Brno wants a train underground, it decided based on an analysis

Brno - The Brno council has decided based on an analysis that the preferred variant for the underground rail connection between the south and north of the city is a train that will serve not only Brno but also its surroundings, the city informed on its website. This is, in fact, a variant that has been considered in the past. It provides for trains passing under the city that will travel south towards Chrlice and north towards Tišnov. The central commission of the Ministry of Transport is to make a final decision on the solution, at the earliest in the autumn.

The Brno council made its decision based on a feasibility study conducted by experts in previous years. They evaluated the pros and cons of rail connections, light metro, and tramways on several routes. The selected variant, which is also agreed upon by the South Moravian Region, expects that a perpendicular underground station with a line from Chrlice will be connected to the new main railway station in Brno, which is to be moved a kilometer south. The line will then lead under the historic center toward the north, where it will connect to today's line from Královo Pole to Tišnov. These considerations were first developed by experts half a century ago.

For the transport solution variants, experts also prepared a more detailed technical solution, transport forecast, calculated investment costs, and an economic assessment in the form of a cost-benefit analysis. "The general benefit of all variants is the reduction of passenger intensity in the central part of Brno. The train variant allows for transport service not only for Brno but also for the wider metropolitan area. The light metro option, being a completely segregated system, was evaluated as economically ineffective; on the other hand, the train variants benefit from shorter commutes to the city center without the need for transfers," the city stated.

The selection of the variant will also involve the Railway Administration, the State Fund for Transport Infrastructure, and the Ministry of Transport.

Although a decision on the underground transport variant will be made this year, the actual construction is a question for the more distant future. The reconstruction of the railway hub is a priority for Brno, which is to take place at the earliest from 2028 to 2035 and will cost over 70 billion crowns. Nevertheless, the underground railway is an important project for Brno, as surface transport is already overloaded during peak traffic times. Tram connections between the north and south of the city are at the edge of their capacity. Large-capacity trains on lines 1 and 12 operate at minimal intervals.