High-speed rail in Poland
Encyclopedia
As of December 2009, Poland had 700–800 km of railways suited for rail transport reaching 160 km/h. An additional 1,500 km are expected by 2015, including some sections allowing 200 km/h. While previously the Polish government had invested primarily in Poland's road network, from 2012 onwards it will shift its focus toward development of rail transport. The government hopes to link Poland's twelve largest cities by high speed rail by 2020.
Several sections of the Central Trunk Line currently permit speeds of 200 km/h (with a current speed record in Poland of 250 km/h) however only 160 km/h is used in commercial service. Polish Railways
planned to buy Pendolino
trains in 1998 but the contract was cancelled the following year by the Supreme Control Chamber due to financial losses by Polish Railways.
–Łódź–Kalisz
. The line will then will split in two branches to Wrocław and Poznań
. The geometric layout of the line will be designed to permit speeds of 360 km/h. Construction is planned to begin around 2014 and finish in 2019. In April 2010, the tender for a feasibility study was awarded to a consortium led by Spanish company Ingenieria IDOM. The feasibility study has been granted €80 million in subsidy from the European Union
. The total cost of the line including construction and train sets has been estimated at €6.9 billion and is planned to be financed partially by EU subsidies.
In the center of the city of Łódź the "Y" line will travel through an underground tunnel which would link two existing railway stations. One of them: Łódź Fabryczna would be reconstructed as an underground station (construction contract has been signed on 18 August 2011).
There are also many plans for upgrading existing lines. The Central Trunk Line (CMK) Warsaw - Krakow/Katowice was originally built to geometry appropriate for speeds up to 250 km/h, and only requires suitable signalling equipment to be fitted and some amount of modernisation works. ETCS Level 1 will allow trains to reach 200 km/h in 2011, and a further upgrade for 230 km/h is planned for 2014.
Reconstruction work has started on the Warsaw–Gdańsk line to allow speeds up to 200 km/h for tilting train
s.
High-speed trains using "Y" and CMK will probably continue on upgraded existing lines e.g. Berlin
and Szczecin
from Poznań, Prague
from Wrocław, Białystok from Warsaw (see map).
trains to PKP Intercity
; they will be capable of running international services to Germany
, Austria
, and the Czech Republic
.. May 2011, the Polish rail operator, has awarded Alstom a contract worth €665 million to supply 20 high speed trains, their full maintenance up to 17 years and the construction of a new maintenance depot. The first trains are scheduled for delivery in 2014.
Several sections of the Central Trunk Line currently permit speeds of 200 km/h (with a current speed record in Poland of 250 km/h) however only 160 km/h is used in commercial service. Polish Railways
Polish State Railways
is the dominant railway operator in Poland.The company was founded when the former state-owned operator was divided into several units based on the requirements laid down by the European Union...
planned to buy Pendolino
Pendolino
Pendolino is an Italian family of tilting trains used in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia, Finland, Russian Federation, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, Slovakia, Switzerland, China and shortly in Romania and Poland...
trains in 1998 but the contract was cancelled the following year by the Supreme Control Chamber due to financial losses by Polish Railways.
Warsaw to Poznań and Wrocław via Łódź
Current plans call for a "Y" line that will connect WarsawWarsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
–Łódź–Kalisz
Kalisz
Kalisz is a city in central Poland with 106,857 inhabitants , the capital city of the Kalisz Region. Situated on the Prosna river in the southeastern part of the Greater Poland Voivodeship, the city forms a conurbation with the nearby towns of Ostrów Wielkopolski and Nowe Skalmierzyce...
. The line will then will split in two branches to Wrocław and Poznań
Poznan
Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
. The geometric layout of the line will be designed to permit speeds of 360 km/h. Construction is planned to begin around 2014 and finish in 2019. In April 2010, the tender for a feasibility study was awarded to a consortium led by Spanish company Ingenieria IDOM. The feasibility study has been granted €80 million in subsidy from the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. The total cost of the line including construction and train sets has been estimated at €6.9 billion and is planned to be financed partially by EU subsidies.
In the center of the city of Łódź the "Y" line will travel through an underground tunnel which would link two existing railway stations. One of them: Łódź Fabryczna would be reconstructed as an underground station (construction contract has been signed on 18 August 2011).
Other lines
Reconstruction work has started on the Warsaw–Gdańsk line to allow speeds up to 200 km/h for tilting train
Tilting train
A tilting train is a train that has a mechanism enabling increased speed on regular rail tracks. As a train rounds a curve at speed, objects inside the train experience centrifugal force. This can cause packages to slide about or seated passengers to feel squashed by the outboard armrest due to...
s.
High-speed trains using "Y" and CMK will probably continue on upgraded existing lines e.g. Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and Szczecin
Szczecin
Szczecin , is the capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. It is the country's seventh-largest city and the largest seaport in Poland on the Baltic Sea. As of June 2009 the population was 406,427....
from Poznań, Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
from Wrocław, Białystok from Warsaw (see map).
Rolling stock
In September 2010, Alstom was revealed to have been the sole bidder on a tender for high speed trainsets; Alstom will supply 20 New PendolinoNew Pendolino
The New Pendolino is a class of high-speed tilting trains built by Alstom Ferroviaria for Trenitalia and the swiss Railway SBB CFF FFS, known as the ETR 600 and ETR 610, respectively...
trains to PKP Intercity
PKP Intercity
PKP Intercity is a company of PKP Group responsible for long-distance passenger transport. It runs about 350 trains daily, connecting mainly large aglomerations and smaller towns, also servicing most of the international trains....
; they will be capable of running international services to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, and the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
.. May 2011, the Polish rail operator, has awarded Alstom a contract worth €665 million to supply 20 high speed trains, their full maintenance up to 17 years and the construction of a new maintenance depot. The first trains are scheduled for delivery in 2014.
See also
- Rail transport in PolandRail transport in PolandThe Polish railways network consists of around of track as of 2008, of which the vast majority is electrified using a 3 kV DC overhead line system.Poland is a member of the International Union of Railways...
- Transport in PolandTransport in PolandThe transport in Poland involves air traffic, waterways, and railroads.As a country located at the 'cross-roads' of Europe, Poland, with its developed economy is a nation with a large and increasingly modern network of transport infrastructure....