European Union co-financing has enabled the modernisation of the 57.45-kilometre stretch of Poland’s Warsaw to Łódź railway line between the Warszawa Zachodnia (or Warsaw West) station and the village of Miedniewice, close to the town of Skierniewice. This is part of a wider project on the general upgrading of the Warsaw-Łódź connection.
Modernisation of the Warszawa Zachodnia to Miedniewice section of the Warsaw-Łódź railway line
- 31 March 2017
Improvements to the Warsaw to Łódź railway line carried out under the project aim to help streamline passenger transport and to encourage people to travel by train, thereby increasing use of the railways.
By increasing the share of rail in passenger transport, the project is helping to generate ecological benefits and, in particular, is contributing to improving the environmental conditions in the vicinity of the railway line.
An essential transport link between important Polish cities
The Warsaw to Łódź connection is a crucial transport link between Poland’s capital, which is home to around 1.7 million people, and its third largest city, with some 700 000 inhabitants. The stretch of track covered by this project runs from kilometre 3.9 to kilometre 61.35 of the line.
Almost EUR 29 million is being invested in upgrades to the Warszawa Zachodnia-Miedniewice section, of which over EUR 21 million is being provided by the EU. The modernised line should support the development of multimodal transport within the framework of the Trans-European Transport Network.
Work on the line includes the installation of new signalling systems that are compatible with the European Rail Traffic Management System’s (ERTMS) European Train Control System, used for in-cab train control, and its GSM-R mobile communications system for railway operations. Developed by railway companies in close cooperation with the EU, ERTMS aims to replace various incompatible national train control-and-command systems in Europe with a single system in order to create a seamless European railway network and increase its competitiveness and safety.
Higher speeds for passenger and freight trains
These improvements to the Warsaw to Łódź link will allow trains to reach speeds of 160 km/h for passenger traffic and 120 km/h for freight traffic. In addition, the maximum axle load able to use the track will rise to 22.5 tonnes.
Warszawa Zachodnia station is situated on the border between Warsaw’s Ochota and Wola districts, west of the city centre. It was opened in 1936 and with eight platforms is one of the Polish capital’s main railway terminals.
Miedniewice is a village close to the border between Poland’s Masovian and Łódź regions, around 50 kilometres west of Warsaw and approximately 55 kilometres east of Łódź. Skierniewice, a town housing just under 50 000 inhabitants, lies almost exactly halfway between Łódź and Warsaw. Its railway station was once part of the historic Warsaw-Vienna railway.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Modernisation of the railway line Warszawa – Łódź, stage II, Lot A – section Warszawa Zachodnia – Miedniewice (Skierniewice), Phase II” is EUR 28 937 355, with the EU’s Cohesion Fund contributing EUR 21 300 716 through the “Infrastructure and Environment” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period.