The proposed new Brno railway station will become a new gateway to the city and a driver of development in the emerging Trnitá district on the banks of the Svratka river. Photo: Lower station. Credit: Zdeněk Kolařík.
Brno, Mar 16 (BD) – The construction of the new central railway station for Brno is not news, but further plans have been released for the modernization of the train network, to take place alongside the construction of the new station. Smaller stations and new lines will be created or modernised, and Brno will see the growth and transformation of a new district.
The main train station has been in operation since 1839 and discussions about its renovation have been ongoing ever since the 1920s. Two local referendums were held in 2004 and 2016 but were invalid due to low turnout. Progress was made in 2018 after an agreement between the Brno City Council, South Moravian Region, and the Ministry of Transport for a new main station on the banks of the Svratka river.
On 31 August 2020, an international urban transport architecture competition was launched for the design of the new station. The winning design included the dispatch building, platforms, railway facilities, bridge structures, adjacent public spaces, buildings for administration, services and housing, a new bus station, a public transport terminal, parking lots, bicycle storage facilities and connections to the rest of the city transport network and the planned new district of Trnitá .
The jury met on 1 and 2 July 2021, and revealed the winners as the Dutch studios Benthem Crouwel Architects and West 8.
The modernization of the Brno-Židenice railway station, moving closer to public transport, and the creation of a new terminal in Černovice na Olomoucká, are also currently being prepared. A new train stop for suburban trains will be built at Vídeňská with a connection to Brno public transport, and the possibility of another terminal in a separate location where high-speed trains can stop is also being examined.
“The Brno railway station will become a new gateway to the city and a positive impulse for the emerging Trnitá district on the banks of the Svratka river,” said Dutch studios Benthem Crouwel Architects and West 8, “The people of Brno will get a modern interchange and a guarantee of the further development of local railway transport.”
The aim of the reconstruction of the entire railway junction is that the tracks, stations and stops have adequate capacity, the necessary technical level and that they are comfortable for passengers. The railway network in the city will be simplified, and therefore its territory will not be so fragmented.
Construction work should start in 2028, and should be finished by 2035. In 2021, the Railway Administration estimated the cost of building the entire railway infrastructure at between CZK 40-50 billion. The estimated costs to Brno for the subsequent urban infrastructure are calculated at CZK 3 billion.
