The Czech railway company (Ceske drahy), which is currently renovating rail systems across the country, considers the railway bridge (the most common name is Zeleznicni most) unsuitable for the expected increase in rail traffic. The maintenance as a busy traffic artery is too complex and expensive due to the corrosion and therefore unrealistic, it is argued. A modern construction is to replace the bridge.
The move immediately provoked angry reactions. Monument preservationists, architects and the city administration rose to the barricades – the continued operation of the original, which had been classified as a national cultural monument since 2004, was demanded. A petition pleading for the preservation of the more than 120-year-old structure from 1901 (at that time it was called Kaiser-Franz-Josef-Eisenbahnbrücke) received more than 6,000 signatures after the publication of the new building plans.
Study gives opponents a boost
The outcry also called Transport Minister Martin Kupka into action, as the Guardian recently reported – he called a special meeting attended by bridge engineers and the railway administration to find a solution. While the railway administration argued with the costs incurred, critics countered that the dilapidated condition of the bridge was due to a failure to prioritize repairs.
However, a feasibility study commissioned by the Prague city administration came to the conclusion that gives the critics a boost: the preservation of the bridge is “technically feasible”, they said – the structure also has “sufficient structural capacity to accommodate the bridge expected future train traffic, including higher train loads and higher train frequencies”. This refuted the claims that the bridge could no longer be saved.
“Meaning for Prague like Eiffel Tower for Paris”
Adam Scheinherr, Deputy Mayor of Prague responsible for transport infrastructure and cultural monuments of the city, described the preservation of the structure as a priority: “The most important thing about the bridge is that it is part of the panorama of Prague. The people of Prague cannot imagine the city without them. When you see films set in Prague, the railway bridge is almost always there.”
The chairman of the Club for the Preservation of Old Prague, Richard Biegel, said the railway administration’s plans showed a “lack of empathy”. “It (the bridge) is part of something emblematic of Prague,” the historian was quoted as saying. “The importance of the bridge to Prague is like that of the Eiffel Tower to Paris. It is also important as an ongoing element of the industrial revolution era in the city.”
“A shame”
Ian Firth, a leading civil engineer specializing in bridge construction, takes a similar view. He co-authored a report around the turn of the millennium that recommended keeping the structure as either a pedestrian or single-track railway system, but possibly moving it 50 meters to sit next to a new, unobtrusive railway bridge.
“They weren’t interested and had already made up their minds,” says Firth. “But throwing away the existing bridge is a shame because it is a magnificent structure. Imagine the world outcry if Tower Bridge in London had been declared unsound and those responsible had decided to demolish it and build something else,” said Firth.
