Line D is the fourth line of the Prague metro. Section I.D is to run from Náměstí Míru via Pankrác and Krč to Depo Písnice on the southern edge of the city and to have ten stations.[3] The whole route measures 10.6 kilometres and is to be the first in Prague operated automatically without a driver.[11][15] The investor is the Prague Public Transit Company (DPP), the designer is the firm Metroprojekt.[1]*

The 1970s: the south was to be served by a branch of line C

The first plans for line D date from the 1970s.[11] The concept of that time, last worked out in 1983, assumed a different route for line D, roughly along the right-bank tram line towards Palackého náměstí. The southern sector of the city was to be served by a branch of line C diverging at Pankrác station.[1] A junction intended for connecting the future line D was built on the southern side of Pankrác C station in the 1970s.[6] According to Metroprojekt, the growth of housing estates in the south of Prague exceeded the original assumptions, so it was decided that the line C branch would become a separate line D continuing to the north. The right-bank part of the southern city remained served by trams.[1]

1991–2001: Zálesí, Kačerov or Pankrác

In 1991 Metroprojekt drew up the brief for section I.D from Zálesí to Náměstí Míru, later extended by Nové Dvory station.[1] In 1992 it examined a variant crossing line C at Kačerov station. Of the studied transfer points to line A, Náměstí Míru was confirmed.[1]

In 1993 Metroprojekt compared, for the Nové Dvory–Hlavní nádraží section, a VAL-type rubber-tyred automatic metro and a light rail line, in corridor "P" via Pankrác as well as in corridor "K" via Kačerov. After assessment, the solution with a transfer station at Pankrác was confirmed, and the zoning plan is based on it.[1]

After 1993 preparation of line D stalled because the northern extension of line C took priority. In 2001 Metroprojekt re-examined the Nové Dvory–Náměstí Míru section to provide data for a building moratorium. In place of Zálesí station it proposed a Nemocnice Krč station by the Thomayer Hospital.[1]

2006–2012: light metro, or automation in the standard profile

A comparative study from 2006 rated a light automatic rubber-tyred metro as the most advantageous. The Prague City Council then stated in its policy statement for 2006–2010 that light metro parameters were to be preferred for line D.[1]

In 2010–2011 Metroprojekt prepared the documentation for the zoning decision and the EIA documentation for the Depo Písnice–Náměstí Míru section. The design assumed driverless automatic operation, a CBTC signalling system and platform screen walls, while tunnel and platform dimensions remained the same as on lines A, B and C.[1] The EIA opinion was issued on 2 November 2012.[2] By resolution No. 2241 of 18 December 2012 the City Council declared its intention to build the first stage Pankrác–Depo Písnice with a system compatible with the existing lines.[1]

2013–2015: the project, the zoning decision and driverless trains

On 8 October 2013 the Prague City Council approved the plan to build route I.D and its inclusion in the Operational Programme Transport 2014+.[1] According to the plans of that time the route was to be finished by 2022. The then mayor Tomáš Hudeček (TOP 09) said that the section from Náměstí Míru to Písnice would cost 60 billion crowns.[11]

In 2014 it was decided that the first section would also include Pankrác D station and that line D would be operationally independent. The zoning decision for the whole route Náměstí Míru–Depo Písnice became final in July 2014 after several appeals.[1] By resolution No. 1685 of 21 July 2015 the City Council decided on driverless operation.[2] On 22 July 2015 the Municipal Court in Prague annulled zoning plan amendment Z 2440/00, which defined the route corridor in the Pankrác–Depo Písnice section.[2]

2016–2019: land, phasing and the geological survey

In June 2016 DPP applied for a building permit for the Pankrác–Depo Písnice section without the train depot.[2] The City of Prague decided by an assembly resolution of 23 February 2017 to re-adopt the annulled zoning plan amendment.[2] A phasing study from 2017 recommended starting construction at Pankrác, where the station needs the longest construction time.[1]

In March 2018 the transport committee of the City Hall discussed an estimate of 39.7 billion crowns for the Pankrác–Depo Písnice section. DPP director general Martin Gillar said at the time that the company needed to reach agreement with the owners of 451 of the 655 plots required.[21] Owners of land at Arkády Pankrác withdrew their lawsuit against the zoning decision on 13 March 2019, owners of land at Nádraží Krč and Nemocnice Krč stations on 5 August 2019.[2] In 2019 Metroprojekt proposed the so-called Variant VI, which divided the Pankrác–Depo Písnice section into three phases: Pankrác–Olbrachtova, Olbrachtova–Nové Dvory with TBM tunnelling from Písnice, and finally Libuš, Písnice and Depo Písnice stations with the depot.[1]

