- Pardubice hlavní nádraží
Pardubice main railway station (Czech "Pardubice hlavní nádraží") is one of the largest
railway station s in theCzech Republic , located near the city centre ofPardubice , an important railway network hub.Name
The complete name of the station in Czech is "Uzlová železniční stanice Pardubice, hlavní nádraží", as "railway junction Pardubice, main station".
History
Work on railway connecting
Prague andOlomouc started in 1842 and the line was finished in1845 . The construction was led byJan Perner . A small railway station was opened on the same year, with four tracks, aroundhouse ("výtopna") for eightsteam locomotives and passenger hall covering two tracks. The building still exists and is used by the railway operator.A line between
Liberec and Pardubice was built during 1855 - 1859. In1859 , a new railway station was opened and used for both lines. A line between Pardubice and Německý Brod (now "Český Brod") was built during 1869 - 1871. Access to the railway turned a small town into a large industrial city.In 1908, the station building was coupled with a glass hall over two tracks. In 1910, a locomotive repair shop was set up; it was rebuilt in 1924.
Factories in the city built
short-line railroad spurs to the main station: 37 lines in 1908 and new ones added after the war. Since the 1960s, this number dropped to 19 in 2000, and even these are not fully utilized. [http://pshzd.wz.cz/vlecky.html See details] .Pardubice, a city with large petrochemical factories, was bombed several times during
World War II . An air raid onAugust 24 1944 damaged the station. All lines were shattered and the passenger hall was destroyed. After the war, repairs had started and on October 1945 traffic was restored.New station
Architects Karel Řepa and Josef Danda started to work on new station in 1947. Their design was single floor large passenger hall with complete infrastructure connected to a seven story administrative building. During 1951 - 1960,a block of flats was added to the complex. The new station was opened on
May 1 1958 .Since 1956 the lines in Pardubice are getting electrified and this process still continues. Work on high-speed railway corridor from
Děčín toBřeclav (part of a Pan-European corridor) going through Pardubice had started in 1993 and was largely completed by 2004.The station today
The main railway station, operated by
České Dráhy , is an important hub for both passenger and freight traffic. The station has connections to Prague,Brno ,Vienna ,Bratislava ,Budapest and other cities and is served byInterCity ,EuroCity ,Pendolino and local trains.After decades of use, the passenger hall became a rather dingy place where city homeless concentrate. Reconstruction of stations in Pardubice and in neighbouring
Hradec Králové is planned [http://www.zelpage.cz/comment.php?id=1775&w=n as of 2005] with intent to make them more attractive to the public.Small railway stations in Svítkov and Rosice nad Labem, districts of Pardubice, handle local traffic. A
Railway museum in Rosice nad Labem , opened in 2005, documents the history of railways in the region.Provided services
(as of 2006)
* customer centre ofČeské Dráhy
* restaurant, wine shop and several fast food stalls
* bookstore
* hotel in station hall [http://hotel-sirius.wz.cz/index.php]
* movie theatre in station hall [http://cdpardubice.blog.cz/0605/kino-sirius]
* lounge for 1st class passengersConnection with other transport
The central
bus station of the city lies a short walk away. There is a taxi stand and a city bus stop in front of the station hall.There is a direct
short-line railroad line toPardubice Airport [http://www.airport-pardubice.cz/?lang=en] exists as well as a direct bus connection. A short-line railroad toLabe ("Elbe")river port will be built in the future.External links
All texts are in
Czech language .
* [http://pshzd.wz.cz/155letPce.html History of railway in Pardubice, photos]
* [http://cdpardubice.blog.cz/ Unofficial website of the station] (with up-to-date details)
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.