Line E (), also referred to as Metro O or officially as the "new tangential line", is a proposed fifth line of the Prague Metro. Unlike the existing lines, which run radially from the outskirts through the city centre, Line E would form a tangential, partly circular route connecting the other lines outside the historic centre. As of September 2026, the route, the location of interchange stations and the transport technology are subject to a feasibility study.
History The idea of a line connecting parts of Prague outside the centre dates back to the 1980s, when a preliminary route was defined by Metroprojekt, at a time when planners expected the city to grow mainly in its eastern sector. In 2021 the Prague Institute of Planning and Development (IPR) included a reserve for the line in the new land-use plan (Metropolitní plán), and in June 2023 the governing coalition of the city council supported the tangential route in a resolution. The city council had already discussed a tender for a study of a fifth, circular metro line in 2022, when the project was referred to as Metro O.
On 7 September 2026 the Prague City Council approved the commissioning of a feasibility study, which is coordinated and partly prepared by IPR and is expected to take about one and a half years. The study is also to examine whether Line D should terminate at Náměstí Republiky or continue to Žižkov, where it could connect with Line E.
Route According to the preliminary route published by IPR, Line E would run from Nádraží Smíchov through Pankrác/Budějovická, Eden, Želivského, Nádraží Libeň, Vysočanská and Letňany to Terminál Sever, a planned terminal in Letňany connected to the future high-speed railway. The line would connect with Line A at Želivského, Line B at Nádraží Smíchov and Vysočanská, Line C at Budějovická and Letňany, and Line D at Pankrác, which could become an interchange between three lines. The exact location of some interchanges, such as Pankrác or Budějovická and Želivského or Ohrada, has not been decided.
Technology and costs The feasibility study is to compare three technologies: a surface rapid tram, a rubber-tyred hybrid system, and a conventional underground metro. The line would be about long and could partly run above ground to reduce costs; according to deputy mayor for transport Jaromír Beránek, it could be used by almost 900,000 passengers per day. Beránek stated that a journey between Bohdalec and Žižkov freight station would take about 3.5 minutes instead of the current 25 minutes with a transfer. The cost of a line built in conventional tunnels has been estimated at around 220 billion CZK.
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