The city council and assembly approved a supplementary geological survey in May 2019. Its ceremonial launch took place on 19 June 2019, and according to DPP the city leadership presented it as the start of construction of the whole route.[1] The chronology of the Prague metro on the DPP website gives this date as the start of construction of line D.[4] An amendment to the Railways Act allowing automatic metro operation has been in force since 13 December 2019.[2] DPP applied for a new building permit for Variant VI on 30 December 2019.[2]

2020–2022: objections, bias claims and the building permit

The schedule from early 2020 assumed construction starting on 1 July 2020 and the line opening on 31 December 2027.[5] The tender for the first section was challenged at the Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS) by the company Eurovia. The ÚOHS chairman rejected its appeal on 28 June 2021.[2] According to Seznam Zprávy, Eurovia also complained to the European Commission that the contract was tailored to a competitor.[23] On 29 June 2021 DPP signed the contract for the Pankrác–Olbrachtova section with the consortium of Subterra, HOCHTIEF CZ, STRABAG, HOCHTIEF Infrastructure and Ed. Züblin at a bid price of 13.75 billion crowns.[1]

On 12 May 2020 an objection of bias was filed in the proceedings against all officials of the City Hall including its director, and in the tree-felling proceedings also the mayor. Neither the Ministry of the Environment nor the Ministry of Transport upheld it.[2] The assembly approved the zoning plan amendment 2440/00 again on 22 April 2021.[2] The building permit for the Pankrác–Nové Dvory section was issued on 30 June 2021 and became final on 24 March 2022. The lawsuit of the Pankrácká společnost and residents of Kovařovicova Street was dismissed by the Municipal Court in Prague on 8 February 2023 and the cassation complaint by the Supreme Administrative Court on 2 August 2023.[2]

Construction of the first section I.D1a Pankrác–Olbrachtova ceremonially began on 21 April 2022. DPP expected 90 months of construction and the whole line opening at the end of 2029.[6] According to the then mayor Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates), it was the first start of construction of a new Prague metro line in more than 40 years.[6]

Olbrachtova–Nové Dvory: from a winner in September 2023 to a contract in April 2026

DPP announced the tender for the second section I.D1b on 30 May 2022 with an estimated price of 24.63 billion crowns.[1] Construction was to start in October 2023.[5] DPP describes the course of the tender as follows:[2]

  • On 5 September 2023 DPP excluded the consortium led by PORR and named the consortium led by Subterra as the winner.[2]
  • On 15 January 2024 ÚOHS annulled the selection at first instance, and on 13 March 2024 the DPP board also cancelled the selection.[2]
  • On 6 August 2024 DPP chose the same contractor a second time, ÚOHS annulled the selection on 28 January 2025 and on 9 April 2025 the chairman of the office closed the proceedings with the selection notice annulled.[2]
  • On 22 September 2025 the ÚOHS chairman confirmed the exclusion of the PORR, Vinci and Marti group, and on 29 September 2025 DPP chose Subterra for the third time.[2]
  • On 8 October 2025 the Regional Court in Brno prohibited signing the contract, on 10 February 2026 ÚOHS rejected the objections of Strabag, and on 27 February 2026 the Supreme Administrative Court lifted the interim measure.[2]
  • On 7 April 2026 DPP signed the contract with the consortium of Subterra, HOCHTIEF CZ, HOCHTIEF Infrastructure and BeMo Tunneling for 29.99 billion crowns excluding VAT.[2]

Deputy mayor for transport Jaromír Beránek said in April 2026 that Prague had lost 2.5 years because of the dispute between contractor consortia. He estimated the social costs of each year without line D at roughly ten billion crowns in today's prices.[16] The chairman of the DPP supervisory board Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates) said at the construction launch on 19 June 2026 that the unsuccessful bidder had used "all possible and impossible ways". Opposition assembly member Adam Scheinherr (Praha Sobě) said the same day that he had handed the prepared tender over to the current coalition and that completing it had taken the whole electoral term.[13]

Ten stations and three operating sections

Section I.D1 Pankrác–Nové Dvory has an operating length of 4.6 kilometres, the following section I.D2 to Depo Písnice 3.8 kilometres and section I.D3 from Pankrác to Náměstí Míru 2.7 kilometres.[3] Until the Písnice depot is finished, trains are to run out of the Kačerov depot via a 468-metre link between lines C and D.[6] Stations from the north:

