New tram line Sídliště Modřany – Libuš

26. 05. 2023

On 26 May 2023, the Prague Public Transit Company ceremoniously opened a new section of the Sídliště Modřany – Libuš tram line. Regular operation started from Saturday, 27 May 2023. Below you will find out what the journey to the construction of the tram line was and what its final shape is.

In the area of Lhotka, Libuš, Kamýk and Modřany, a relatively large housing development has grown since the 1970s, served mainly by bus connections leading to the C line metro station – Kačerov. After the construction of the Barrandov Bridge and B line of the metro in 1985, a bus connection to the Smíchov Railway Station was also added for Lhotka and Modřany.

In 1995, a tram line was put into operation for the Modřany housing estate by extending it from Nádraží Braník. This construction clearly showed that a direct tram line to the city centre was a lucrative and intensively used offer for passengers. Already during the construction of the line to Modřany, it was considered to be extended by approximately 1.5 kilometres to Libuš to serve the apartment buildings located at the southern end of Novodvorská street, thus creating an alternative directional offer for the public transport. This construction, the completion of which was originally planned for 1996, was postponed for more than a quarter of a century in the end. The reason for the postponement was Prague's investment priorities and the intention to coordinate the construction of this line with the new metro line D. Thanks to the operational success of the trams in Modřany and the initiatives of the Praha – Libuš district, the plan to build an extension of the tram line to Libuš in advance of the construction of the metro D line was renewed in 2015. The construction was granted a valid zoning decision in July 2017, and roughly three and a half years later also a valid building permit. Two months later, in April 2021, the Prague Public Transit Company (DPP) announced a public contract for the construction’s contractor, with whom it concluded a contract in December 2021 and started the construction itself on 1 April 2022. The line was completed and put into trial operation on 26 May 2023, with regular operation starting on 27 May 2023.

Description of the new tram line Sídliště Modřany – Libuš

The new double-track tram line Sídliště Modřany – Libuš is an extension of the line from the existing Sídliště Modřany turning loop along Generála Šišky street and then Novodvorská Street to the Libuš stop, where it is ended by a temporary dead end. The Sídliště Modřany loop was prepared for this purpose already in 1995 during its construction. In Generála Šišky street, the line with three pairs of stops is routed on a separate tram body south of the road, i.e., separated from car traffic. In this section, it is type-wise a tram track on sleepers in a gravel bed with an open top, only in the places of crossings and passages or in the areas of the stops a paved or bituminous reinforced cover is used. The longitudinal slope of the track is the highest at 46.73 ‰, right at the beginning in the climb from the Sídliště Modřany loop to the Hasičská stanice Modřany stop.

The first stop in the direction of Libuš is Hasičská stanice Modřany (originally called Modřanský vodojem in the project documentation), which is located opposite the fire station of the same name. The next stop is Observatoř Libuš, which is located opposite the access road to the premises of the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute. The third stop Sídliště Libuš is located between Generála Šišky and Brunelova streets, roughly opposite Papírníkova street and about a hundred meters before the intersection of Generála Šišky, Meteorologická and Novodvorská streets. While the road itself in Generála Šišky street has not changed with the construction of the tram line up to these places, the area near the Sídliště Libuš stop has undergone more significant changes. The platform of the new stop in the direction of the centre is built in such a way that it serves for the joint check-in of both tram and bus connections.

Next comes the intersection of Generála Šišky, Novodvorská and Meteorologická streets, which, as part of the tram line construction, has been rebuilt from the original roundabout to a new light-controlled one. The tram line, which forms the fourth arm of the intersection, enters the axis of Novodvorská street here and continues with the grassy top to the area of the bus stops originally called Pavlíkova, renamed to Libuš with effect from 27 May 2023. In this place, the terminal Libuš tram stop of the same name has been established, which will also serve as a temporary turning loop. In the coming years, it will be followed by another extension of the tram line to the Nové Dvory transfer node, to the future metro D line station of the same name, where the line will end with a block loop. Based on the decision of the Council of the Capital City of Prague dated 2020, the Prague Public Transit Company has been planning to extend the tram line to Nové Dvory since February 2021.

Tram lines will serve here the existing Libuš housing estate as well as the new development. The new tram line will enable residents of the Libuš housing estate to have a direct connection to the city centre, but also to local destinations in nearby Modřany.

Functions of the new tram line Sídliště Modřany – Libuš

The new transport connection will serve not only the residents of the existing apartment buildings of the Libuš housing estate, but also the new residents of Libuš as part of the development of this part of the city. It will offer direct transport to Modřany, Braník, and further to the centre, e.g., Palackého náměstí or Staroměstská, without having to transfer. It will also provide an important inner-city connection between Libuš and the centre of Prague 12, to offices, medical facilities, shops or to relaxation at the Vltava River. With the commissioning of the new tram line, half of the connections of backbone tram line no. 17 have been extended to Libuš, and following this, an extensive reorganisation of the bus lines in the area has been carried out.

Permanent changes of the Prague Integrated Transport starting from 27 May 2023

This line will gain further importance with the completion of the construction of the Dvorecký Bridge, D line of the metro at least in the shortest operable section to the Nové Dvory station, and the second stage of the tram line to the Nové Dvory station. A tangential link with Prague 5 and a new alternative connection to the centre of Prague will be created. After the construction of the new metro line D, this tram line will gain a strong synergistic effect, when it is expected that the demand for public transport from Modřany will turn towards Nové Dvory, where passengers can reach by tram in about ten minutes. This effect will intensify after the completion of the northern part of D line of the metro to the centre of Prague on Náměstí Míru.

Basic milestones of the construction

Basic information about the construction:

• Track length: 1,750 metres
• Number of catenary poles installed: 43 concrete, 18 steel
• Length of catenary line: 4,100 metres
• Used rails: NT1 direct – 8,7 tonnes, S49 direct – 297,7 tonnes, B3 – 7,8 tonnes
• Number of sleepers: 4,962
• Orchard landscaping: 85 trees and 26,392 bushes have been planted
• Investor and client: Prague Public Transit Company
• Designer: METROPROJEKT Praha
• Contractor: OHLA ŽS and STRABAG Rail
• Estimated value of the public contract: CZK 350,000,000 (without VAT)
• Construction price according to the concluded contract: CZK 304,172,292 (without VAT)

The construction is co-financed from the Transport 2 Operational Programme of the European Structural and Investment Funds of the European Union.
Project registration number CZ.04. 1. 40/0.0/0.0/18_053/0000411.