Prague Metro
The Prague Metro is the rapid transit network of Prague, Czech Republic. Founded in 1974, the system consists of three lines serving 61 stations, and is long. The system served 568 million passengers in 2021.
Two types of rolling stock are used on the Metro: the 81-71M, and the Metro M1. All the lines are controlled automatically from the central dispatching, near I.P. Pavlova station. The Metro is operated by the Prague Public Transit Company, and integrated in the Prague Integrated Transport system.
Basic information
The Prague Metro has three lines and one "Line D" under construction, each represented by its own colour on the maps and signs: Line A, Line B and Line C. There are 58 stations in total connected by nearly 66 kilometres of mostly underground railways. Service operates from 4–5 am until midnight, with two- to three-minute intervals between trains during rush hours and four to ten minutes between trains at other times. Nearly 600 million passengers use the Prague Metro every year.The system is run by the Prague Public Transit Company Co. Inc., which also manages the other means of public transport around the city, including the trams, buses, five ferries, the funicular to Petřín Hill, and the chairlift inside the Prague Zoo.
Since 1993, the system has been connected to commuter trains and buses, and also to "park-and-ride" parking lots. Together, they form an extensive public transport network reaching further from the city, called Prague Integrated Transport. Whilst the large system is zonally priced, the Metro is entirely inside the central zone.
Many stations are quite large, with several entrances spaced relatively far apart. This can often lead to confusion for those unfamiliar with the system, especially at the central hubs such as Můstek or Muzeum. In general the stations are well signposted even for those unfamiliar with the Czech language.
System layout and stations
The Prague Metro system is radial, with each line running through the city centre from termini in the outskirts; however, the lines do not meet at a single central station. Rather, the three lines form a triangle in the centre of the city, with three interchange stations at the vertices of the triangle: Florenc, Můstek, and Muzeum. Each interchange station has two halls, one hall for each line.The depth of the stations varies considerably. The deepest station is Náměstí Míru, located under the ground. Parts of the tracks in the city centre were mostly bored using a tunnelling shield. Outer parts were dug by a cut-and-cover method, and these stations are only a few metres under the surface. Part of Line B runs in a glassed-in tunnel above the ground.
Most stations have a single island platform in the centre of the station hall serving both directions. The sub-surface stations have a straight ceiling sometimes supported by columns, while the deep-level stations are larger tunnels with the track tunnels on each side. The walls of many stations are decorated using coloured aluminium panels; each station has its own colour. Some stations are considered among the finest in Europe.
Rolling stock
Metro M1
trains have operated on Line C since 2000; they completely replaced older cars on this line in 2003. DPP owns 265 of these cars, which form 53 five-car trains. These cars were developed specially for Prague, and were manufactured there between 2000 and 2003 by a consortium consisting of ČKD Praha, ADtranz and Siemens. The total length of the train is, the acceleration is, and the total capacity of the train is 1,464 people. This unit was also adapted for use in Venezuela on the Maracaibo Metro.81-71M
81-71M trains are a modernized variant of the old Soviet 81-717 trains with new traction motors, technical equipment, interiors, and exteriors. They have operated on Lines A and B since 1996. The modernization was conducted by Škoda Transportation and ČKD between 1996 and 2011. DPP owns 465 81-71M cars, which form 93 five-car trains. The total length of the train is, and the acceleration is identical to that of the Metro M1 cars, at. Similar reconstructions were also made on the Tbilisi Metro and Yerevan Metro, as well as a near-identical version exported to Kyiv from Metrowagonmash as part of the Slavutich project, designated 81-553.1, 81–554.1 and 81-555.1.Previously in service
- 81-71, old Soviet trains manufactured by Metrovagonmash were gradually phased out and replaced by the modernized versions. Their service ended on 2 July 2009. One vehicle is stored in the Museum of Prague public transport, while one fully-operational train of five cars stays in the Zličín depot for special occasions.
- Ečs, Soviet trains manufactured by Metrovagonmash, that ran on Line C, in service from 1974 to 1997. One vehicle is also stored in the Prague Public Transport Museum, while one fully-operational train of three cars is stored in the Zličín depot.
