Praha hlavní nádraží

Prague main railway station Praha hlavní nádraží Template:Cz
Prague main train station - Praha hlavní nádraží.
General information
Location	Czech Republic
Owned by	České dráhy SŽDC
Platforms	8
Construction
Architect	Vojtěch Ignác Ullmann Antonín Viktor Barvitius Josef Fanta
History
Opened	14 December 1871 (1871-12-14)
Rebuilt	1901–1909 1972–1979
Electrified	1926–1928

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 ([Wilsonovo nádraží] Error: {{Lang-xx}}: text has italic markup (help)) 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. A new statue of Wilson was installed in 2012. In 2010, the station served 132,560 trains and 22 million passengers.

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 partial refurbishment of the station was completed by Italian company Grandi Stazioni, which has leased retail space for 30 years from 2002. In 2016 Grandi Stazioni has lost the concession after failing to complete the renovation of the historic building by the extended contractual deadline.

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

The former main entrance, now the entrance to Fanta's Cafe (Fantova Kavárna)

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. Services to Moravia, Silesia, Slovakia and Poland are also operated by open - access train operators LEO Express and RegioJet and Arriva vlaky

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
Terminus		Railjet		Pardubice hl.n. 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
Template:Esko stations toward Template:Esko stations		Template:Esko lines		Template:Esko stations toward Template:Esko stations
		Template:Esko lines		Template:Esko stations toward Template:Esko stations
Terminus		Template:Esko lines		Template:Esko stations toward Template:Esko stations
Template:Esko stations toward Template:Esko stations		Template:Esko lines		Terminus
Template:Esko stations toward Template:Esko stations		Template:Esko lines		Terminus
				Template:Esko stations toward Template:Esko stations
Template:Esko stations toward Template:Esko stations		Template:Esko lines		Terminus
Template:Esko stations toward Template:Esko stations		Template:Esko lines
Template:Esko stations toward Template:Esko stations		Template:Esko lines		Template:Esko stations toward Template:Esko stations
				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

Bus services

In front of the main station building are situated bus stops towards Český Krumlov, České Budějovice, Tábor and other Czech cities. Also Airport Express bus service to Václav Havel Airport Prague maintained by České dráhy departs from Wilsonova street in front of the historical building.

Local transport

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

See also

• Hlavní nádraží (Prague Metro)
• Praha Masarykovo nádraží
• Nové Spojení