The train station in Ústí n.O. will apparently not be repaired

Ústí nad Orlicí - There is no money for the reconstruction of the railway junction in Ústí nad Orlicí. Therefore, the dilapidated station will not be repaired and will remain in operation, writes the newspaper Mladá fronta Dnes (MfD) in its supplement for the Pardubice region.
    "Even in 2011, it will probably not be possible to start (the repair)," said the spokesman for the Railway Infrastructure Administration (SŽDC) Tomáš Drvota. A bit unexpectedly, the city and the railway management will now have the same goal as the association Nádraží nedáme!, which fights for the preservation of the original station building.
    Activists, who are usually at odds with the city and the railway workers, are now on the side of starting construction. "Our association will make every effort to start construction in Ústí next year," said association chairman Martin Kadrman. However, he points out that the parties still cannot agree on the future shape of the station. The city and the railway managers advocate the construction of a new station building. The association wants to preserve the old one for its original purpose.
    The condition of the building from the second half of the 19th century is in a lamentable state, moreover, it is situated between the tracks and the platforms do not meet modern standards. The reconstruction of the station in Ústí nad Orlicí is supposed to achieve faster trains on the route between Prague and Brno.
    The long-prepared construction is to be shelved because the Ministry of Transport is cutting back on road constructions and seeking further savings. SŽDC, the state organization responsible for building and maintaining the railway, has also cut its budget. This will also affect ongoing projects. "People will continue to jump from the train onto low platforms," says spokesman for Czech Railways Petr Šťáhlavský.
    People from the city hall in Ústí nad Orlicí consider it impossible that there would be no construction on the railway in the city. Similarly, SŽDC deputy Pavel Mathé. He explains that the matter will be decided by MPs when approving the state budget for next year.
    "In the savings considerations for next year, there are various options, and which will be discussed with what conclusion, will be known to the MPs after the budget approval. To what extent construction will begin, whether on a small scale or not at all, is something that, I believe, Parliament will discuss very thoroughly," said Mathé.