On Thursday, October 31, the Czech Senate approved the amendments to the law on railway transport, which allow the use of trains without drivers.

The construction of a new fourth metro line in Prague, which will be marked by “D” letter and blue color, will begin by the section from Pankrác to the Olbrachtova station and it should cost 39.7 billion crowns. The first section will also test the operation in automatic mode – without drivers, which will speed up the putting line D to operation.

Construction will be preceded by an archaeological survey that is set to begin this summer and is expected to take about a year.

Construction works on the line will be launched at Pankrác station, outside the Arkády shopping mall. This is where the tunnel boring machines will be brought under the ground. Construction of the Metro’s D route was originally supposed to start in 2010, but it was postponed due to various reasons, including problems with acquiring all of the lands.

The completion of the metro D construction will also mean a significant improvement in the environment. The amount of pollutants is expected to decrease by almost 60 tons per year. At the same time, the number of cars heading to the center will fall by more than 18 million a year.

Metro D is a planned subway line that will connect the city center to neighborhoods in the southern part of the city that now has poor public transportation options. The trains will be driverless.

According to City Hall, the first section of Metro D between Pankrác to Nové Dvory, should be put into operation by the end of 2027.

The Metro D line has faced numerous delays. Construction was originally supposed to start in 2010. There was a petition in 2016 to change the approved designs for the stations between Pankrác to Písnice because the designs are already outdated, and do not reflect current trends in mass transit.