Terminal decay

České dráhy receives little developer interest in program to revitalize dilapidated train stations

While the modernization of Prague’s main train station is underway and on schedule, an ambitious program to renovate smaller stations throughout the country in cooperation with private business is faltering, according to the effort’s architect, the state-controlled railway company České dráhy (ČD).
“We expected more interest from local investors for the regional stations,” said spokeswoman Markéta Krausová. “But instead, large national developers are showing interest, and only to a limited degree.”
Since it began last year, the program — called Živá nádraží (“Living Stations”) — originally aimed to refurbish 120 stations, but has since halved its goals, offering tenders for 60 stations of varying sizes scattered throughout the country. And the market has had a subdued reaction to this reduced offering, with only 15 signed deals to renovate stations, and those contracts largely taking place in cities.
Not all cities are alluring for developers, either, as firms seek locations that have the room needed for proper retail stores. In the program’s second round of tenders last year, not one company bid on the leasing contract for the main station in Plzeň, west Bohemia — a city of 160,000.
Negotiations with another development company for Plzeň are ongoing, Krausová said. Businesses seem reluctant to commit the 360 million Kč ($18.5 million) required for the renovation when they are uncertain of what return they will get in a cramped building that is protected as a historical monument, she added.
Even if no investors are found, ČD will not abandon the remaining regional stations to their fate — but it will not renovate them, either. Only necessary repairs will be made, as modernization of the vehicle fleet is a priority.
In a worst-case scenario, this could lead to the long-term neglect that plagued Prague’s Vyšehrad station, which was built in 1905 and slipped into disrepair since the 1960s — although, on a positive note, ČD recently sold the closed Vyšehrad station to the investor TIP Estate for 42.5 million Kč.
Train and a haircut
One developer that has enthusiatically adopted the Živá nádraží program is AŽD Praha, which signed a deal to revitalize a railway complex that spreads across 27 buildings in Kolín, 55 kilometers (34 miles) east of Prague.
“The reconstruction will bring life into the station,” said Miroslav Kozák, AŽD Praha’s financial director. “New commercial rental space will be created and new buildings will be constructed in the direction of the city center in the last stage of development.”
The station covers 83.1 hectares and about 10,000 travelers pass through daily to board trains leaving in five directions. During peak hours, almost 1,000 potential customers will pass through the station’s new shopping center.
Originally a manufacturer of railroad signaling equipment, AŽD Praha employs 170 workers in Kolín. It also has plans for Havlíčkův Brod, another station it has leased from ČD, and is preparing to remove the walls surrounding the existing ticket counters to create more open space, Kozák said.
“People will go to the train station not only to travel, but also to go shopping or get a haircut,” he said. “It’s going to be a place where you meet people and feel comfortable.”
Spa fallout
The most prominent part of the Živá nádraží program is the reconstruction of Prague’s main train station, which began last December and will last another five years, according to Grandi Stazioni, the Italian company leading the effort. The firm — co-owned by Italian Railways, Pirelli, France’s SNCF and others — is financing half of the development costs, estimated at 1 billion Kč, with the other half coming from Živnostenská banka.
As part of what was a package deal, Grandi Stazioni had to commit itself to modernizing stations at two major spa towns in west Bohemia, Mariánské Lázně and Karlovy Vary, to win the Prague contract. Construction is set to break ground at the former this month, but the latter has led to some disagreement between Grandi Stazioni and ČD.
“The situation is getting more complicated in Karlovy Vary, because the station building is in worse condition than anticipated,” said Grandi Stazioni spokesman Martin Hamšík.
The costs of a major overhaul will go beyond the scope of agreed investments, and Grandi Stazioni is renegotiating the contract with ČD, he said.
“The situation is worst in Karlovy Vary,” agreed Lukáš Hübner, president of the Association of Railway Customers. “The building is close to falling down and cannot be reconstructed. It’s anyone’s guess when construction work will begin.”
As for fears that the new shopping centers at railway stations would squeeze out existing shops in city centers? Those are unfounded, he said, since people will rarely go to train stations just for shopping.