History
In the 1930s and 1940s, intensive projection and planning works took place, taking into account two possible solutions: an underground tramway and a "true" metro having its own independent system of railways. After World War II, all work was stopped due to the poor economic situation of the country, although the three lines, A, B and C, had been almost fully designed.
In the early 1960s the concept of the sub-surface tramway was finally accepted and on 9 August 1967 the building of the first station started. However, in the same year, a substantial change in the concept came, as the government, under the influence of Soviet advisers, decided to build a true metro system instead of an underground tramway. Thus, during the first years, the construction continued while the whole project was conceptually transformed. During the construction of the metro, a Czech rolling stock manufacturer, ČKD Tatra Smíchov, was charged with designing the trains. Two prototype two-car units under the name R1 were constructed in 1970 and 1971 and were used for field testing. However, the then-Czechoslovak government decided instead to order the trains for the underground from the Soviet Union. The R1 rolling stock would later be scrapped in the 1980s, near the end of the Cold War. Regular service on the first section of Line C began on 9 May 1974 between Sokolovská and Kačerov stations.
Since then, many extensions have been built and the number of lines has risen to three.
On 22 February 1990, 13 station names reflecting mostly communist ideology were changed to be politically neutral. For example, Leninova station, which contained a giant bust of Vladimir Lenin before the Velvet Revolution, was renamed Dejvická after a nearby street and surrounding neighbourhood. Other changes were: Dukelská – Nové Butovice, Švermova – Jinonice, Moskevská – Anděl, Sokolovská – Florenc, Fučíkova – Nádraží Holešovice, Gottwaldova – Vyšehrad, Mládežnická – Pankrác, Primátora Vacka – Roztyly, Budovatelů – Chodov, Družby – Opatov, Kosmonautů – Háje.
In August 2002, the system suffered disastrous flooding that struck parts of Bohemia and other areas in Central Europe. 19 stations were flooded, causing a partial collapse of the transport system in Prague; the damage to the Metro has been estimated at approximately 7 billion CZK. The affected sections of the Metro stayed out of service for several months; the last station reopened in March 2003. Small gold plates have been placed at some stations to show the highest water level of the flood.
Service was suspended between:
- Radlická and Kolbenova on Line B
- Malostranská and Náměstí Míru on Line A
- Hlavní nádraží and Nádraží Holešovice on Line C
Extensions
After regular service on the first section of Line C began in 1974 between Florenc and Kačerov, building of extensions continued quite rapidly. In 1978, Line A was opened, and Line B opened in 1985, thus forming the triangle with three crossing points. Since then, the lines have been extended outwards from the centre.In 1980 and 1990, Line A was extended eastward from Náměstí Míru to Želivského and Skalka. Line B was extended from Nové Butovice to Zličín in 1994 and from Českomoravská to Černý Most in 1998, and the Kolbenova and Hloubětín stations were opened in 2001. Expansion of Line C was carried out in 1980 and 1984.
A northern extension of Line C was opened on 26 June 2004, with two more stations, Kobylisy and Ládví. New tunnels were built under the Vltava river using a unique "ejecting-tunnels" technology. First, a trench was excavated in the riverbed and the concrete tunnels constructed in dry docks on the riverbank. Then the docks were flooded, and the floating tunnels were moved as a rigid complex to their final position, sunk, anchored, and covered.
Line A was extended to the east on 26 May 2006, when a new terminus, Depo Hostivař, opened. The station was constructed within the railway depot.
Line C was extended to the northeast to connect the city center to the housing blocks at Prosek and a large shopping centre at Letňany. Three stations opened on 8 May 2008.
In April 2015, Line A was extended westward from Dejvická to Nemocnice Motol with four new stations: Bořislavka, Nádraží Veleslavín, Petřiny, and Nemocnice Motol. The Nádraží Veleslavín station is also the new terminus of the 119 bus to Václav Havel Airport.
Plans for an extension to the airport have been proposed, but never put into action. According to estimates from 2018 the project would cost about 26.8 billion crowns and take 11 years to complete.