36th Anniversary of Metro (Portal of Prague)

36th Anniversary of Metro

Photo: DP Praha

Prague Public Transit Company (PPTC) celebrates the 36th anniversary of the start of the metro operation on its first A line section. The anniversary falls on Tuesday 12th August 2014.

11. August 2014
Oskar Exner, redakce portálu

Black mouth on tracks

On the occasion of the celebrations on Sunday 10th August, PPTC will put in operation its historical Soviet trains 81-71, nicknamed briquette or black mouth on account of its characteristic design of the front“. These trains were developed specifically for the relatively steep slopes on the track. Since 2009 they have not been put in service except for special occasions.

Back to 1978

On trains 81-71, metro fans and the general public can look forward to announcements from the station radio stating the destination and giving information about the launch of its operation in the particular section. Metro drivers will be dressed in period uniforms and the trains will have period signs with the final stop written on them at the front part of the train. Anyone interested in traveling on these special trains can use regular tickets or travel cards.

From Leninova to Náměstí Míru

The first ride of the train will start at 11.45 a.m. from Dejvická metro station (which used to be called Leninova, i.e. Lenin’s Station) to Náměstí Míru metro station. The route and the time of the opening ride is identical with those in 1978.

The whole route A

The second ride of the historical train will be from Dejvická to Želivského, where the operation started in 1980. The third one will set off from Dejvická to Strašnická (opened in July 1987) and the fourth one from Dejvická to Skalka (July 1990). The fifth ride will go from Dejvická all the way to Depo Hostivař, the final station on line A since 2006. All the rides will go in both directions (for exact departure times see the timetable).

Exceptionally to Hostivař Depot

The ride to Hostivař Depot will be exceptional in the history of Prague underground, as the operation in that section didn’t start until after the trains 81-71 had finished their operation on line A, which means that they have never driven through that section when in regular operation. The last train of this type drove on line A in June 2005. The opportunity to take a ride on this type of train in the above mentioned section is exceptional, it only takes place during the Antal event and also as part of the popular historical rides.

“A ride on the historical metro train 81-71, which was completely restored two years ago, is a good opportunity to make Sunday 10th August more interesting. We invite all Prague public transport fans and the general public to try again the ride on the particular train,“ said Jaroslav Ďuriš, PPTC’s Director General.

Historical rides – timetable for 10th August 2014

A	Sunday 10. 8. 2014	Dejvická – Depo Hostivař
A	Dejvická							*S 11:45*	12:24	13:10	13:54	14:46	15:47
Hradčanská		Dejvická – Depo Hostivař	11:46	12:26	13:12	13:56	14:48	15:49
Malostranská		11:48	12:27	13:13	13:57	14:49	15:50
Staroměstská		11:49	12:29	13:15	13:59	14:51	15:51
Můstek – A		11:51	12:31	13:17	14:01	14:53	15:54
Muzeum – A		11:53	12:33	13:19	14:03	14:54	15:55
Náměstí Míru		11:54	12:34	13:20	14:04	14:56	15:56
Jiřího z Poděbrad			12:36	13:22	14:06	14:57	15:58
Flora			12:37	13:24	14:08	14:59	16:00
Želivského			12:39	13:26	14:09	15:01	16:02
Strašnická				13:28	14:12	15:04	16:05
Skalka					14:15	15:07	*E 16:07*
Depo Hostivař						15:09

S – start of the event in the particular stop
E – end of the event in the particular stop

A	Sunday 10. 8. 2014	Depo Hostivař – Dejvická
A	Depo Hostivař							15:14
Skalka		Depo Hostivař – Dejvická		14:16	15:15
Strašnická			13:33	14:19	15:19
Želivského			12:43	13:36	14:21	15:22
Flora			12:45	13:37	14:23	15:23
Jiřího z Poděbrad		odj.	12:47	13:39	14:24	15:25
Náměstí Míru		odj.	12:00	12:48	13:40	14:26	15:26
Muzeum – A		odj.	12:01	12:50	13:43	14:28	15:28
Můstek – A			12:03	12:52	13:44	14:30	15:30
Staroměstská			12:04	12:53	13:45	14:31	15:31
Malostranská		odj.	12:06	12:55	13:47	14:33	15:33
Hradčanská			12:08	12:57	13:49	14:35	15:35
Dejvická			12:09	12:58	13:51	14:36	15:36

11. August 2014
11. August 2014

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Historical rides – timetable for 10th August 2014

Basic information about the first section on line A

Start of operation: 12th Aug. 1978
Construction length: 5.360 km
Operation length: 4.670 km
Number of stations: 7
Average distance between stations: 779 m
29th Nov. 1972 The Government President made a definite decision to start the construction of the first section of line A.
20th Feb. 1973 beginning of the excavation works in the first tunnel (between Hradčanská and Leninova stations)
1st Jul. 1978 start of trial operation without passengers
12th Aug. 1978 start of regular operation between Leninova (Dejvická) and Náměstí Míru

Characteristic features on line A:

It is a deep track with completely new type of stations for Praguers. The stations consist of three interconnected tunnels one beside another. The tracks are in the outer naves with the platform edges, the passage for passengers is in the middle tunnel. In the case of transit stops, this nave is also the place where the escalators are placed. Only one station in this section was excavated from the surface (today’s Dejvická).

Why is it so deep in the ground?

The metro tunnels had to be built deep in the ground because the profile of the terrain is very complex in Prague. For instance, the area of Klárov is about 30 metres lower than the area of Chotkovy Sady. On the other end of the track, the Vinohrady area is also higher than the city centre. Besides the tunnels were going under the Vltava River for the first time and this is why they had to be built deep under the river in a safe rock area. Another obstacle underground was for example the Vinohrady railway tunnels behind the National Museum. Also the existing line C had to be respected.

Other firsts:

For the first time, Praguers has a transit station – Muzeum metro station for lines A and C.

Náměstí Míru station is the deepest of all metro stations in Prague. Its platform is 52 metres under ground. This is why it has the longest escalator tunnel (75 m) and the longest escalators (87.1 m) with an elevation of 43.55 m.

Interesting facts

Some archeological finds were made during the construction of the underground. The most interesting one is the medieval bridge over a moat at the Old Town fortification, which had given the name Můstek, Na Můstku to the area in the already distant past. This unique find stayed in place and was made a part of Můstek metro station. Also the old subway in the middle of Wenceslas Square, which opened towards the end of 1968 was incorporated into one of the two underground entrance halls

Significant urban changes were made in the area of today’s Hradčanská, where a number of houses had been pulled down and the area got a completely different face.

In 1978, nine trains operand on line with the minimum interval of 180 sec. and maximum interval of 360 sec. At first, each train had four carriages and the metro train crew consisted of the driver and his assistant. It wasn’t until 2nd July 1979 that metro drivers worked without assistants). Starting on 17th November 1981 (when the metro A operated as far as Želivského) another carriage was added to some of the metro trains and since 28th February 1982, all the metro trains in operation on line A have had five carriages. When metro A started its operation, there were turnstiles installed at metro stations. They disappeared in 1985.