  • Náměstí Míru: a mined single-vault station above the existing line A station in Prague 2, prepared for continuation to the centre.[3]
  • Nusle (working name Náměstí Bratří Synků): a cut-and-cover station with an island platform.[3][14]
  • Pankrác: a single-vault transfer station with side platforms, tracks 33 metres below the surface, the largest station on the line.[6]
  • Ryšánka (working name Olbrachtova): the first mined double-vault station of the Prague metro, with platforms on a curve.[6]
  • Nádraží Krč: the only surface station of the line, with platforms on a bridge over the Kunratický potok valley and with the control centre for the whole of line D.[15]
  • Nemocnice Krč: a cut-and-cover station by the Thomayer Hospital, tracks 17 metres below ground.[15]
  • Nové Dvory: a mined single-vault station with the platform 33 metres below ground and a junction for a future branch towards Modřany.[15]
  • Libuš: a cut-and-cover station along Novodvorská Street, rail head about 13 metres below ground.[9]
  • Písnice: a cut-and-cover station with a bus terminal and a park-and-ride for 396 cars.[3]
  • Depo Písnice: a cut-and-cover terminus with a train depot and a park-and-ride for 873 cars.[3]

On 31 August 2026 the Prague City Council approved the names Nusle and Ryšánka. It did not approve the proposals Tempo for Nové Dvory, Sídliště Písnice for Písnice and Prameny for Depo Písnice.[14] The dispute over the name Olbrachtova began with criticism that the writer Ivan Olbracht had been a communist. Zdeněk Hřib recommended renaming, and Ladislav Kudrna, director of the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes, expressed a similar view.[16][14]

From 60 to 120 billion: cost estimates

Estimates differ in the extent of the section and in price level:

  • Mayor Tomáš Hudeček (TOP 09) gave 60 billion crowns for the Náměstí Míru–Písnice section.[11]
  • 13 March 2018: a document for the City Hall transport committee gave 39.7 billion for the Pankrác–Depo Písnice section, of which 21 billion for tunnels and entrance halls, 6.5 billion for trains and the control system, and 5.7 billion for depots and car parks.[21]
  • 21 March 2019: deputy mayor Adam Scheinherr told the assembly 72 billion for the Písnice–Náměstí Míru route, of which, according to Metroprojekt, 57 billion for the Depo Písnice–Pankrác section. Opposition member Petr Stuchlík (ANO) criticised the increase.[22]
  • June 2021: a presentation by DPP director Petr Witowski for the assembly gave 97.8 billion against 72.6 billion calculated two years earlier. According to it, every year of delay costs two to four billion in inflation.[23]
  • July 2021: according to Pražský deník, the estimate for the five-station Pankrác–Nové Dvory section was 52 billion crowns.[25]
  • 21 April 2022: DPP gave 97.79 billion for the whole I.D route and 14.54 billion for the Pankrác–Olbrachtova section including monitoring.[6]
  • June 2025: the daily E15 wrote that the latest estimate was 120 billion crowns.[24]

Added to this are awarded and announced contracts: 13.75 billion for building the Pankrác–Olbrachtova section[1], 29.99 billion excluding VAT for the Olbrachtova–Nové Dvory section[2] and an estimated 3.755 billion excluding VAT for Libuš station.[9] The tender for automatic trains and the transport system for lines C and D has an estimated value of roughly 86 billion crowns excluding VAT.[20]

A 22.76 billion loan from the European Investment Bank

In 2014 the city negotiated co-financing from European Union funds, and the project was listed among the major projects of the Operational Programme Transport 2014+.[1] In June 2022 Prague assembly members approved a loan from the European Investment Bank equivalent to roughly 22.76 billion crowns, intended to cover about half of the costs.[12] In July 2021 Minister for Regional Development Klára Dostálová (ANO) promised that the state would contribute to Prague for line D and the city ring road, without naming an amount.[25]

Status as of 2 October 2026

On the first section, according to the DPP overview as of 25 September 2026, all tunnelling work in the Pankrác–Ryšánka running section has been completed. For October and November 2026, vault concreting is planned at Pankrác D station and secondary lining concreting and work on entrance halls at Ryšánka station.[10] Olbrachtova station was fully excavated in October 2025 after 19 months of tunnelling.[19] The reconstructed Pankrác C station opened on 19 December 2025.[1]

Construction of the Olbrachtova–Nové Dvory section ceremonially began on 19 June 2026. It is to take 72 months and be carried out from 13 construction sites.[7] On 18 September 2026 tunnelling began on the roughly 300-metre access and ventilation tunnel of Nové Dvory station, which is to last until the end of the first quarter of 2027.[8]

On 20 September 2026 the DESU authority issued the project permit for the Nové Dvory–Libuš section, with legal force expected in October 2026.[2] On 2 October 2026 DPP announced the tender for Libuš station with a construction period of 54 months. Deputy mayor Beránek said the station could open together with the first section in 2032.[9] The EIA opinion is valid until 31 December 2026. Under an amendment signed on 17 September 2026 it can be extended for the metro too, and DPP will apply by the end of the year.[2]

