Design works for Polish high-speed rail project begin
Poland’s first high-speed railway between the Polish capital of Warsaw and the city of Łódź is taking shape with the award of the first design contracts for the 140-kilometre line by project organisation CPK.
The first package for the project is split into three parts: the section from Warsaw to the village Bolimów, roughly the halfway point of the proposed railway, the section from Bolimów to Łódź and, third, a deal for the GSM-R network. The latter task will be performed by BPK Poznań, while the sections of railway will be designed by Biuro Projektów Metroprojekt and Egis, respectively. The entire package is valued at 300 million Polish zloty or 64 million euros.
Reduction in travel time
Trains on will be able to travel at a speed of 250 kilometres per hour on the new high-speed line, which will have a design speed of 350 kilometres per hour. Travel time between Warsaw and Łódź will be cut un half to 45 minutes. Once the second stage of the project onward to Poznań is complete, travellers will need only 2 hours instead of 3 to get to Warsaw.
Preliminary construction works on phase one are expected to start around year-end 2023, with work beginning in earnest the following year. The first construction tender, one for the 4-kilometre train tunnel near Łódź, was issued earlier this month.
The high-speed rail works are associated with the Centralny Port Komunikacyjny project, Poland’s new Greenfield airport that is to be built around 40 kilometres from Warsaw. It will feature two runways and is forecast to open in 2028.
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