On Wednesday, a complete reconstruction began of Jiřího z Poděbrad metro station. New lifts for wheelchair users and parents with prams will be built. The transport company (DPP) will replace escalators and repair leaks in other parts of the station.
Repairs will be carried out partly during operation, but from January 2023, the station will be entirely closed for ten months. Jiřího z Poděbrad station will be the 47th barrier-free station out of 61.
Repairs will cost the company CZK 1.29 billion and will be completed in February 2024, Deputy Mayor Adam Scheinherr (Praha Sobě) and DPP CEO Petr Witowski said.
“The repair of Jiřího z Poděbrad station is the most significant investment project within the scope of transport infrastructure repairs in the metro this year. Based on an agreement with Prague 3 and DPP, we combined three projects into one, albeit more prominent and extended. Still, we will do everything at once – we will build new lifts, replace escalators and repair the station and its vestibule. It’s the most acceptable version for all parties, ” Scheinherr said.
On Wednesday, workers began collecting topsoil in the park next to the church in Vinohradská Street and handed over the site to the construction company.
The company will start the repair by building new lifts for barrier-free access to the station. Two pairs of lifts will serve passengers. The first lifts will take them from the platform to the transfer corridor, and from there, the other lifts will go to the surface in Vinohradská Street to the level of the tram stop. The connecting passage between lifts will be 60 meters long. Most of the work will be carried out while traffic is running, which will only be interrupted if the station ceiling is breached.
The last phase of the repairs will be the replacement of the escalators. As the station has only one exit, it will be closed for ten months, and trains will not pass through it from January 2023.