The construction of the elevator shaft at the metro station B Karlovo náměstí has begun

Prague - The Prague Public Transit Company (DPP) has begun construction of a shaft for elevators at the Karlovo náměstí metro station on line B. The entrance and exit of the elevators will be in the building next to the Václavská Passage outlet on Václavská Street. Workers are also digging a technical tunnel, which will serve during the construction of the connecting corridor between the pairs of elevators. The elevators are expected to be completed next year. This was stated today by representatives of DPP and the construction company Hochtief. The company is also repairing the escalators in the station towards the exit to Karlovo náměstí. The repairs are expected to be completed by mid-August.

Passengers will first descend from the surface in an elevator to the connecting corridor. From there, they will move through a corridor approximately eighty meters long to reach the elevators, which will take them directly to the platform. The elevator shaft in the building on Václavská Street will be 34 meters deep from the basement floor. Currently, workers have reinforced the building at the elevator outlet with injections and have begun the actual digging and reinforcing of the shaft. They are currently two meters deep.

The second technical shaft is located on Václavská Street at the intersection with Trojanova Street. It will serve as a supply and excavation shaft during the tunneling of the transfer corridor between pairs of elevators. "The depth of the pit will be 35 meters, and we are currently about one third into it," said Radek Kozubík from Hochtief.

In the technical shaft, workers will always excavate one meter of rock and then concretize the walls. Currently, they are digging in a layer of slightly weathered slate. "No significant anomalies are appearing," Kozubík stated. The shaft could be completed in September.

Work on the elevators that will transport passengers to the platform will start last. It will not disrupt operations in the station. Only a part of the platform necessary for construction will be occupied. The construction site will be located approximately in its middle.

DPP is also carrying out a complete repair on the escalators and their tube towards Karlovo náměstí. According to DPP spokesperson Aneta Řehková, they are expected to serve passengers from around mid-August. DPP not only replaced the stairs there but also repaired all technical equipment, lighting, and cladding. Access to the metro was closed here last October.