Pardubice Hlavní Nádraží

Pardubice hlavní nádraží (English: Pardubice main railway station) is a railway station in Pardubice in the Czech Republic. It is one of the largest railway stations in the country. It is located about west-south-west from city centre of Pardubice, and an important railway network hub.

History

Work on the railway connecting Prague and Olomouc started in 1842 and the line was finished in 1845. The construction was led by Jan Perner. A small railway station was opened on the same year, with four tracks, a roundhouse (''výtopna'') for eight steam 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. In 1859, a new railway station was opened and used for both lines. A line between Pardubice and Německý Brod (now Havlíčkův 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 industrial sidings to the main station: 37 lines had been constructed in 1908 and new ones were added after the war. Since the 1960s, this number dropped to 19 in 2000, and even these are not fully utilized.

Pardubice, a city with large petrochemical factories, was bombed several times during World War II. An air raid on 24 August 1944 damaged the station. All lines were shattered and the passenger hall was destroyed. After the war, repairs started and in October 1945 traffic was restored.

New station

Architects Karel Řepa and Josef Danda started to work on the new station in 1947. Their design was a 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 have been electrified and work on improving them still continues. Work on the international railway corridor from Děčín to Břeclav (part of a Pan-European corridor) going through Pardubice had started in 1993 and was largely completed by 2004.

The station housed Sirius cinema, which closed at the end of 2006 after the first multiplex cinema opened in Pardubice. By 2023 the space had been converted into a hall. The station also formerly hosted a hotel, which was converted and reopened in 2023 as a training centre for Správa železnic – the Czech Railway Administration – at a cost of 574 million Czech koruna.

The station today

The main railway station, operated by Správa železnic, 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 by InterCity, EuroCity, Pendolino and local trains. In station daily services of Arriva vlaky, České dráhy, LEO Express and RegioJet are operated.

After decades of use, the passenger hall became a rather dingy place where homeless people concentrate. In 2005, the reconstruction of stations in Pardubice and in neighbouring Hradec Králové began, with the intent to make them more attractive to the public. A four-year renovation project of the station, costing more than 6 billion koruna, resulted in new platforms and signalling equipment. A footbridge connecting the station with the , spanning , was completed in May 2024 as part of the work.

Pardubice has seven other railway stops in the city other than the main station. The stops Pardubice - Opočínek, Svítkov, Pardubičky and Černá za Bory are on the main line between Prague and Česká Třebová. Three more stops: Pardubice - Semtín, Rosice nad Labem and Pardubice závodiště, are on the train line connecting Hradec Králové with Havlíčkův Brod. An additional station, Pardubice centrum, opened in June 2024 to operate as a terminus for local trains to Hradec Králové and Chrudim.

Provided services

* customer centre of Czech Railways
* restaurant and several fast food stalls
* bookstore
* lounge for first class passengers

Connection with other transport

The central bus station of the city is located in the vicinity of the station. There is a taxi stand in front of the station hall.

References

External links

History of railway in Pardubice, photos

Unofficial website of the station
(with up-to-date details)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pardubice Hlavni Nadrazi
Railway stations in Pardubice Region
hlavni nadrazi
Anton Jüngling railway stations
Railway stations in the Czech Republic opened in 1845