Passengers can thus travel by tram no. 22 from Bílá Hora all the way to Nádraží Hostivař again. Modernization of the Průběžná – Švehlova route had two phases. The V Olšinách - Hostivařská section was closed from 28th June to 13th September 2014.
V Olšinách reopened
The first section between the stops V Olšinách and the loop at Radošovická reopened on Saturday 30th August 2014. The subsequent section from Radošovická loop to Hostivařská is in a trial operation with passengers from 12th September.
Wheelchair-accessible stops
The renovation also brought about an adaptation of tram stops for wheelchairs. There are two new stops called Obchodní Centrum Hostivař and Dubečská. The other stops are barrier-free and equipped with features that serve better orientation for visually-impaired people. “I am happy that the investor of the construction, i.e. Prague Public Transit Company fulfills the conception of the capital city to gradually making public transport accessible for all passengers,“ says Councillor for Transport Jiří Pařízek.
A little earlier
“What I consider important is the fact that the tram route in Průběžná and Švehlova streets hadn’t been planned to be put in a trial operation until the night from 12th to 13th September. However, with regards to the complicated transport situation due to the full closure of the underpass in Průmyslová St., Prague Public Transit Company, after an agreement with the City representatives, decided to start the operation to Hostivař almost twelve hours earlier than planned. This helped to ease the traffic,“ said Jaroslav Ďuriš, Prague Public Transit Company’s Managing Director.
Low-floor trams
“The last time this tram route had been renovated was between the years 1985 and 1987, so it showed marks of significant wear. Trams often couldn’t drive at maximum speed in the area and also the operation of 15T low-floor trams was impossible due to the state of the tracks. This is why we modernized 3.4 km of the route,“ said Prague Public Transit Company’s Technical Manager Jan Šurovský.
In total, the expenses amounted to 174. 5 million CZK, out of which a great part will be paid from the EU financial programme called Operation Programme Prague – Competitiveness“ (OPPK). The construction was carried out by Eurovia CS.
Bělohorská Street reopened
The tram track in Bělohorská St. also reopened after renovation. The works on the route started as early as on 28th April 2014. All the large concrete panels have been replaced with a new construction with a road metal bed. The surface of the tram tracks will be partially covered with grass. Wheelchair accessible stops are commonplace. There was a delay of almost 14 days due to an unplanned transfer of cables of high voltage at Vypich loop and due to the unfinished work between the stops Malovanka and Říčanova. The overall length of the renovated area is 2.654 km and the expenses amount to 134 million CZK.
