Prague pneumatic post

Main control panel, showing the inlets, outlets and lane controllers

Prague pneumatic post (Czech: Pražská potrubní pošta) is the world's last preserved municipal pneumatic post system.[1] It is an underground system of metal tubes under the wider centre of Prague, totaling about 55 km (34 miles) in length.[2] The system started service in 1889 and remained in use by the government, banks and the media until it was rendered inoperative by the August 2002 European floods.[2]

Sold on by former owner Telefónica O2 Czech Republic after some limited attempts to make repairs,[3] the system now belongs to businessman Zdeněk Dražil, who has announced plans to repair and reopen it as a working tourist attraction.[4] As of 2017, however, it remains closed.[5]

  1. ^ Wertheim, Margaret. Bones to phones, New Scientist October 23, 1999; Volume 164; Issue 2209; Section: Features; Page 40
  2. ^ a b Lazarová, Daniela. Magazine 11-10-2003 Radio Prague 10 November 2003.
  3. ^ Pražská potrubní pošta letos slaví 120 let, iDNES 6 March 2007 (in Czech)
  4. ^ Richter, Jan (8 August 2012). "New owner promises bright future for world's largest pneumatic post system". radio.cz. Radio Praha. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  5. ^ Budanovic, Nikola (22 May 2017). "The last surviving municipal pneumatic tube transport system is in Prague". www.thevintagenews.com. Retrieved 13 November 2023.