Prague's main train station from Vinohradská Street

Praha hl.n. from Vinohradska Street

Back in the spring of 2015, my wife and I traveled to Prague, Czechia. On our second day in Prague we made our way over to Prague's main railway station where I spent an hour or so photographing the seemingly endless parade of passenger trains arriving and departing the station.The station's name in Czech is Praha hlavní nádraží, but is often shortened to Praha hl.n. The name in English means Prague main station.

The original station building was built in the late 19th Century, while the current station building was built in the early 20th Century. Originally, the station was called Franz Josef Station, after Franz Josef I, of Austria. It was later renamed twice, once before and once after World War II, as Wilson Station (Wilsonovo nádraží), after former United States President Woodrow Wilson. The street in front of the station, on its west side, is still named Wilsonova.

Praha hl.n. is the busiest train station in Czechia. The station handles local commuter trains; České dráhy's (Czech Railways) InterCity trains and regional trains; and international passenger trains, including EuroCity and RailJet trains. The station is also served by the Metro C (Red) subway line.

Additional train platforms at Praha hl.n.

In the above photograph a group of colorful buildings rises up behind the additional station platforms at Praha hl.n. The buildings sit along Seifertova Street, on the northern edge of the station complex. These platforms sit just outside of the main train shed, on the eastern side of the station. The station sits on a slightly northeast-southwest axis.

CD 471004-2 leading a CityElefant train on the S9 line

In this third photograph, a Czech Railways (České dráhy (ČD)) CityElefant passenger train departs Praha hl. n. for a run on the S9 Line, which runs from Prague to Benešov (Benešov u Prahy) via Říčany and Čerčany. The train is being lead by power car 471004-2. Built by Škoda, each of the train's two, three car train sets is made up of a Class 471 power car, a Class 071 passenger car, and a Class 971 cab car.

CD 362 085-3 at Praha hl. n.

Above, Czech Railways 362 085-3 (a Class 362 locomotive) is leading a passenger train out of Praha hl. n. From information I found online, the locomotive was built by Škoda. It has a max speed of 140 km/87 miles per hour and can run on both 25kV AC or 3000 V DC overhead power. This train was heading toward the tunnel entrance under Vinohradska Street. Trains that head south out of the station complex enter an approximately one kilometer long tunnel. The southern end of the tunnel is near Bělehradská street. When southbound trains exit the tunnel they will either head toward Praha-Vršovice station, or swing to the west and head across the Vltava River.

Photographs taken on April 30, 2015, at Prague, Czechia.