The fourth Prague bridge downstream along the Vltava is the Railway Bridge. Interestingly, it actually has no official name. Its generic label "railway bridge" has become so established that it has turned into a proper name. Based on its location, it is sometimes also called the "Vyšehrad bridge".
The Railway Bridge carries the railway line from Smíchov Station to Prague Main Station. It thus connects right-bank Výtoň below Vyšehrad with left-bank Smíchov. Its predecessor was a single-track bridge that was 196.3 m long, with three piers and five arches. It too was made of steel.
The current bridge dates from 1900–1901 and is double-track. It is formed by three girders with a span of 69.9 m and a width of 8.1 m. It also has pedestrian footways attached on both sides. Curiously, in 1939, when right-hand traffic was introduced in Prague, pedestrians on this and several other Vltava bridges were obliged to use the left-hand footway.
Discussions about replacing the current bridge with a completely new one have been going on for some time, but no concrete decision has yet been taken. The advantage of a new bridge would be that it could be used not only by trains but also by cars, pedestrians and cyclists. It remains to be seen when, how and whether this plan will be carried out.
You can see the Railway Bridge on one of our longer cruises, such as the Prague Grand Cruise or the dinner cruise. You can choose which of our boats and steamboats from our fleet to sail on.
