zdeněk Hřib, 69 metro sets are needed, 53 for line C and 16 for line D.
The total cost of this project is expected to be a staggering 86 billion crowns. This hefty price tag is comparable to the purchase of F-35 fighter jets, Hřib pointed out. The plan received approval from Prague councilors on Monday, with the city’s representatives and the supervisory board of the transport company expected to follow suit on Thursday.
Implementing an automated metro on line C would reduce the shortest interval of 115 seconds to just 90 seconds. “This will lead to a significant increase in the transport capacity of line C,” the deputy mayor explained.
From the outset, line D has been considered for automation. It will be connected to line C at Pankrác. According to Hřib, metro D (Pankrác – Krč – Nové Dvory – Písnice) will also initially use the current Kačerov depot. A separate depot for line D at Písnice is scheduled for the last part of the construction.
The project timeline anticipates a new prototype of trains for Prague. “We would like to know the winner by the end of 2025,” Hřib added. This will be followed by development and homologation, and by 2027 and 2028, the first units should be manufactured and test-run in Prague in 2029. Only then would serial production follow, indicating the need to start the process as soon as possible.