For the Pankrác–Náměstí Míru section DPP expects to announce tenders in April 2027.[2] According to the schedule cited by Zdopravy.cz in February 2026, construction is to start in spring 2029, last 84 months and end in 2036.[18] DPP has also commissioned a feasibility study for a 2.2-kilometre extension from Náměstí Míru via Hlavní nádraží to Náměstí Republiky, with construction expected in 2037–2044.[18] In the tender for automatic trains, Alstom and a consortium of Siemens Mobility and Škoda Transportation continue in the negotiation phase. So far 69 trains have been assumed, 16 of them for line D.[20]

Six opening dates

  • October 2013: the route from Pankrác to Písnice was to be completed by 2022.[11]
  • Early 2020: opening on 31 December 2027.[5]
  • 21 April 2022: opening of the whole route at the end of 2029.[6]
  • 7 April 2026: according to Zdopravy.cz, "2031 is being mentioned" for the section from Pankrác to Písnice.[17]
  • 9 April 2026: deputy mayor Beránek gave the opening of the first part as roughly mid-2032 and reaching Depo Písnice in the optimistic case in 2034–2035.[16]
  • 19 June 2026: DPP expects the Pankrác–Nové Dvory section to open in the second half of 2032.[7]

Chronology

  • 1983: last documentation of the concept with a line C branch to the south.[1]
  • 18 Dec 2012: the City Council chooses a system compatible with lines A, B and C.[1]
  • 8 Oct 2013: the City Council approves the plan to build route I.D.[1]
  • July 2014: the zoning decision Náměstí Míru–Depo Písnice becomes final.[1]
  • 21 Jul 2015: the City Council decides on driverless operation.[2]
  • 19 Jun 2019: ceremonial launch of the geological survey.[1]
  • 29 Jun 2021: contract for the Pankrác–Olbrachtova section for 13.75 billion.[1]
  • 21 Apr 2022: construction of the Pankrác–Olbrachtova section begins.[6]
  • June 2022: the assembly approves the European Investment Bank loan.[12]
  • 7 Apr 2026: contract for the Olbrachtova–Nové Dvory section for 29.99 billion excluding VAT.[2]
  • 19 Jun 2026: construction of the Olbrachtova–Nové Dvory section begins.[7]
  • 31 Aug 2026: the City Council approves the names Nusle and Ryšánka.[14]
  • 18 Sep 2026: tunnelling begins at Nové Dvory.[8]
  • 2 Oct 2026: tender for Libuš station.[9]

What is known as of 2 October 2026

Two sections with five of the ten stations are under construction: Pankrác–Ryšánka since April 2022 and Ryšánka–Nové Dvory since June 2026.[7] DPP gives the opening of the Pankrác–Nové Dvory section as the second half of 2032.[7] In April 2022 it had expected the whole route to open at the end of 2029.[6] The contract prices of the two sections under construction are 13.75 billion and 29.99 billion excluding VAT.[1][2] The latest published estimate for the whole route is 120 billion crowns; in 2022 DPP gave 97.79 billion.[24][6] A tender for Libuš station has been open since 2 October 2026.[9] Písnice and Depo Písnice stations and the Pankrác–Náměstí Míru section do not yet have a contractor.[7][2]

Sources

  1. Dopravní podnik hl. m. Prahy
  2. Dopravní podnik hl. m. Prahy
  3. Dopravní podnik hl. m. Prahy
  4. Dopravní podnik hl. m. Prahy
  5. Dopravní podnik hl. m. Prahy
  6. Dopravní podnik hl. m. Prahy — 21 April 2022
  7. Dopravní podnik hl. m. Prahy — 19 June 2026
  8. Dopravní podnik hl. m. Prahy — 18 September 2026
  9. Dopravní podnik hl. m. Prahy — 2 October 2026
  10. Dopravní podnik hl. m. Prahy — 25 September 2026
  11. ČT24 (Česká televize) — 21 April 2022
  12. ČeskéNoviny.cz (ČTK) — 17 June 2022
  13. ČeskéNoviny.cz (ČTK) — 19 June 2026
  14. ČeskéNoviny.cz (ČTK) — 31 August 2026
  15. Zdopravy.cz — 19 June 2026
  16. Zdopravy.cz — 9 April 2026
  17. Zdopravy.cz — 7 April 2026
  18. Zdopravy.cz — 16 February 2026
  19. Zdopravy.cz — 30 October 2025
  20. Zdopravy.cz — 19 May 2026
  21. Pražský deník — 13 March 2018
  22. E15 — 21 March 2019
  23. Seznam Zprávy — 17 June 2021
  24. E15 — 27 June 2025
  25. Pražský deník — 20 July 2021