To say that Prague's Hlavní nádraží, or main train station, isn't pretty is an understatement.

For many travelers, the station is their first glimpse of Prague, and this is what they see: grimy fluorescent-lit halls, sausage stands and suspicious looking individuals lolling about the main entrance. On cold nights the station's main hall doubles as a dormitory for the city's homeless population. Prostitutes and drug addicts lurk nearby.

All of this is about to change, however.

Grandi Stazioni Česká Republika, the daughter company of Italy's Grandi Stazioni, signed a 30-year lease with Czech Railways (ČD) for the main station in 2003 and is planning a massive renovation of the once proud Art Nouveau building. Work is set to begin this summer and continue until 2009.

ČD officials are assuring travelers the station will remain open, with only parts of the main hall closed at any given time. Train schedules are to remain unchanged.

The reconstruction, estimated to cost 660 million Kč ($28.5 million), will transform the station into something akin to a shopping mall, introducing 11,000 square meters (36,089 square feet) of new retail space and delivering glitzy new shop windows and high-end stores to much of what is now the station's main hall.

From fried chicken to Fendi

Converting old train stations into shopping galleries is a growing trend around Europe as railway companies struggle to stay afloat.

"The original function of train stations is changing," says Patrik Kotas, the chief architect of the project. "Less space is needed for passenger dispatching, so a lot of train stations now have all these dead areas that aren't being used."

Grandi Stazioni currently operates some 13 stations in Italy, including the reconstructed main train station in Rome. The company is also leasing two additional stations in the Czech Republic — one in Karlovy Vary and one in Mariánské Lázně — both of which are undergoing renovations similar to Prague's.

All across Europe train stations are increasingly beginning to resemble airport terminals, with their multitude of shops and open-concept lounges. Berlin's new main train station, scheduled to open in June, will fit neatly into this trend, with its huge arched glass roof and ample shopping galleries.

But it's not just about increasing commercial space, says Kotas. "It's also about creating space for social interaction. No one would want this station to simply become a shopping mall. A train station should be a meeting place."

Kotas says he can't see why a train station couldn't be a place where a family goes on a Sunday to spend time together browsing the shops.

The spirit of the '70s

Prague's main station, which sees some 100,000 passengers course through it daily, was built in the early 20th century in an opulent, ornamental style typical for that time period.

The building's dome ceiling used to dominate what was once the main hall. Today very few passengers pass through this historical section, which is on the upper level, unless they are headed to Fantova kavárna, the cafe named after architect Josef Fanta, who designed the original building.

The main hall travelers know today was built in the 1970s, featuring big open spaces, massive columns and glass towers. Architects today agree it was one of the most significant architectural projects of its time to come from the Eastern bloc.

Which is why some worry that any renovation of the train station will cause it to lose some of its original character.

"The commercial influence these days is very strong," says Jan Bočan, an architect who helped design the station's reconstruction in the 1970s and advised on the current project.

The new layout the station is to have has changed during the last months from one with winding corridors to a ground plan that still offers direct access from the main hall to the platforms.

"No one cared if the new layout would let people run to catch their train," Bočan says of initial plans. "The main concern was that people pass as many shops as possible on the way."

Still, Bočan says he is well aware that buildings need to evolve to meet the needs of a changing society. "The trend around the world is such that a station without shops would end up very poor," he says. First and foremost, though, Bočan says, the building should be a train station: "Its function as a shopping mall should be secondary."

Alena Šrámková, another architect who worked on the 1970s reconstruction, says she is worried the final project will not take into account the recommendations of the authors of the 1970s main hall.

Kotas says one of the key conditions of the reconstruction is that it will maintain the character of main hall. "I wouldn't want the space to become fragmented," he says. "I want to preserve the spirit of the 1970s."