Karlovy Vary upper train station will finally start to be rebuilt

Karlovy Vary - The Karlovy Vary upper station will begin reconstruction after years of delays. This was made possible by the transfer of the building from Czech Railways to the Railway Infrastructure Administration (SŽDC), which is already preparing a tender for the contractor of the new station hall. Construction is set to start in February 2015 and is expected to be completed in November 2015, said SŽDC spokesman Jakub Ptačinský.
    The upper station has been an embarrassment for the city in recent years. This is all the more concerning as it serves as the entrance to the spa town. The station building was constructed after World War II as a temporary replacement for the bombed station.
    "Recently, a part of the operating space in the so-called old post office building has been renovated, particularly the transport office and the premises of the Ústí nad Labem regional directorate. However, the remaining part of the building is in a state of emergency and does not meet current equipment standards for passenger handling. The current operational arrangement and facilities for passengers are minimized to the most essential services," Ptačinský stated.
    "The transfer of the Karlovy Vary station occurred based on a purchase agreement between Czech Railways and SŽDC, which was concluded on September 1. The actual physical handover of the property took place on October 9. The price of the building was set at 4.1 million crowns," Ptačinský added.
    As part of the upcoming construction, the existing dispatch building will gradually be demolished, and on its site, a new building based on the design by architect Petr Franta will be constructed. There will also be facilities for traffic management and station administration.
    The proposed building will traverse sloping terrain, thus having one above-ground and one underground floor. The central element will be a hall with a glass roof that spans across both floors and symmetrically divides the building.
    The city of Karlovy Vary is also awaiting the construction of the station hall, which is preparing the construction of a footbridge to Růžový vrch. This has been postponed so far.
    In the past, there were even attempts to list the building as a cultural monument. In the end, this did not happen. However, the cast iron structure of the platform roofing is historically and architecturally valuable. According to the deputy mayor Jiří Klsák (KOA), the roofing will not be relocated in front of the station as originally intended, but part of it will be moved while another part will end up in a museum.
    After the completion of the new dispatch building, SŽDC plans to modernize the remaining part of the railway station, which includes the construction of a new underpass and the reconstruction of the entire track area, including platforms 1 and 2. This work is expected to take place between 2016 and 2017.