Founded in 1974,[3] the system consists of three lines (A, B and C) serving 61 stations[Note 1] (predominantly with island platforms), and is 65.2 kilometres (40.5 mi) long.

The system is run by the Prague Public Transit Company Co. Inc. (Czech: Dopravní podnik hlavního města Prahy a.s. [cs], DPP), which also manages the other means of public transport around the city, including the trams, buses, five ferries, the funicular to Petřín Hill, and the chairlift inside the Prague Zoo.

This can often lead to confusion for those unfamiliar with the system[citation needed], especially at the central hubs such as Můstek or Muzeum.

Another proposal in 1926, by Bohumil Belada and Vladimír List, was the first to use the term "Metro", and though it was not accepted either, it served as an impulse for moving towards a real solution of the rapidly developing transport in Prague.

In the 1930s and 1940s, intensive projection and planning works took place, taking into account two possible solutions: an underground tramway (regular rolling stock going underground in the city center, nowadays described as a "premetro", "Stadtbahn" or "subway-surface") and a "true" metro having its own independent system of railways.

After World War II, all work was stopped due to the poor economic situation of the country, although the three lines, A, B and C, had been almost fully designed.

In the early 1960s the concept of the sub-surface tramway was finally accepted and on 9 August 1967 the building of the first station (Hlavní nádraží) started.

However, in the same year, a substantial change in the concept came, as the government, under the influence of Soviet advisers, decided to build a true metro system instead of an underground tramway.

During the construction of the metro, a Czech rolling stock manufacturer, ČKD Tatra Smíchov, was charged with designing the trains.

For example, Leninova station, which contained a giant bust of Vladimir Lenin before the Velvet Revolution, was renamed Dejvická after a nearby street and surrounding neighbourhood.

Other changes were: Dukelská – Nové Butovice, Švermova – Jinonice, Moskevská – Anděl, Sokolovská – Florenc, Fučíkova – Nádraží Holešovice, Gottwaldova – Vyšehrad, Mládežnická – Pankrác, Primátora Vacka – Roztyly, Budovatelů – Chodov, Družby – Opatov, Kosmonautů – Háje.

19 stations were flooded, causing a partial collapse of the transport system in Prague; the damage to the Metro has been estimated at approximately 7 billion CZK[16] (over US$225 million in exchange rate at that time).

The affected sections of the Metro stayed out of service for several months; the last station (Křižíkova, located in the most-damaged area – Karlín) reopened in March 2003.

Small gold plates have been placed at some stations to show the highest water level of the flood.

[18] After regular service on the first section of Line C began in 1974 between Florenc and Kačerov, building of extensions continued quite rapidly.

Line B was extended from Nové Butovice to Zličín in 1994 and from Českomoravská to Černý Most in 1998, and the Kolbenova and Hloubětín stations were opened in 2001.

Then the docks were flooded, and the floating tunnels were moved as a rigid complex to their final position, sunk, anchored, and covered.

According to current plans, the line will run for 11 kilometers and start in the city center and lead to Vršovice, Krč, Libuš, and Písnice.

In the beginning of the 21st century, there were discussions regarding it in the connection with plans to organise the Summer Olympic Games in Prague, which were however canceled.

[citation needed] The Praha sobě list endorsed the idea of a circular metro line during the run-up to the 2022 Prague municipal election.

Between I. P. Pavlova and Vyšehrad stations, Line C runs inside the box structure of the large Nusle Bridge over a steep valley.

[30] The entrance hall of the Hradčanská station still features the coat of arms of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and the motto Všechna moc v Československé socialistické republice patří pracujícímu lidu ("All the power in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic belongs to the working people"), which were parts of the station's original socialist-realist design.

During the communist period, rumours circulated that large "survival chambers" were being built for high officials of the government in case of a nuclear attack.

There are uniformed and plainclothes fare inspectors who randomly check passengers' tickets within the paid area.

As of 2019, single tickets and short term passes can be purchased online using the PID Lítačka smartphone app.

The announcement made through the public address system when the doors are closing, "Ukončete, prosím, výstup a nástup, dveře se zavírají" ("Please finish exiting and boarding, the doors are closing") has become a symbol of Prague for many tourists[citation needed], and is possibly the first clear Czech phrase many travelers hear.