Centralny Port Komunikacyjny (CPK) has signed contracts for the design of the first section of the construction of a high-speed railway line in Poland. The contractors were selected under the largest framework contract for this type of service in Europe.
The 140-kilometre-long railway line will be designed in three phases. The first phase concerns the section from the capital Warsaw to the CPK transport hub. The second phase will extend the line to the city of Łódź. The third phase will focus on developing the GSM-R radio communication network along the entire section. Preparatory construction work is expected to start at the end of 2023. Substantial construction work on the Warsaw-Łódź section will then start in 2024, once the necessary construction permits have been obtained.
The total value of the whole project is over PLN 300 million net. The consortium Biuro Projektów "Metroprojekt" will be responsible for the implementation of the first phase together with Sud Architekt Polska, which also cooperated with CPK on the design of the high-speed railway tunnel in Łódź. The second part of the investment will be managed by the consortium Egis Poland, Egis Rail and Jaf-Geotechnika. The design of the GSM-R network will be carried out by Biuro Projektów Komunikacyjnych from Poznań together with Biuro Projektów Kolejowych i Usług Inwestycyjnych and FONONON.
“We are entering the next phase of work. The scope includes preparation of pre-design and design documentation, with technical support and obtaining administrative decisions, including construction plan, construction permit, water permits, location decision and opinions on property values. Contractors have 17 months to implement the work, and in the case of radio network design, 3 months from the signing of the contracts,” said Maciej Jagielski from the CPK’s Railway Sub-Programme Implementation Office.
On the line between Warsaw and Łódź, trains will initially be able to reach speeds of up to 250 km/h, with the aim of reaching 350 km/h. This will reduce the travel time between Warsaw and Łódź to around 45 minutes (today it is around 90 minutes). Passengers will then be able to reach CPK Airport from Warsaw in around 15 minutes and from Łódź in around 30 minutes. Once the construction of the entire section is completed, the train travel time from Warsaw to Poznań or Wrocław will be less than two hours.
