Praha hlavní nádraží

Prague main train station - Praha hlavní nádraží.
The former Art Nouveau booking hall as a cafe in October 2005. The cafe is called Fantova kavárna and it was recently renovated.
The former main entrance, now the entrance to Fanta's Cafe (Fantova Kavárna)

Praha hlavní nádraží (English: Prague main railway station, abbreviated Praha hl.n) is the largest and most important railway station in Prague in the Czech Republic. It was originally opened in 1871 and named Franz Josef Station after Franz Joseph I of Austria. During the First Republic and from 1945 to 1953 the station was called Wilson Station (Czech: 'Wilsonovo nádraží') after former President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson. His statue stood in the park in front of the station before being torn down by German authorities when the U.S. entered the war in 1941.[1] A new statue of Wilson was installed in 2012. In 2010, the station served 132,560 trains and 22 million passengers.[2]

Overview

The Art Nouveau station building and station hall were built between 1901 and 1909, designed by Czech architect, Josef Fanta, on the site of the old dismantled Neo-Renaissance station. The station was extended by a new terminal building, built between 1972 and 1979, including an underground station and a main road on the roof of the terminal. The new terminal building claimed a large part of the park, and the construction of the road cut off the neo-renaissance station hall from the town. In 2011 a refurbishment of the station was completed by Italian company Grandi Stazioni,[3] which has leased retail space for 30 years from 2002.[4]

The station was the embarkation point for the children evacuated by Nicholas Winton who were evacuated to London Liverpool Street station via the Port of Harwich. In 2009 a statue was unveiled on platform 1 commemorating this.

Train services

Long-distance services

The station is an international transport hub, handling services to Germany (Munich, Bavaria-Bohemia RE (Regio-Express) services, and EuroCity/EuroNight services to Berlin, Dresden and Hamburg), Poland, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Serbia, and Croatia in summer. Services are operated by express trains, and also by ČD Class 680 Pendolino trains.

Regional services

In addition to the international services, trains serve most of the larger Czech cities, such as Brno, Plzeň, České Budějovice and Olomouc.

Suburban services

The station is served by most of the Esko Prague lines which are not dispatched from the nearby Masaryk Railway station.

Preceding station   České dráhy   Following station
Terminus   City Night Line
CNL Phoenix/Canopus		   Praha-Holešovice
toward Amsterdam and Zurich
Terminus   EuroNight
EN Slovakia		   Kolín
toward Košice
Turning point   EuroNight
EN Metropol		   Praha-Holešovice
toward Berlin
Pardubice hl.n.
toward Budapest
Praha-Smíchov
toward Františkovy Lázně		   Supercity Pendolino   Pardubice hl.n.
toward Ostrava
Terminus
TerminusRailjet
toward Graz
Turning point or terminus   EuroCity   Praha-Holešovice
toward Berlin
Kolín
toward Brno or Olomouc
Praha-Smíchov
toward Munich		   Arriva-Länderbahn-Express   Terminus
Praha-Smíchov
toward Plzeň or Písek		   Regional fast trains   Terminus
Praha-Smíchov
Terminus		   Regional fast trains   Praha-Libeň
toward Pardubice
Terminus
Terminus   Regional fast trains   Praha-Libeň
toward Havlíčkův Brod
Terminus   Regional fast trains   Praha-Holešovice
toward Chomutov
Praha-Vršovice
toward České Budějovice		   Regional fast trains   Terminus
Terminus   Regional fast trains   Praha-Vysočany
toward Hradec Králové
Preceding station   Esko Prague   Following station
Terminus
S3
toward Byšice, Mělník
or Mladá Boleslav hl.n.
R3
toward Tanvald
TerminusR4
toward Děčín hl.n.
Praha-Smíchov
(severní nástupiště)
toward Hostivice
S65Terminus
toward Beroun
S7Terminus
toward Úvaly
toward Čerčany
S8Terminus
toward Dobříš
S80
toward Strančice
or Benešov u Prahy
S9
Terminus
Terminus
Preceding station   Leo Express   Following station
Terminus   Leo Express   Pardubice hl.n.
toward Bohumín
Preceding station   RegioJet   Following station
Terminus   IC RegioJet   Pardubice hl.n.
toward Havířov

Local transport

The station is served by the Prague Metro's Line C, and numerous tram routes call outside the station.

Entrance hall (Before reconstruction)

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Prague Main railway station.
  1. ↑ "Wilson monument to be restored to Prague 70 years after being torn down by Nazis". Radio Prague. 30 April 2009.
  2. ↑ Ročenka dopravy Praha 2010
  3. ↑ "Czech station lease signed". Railway Gazette International. 1 February 2004.
  4. ↑ "Presidential opening for Praha Hlavní". Railway Gazette International. 29 May 2011.

Coordinates: 50°4′59″N 14°26′09″E / 50.08306°N 14.43583°E