CPK decides on third section of planned high-speed line for Poland
Project organisation Centralny Port Komunikacyjny (CPK) has picked its investor variant for the Sieradz-Poznań line, it said on Thursday. The decision marks another step in preparation for the construction of the Y-shaped high-speed line that will shorten travel times in Poland.
The stem of Y-shaped line originates in the capital Warsaw, from where it runs past the CPK airport and Łódź, respectively. This marks the first section of the planned high-speed line. A little further afield at Sieradz, one section branches off to Wrocław, the other to Poznań. The route of latter section, 155 kilometres in length, has now been decided upon. It means that design work can shortly begin. The 140-kilometre section between Warsaw and Łódź and the 200-kilometre line between Łódź Wrocław are already under design.
“Today, we are making up for the lost time, which is very good news for passengers”, says Poland’s Deputy Minister of Funds and Regional Policy, Marcin Horała, Government Plenipotentiary for CPK. “Thanks to the Sieradz-Poznań HSR line, the Wielkopolska region joins the beneficiaries of the CPK railway projects. This line should have been operational today, but unfortunately 12 years ago the preparations for the construction of the “Y” shaped line were unnecessarily suspended.”
With an operating speed of 250 kilometres per hour, the Y-shaped high-speed line is to result in significant savings in travel time. Warsaw-Poznań will take 2 hours instead of three, while Poznań-Kalisz travel time will be cut from 1.5 hours to 35 minutes. Going from the capital to Kalisz will eventually take 1.25 hours, not three, and getting from Poznań to Łódź should take 1 hour an 10 minutes instead of three hours.
“The variant, which we finally chose, is the optimal solution for the section between Poznań and Sieradz and was developed as a result of consultations with residents and local authorities”, says Radosław Kantak, CPK Board member for railway investments. It involves the least number of conflicts with residential buildings, it interferes the least with areas of natural value and is the most favourable in terms of conflicts with water intakes and monuments”. The CPK rail project in its entirety calls for the construction of 2,000 kilometres worth of new lines.
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