An EU-funded project has been launched to improve the functioning of urban transport in the city of Toruń, joint capital of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie region in northern Poland. The investment forms part of BiT-City, a wider project to improve public transport links both between and within Toruń and Bydgoszcz, the Kujawsko-Pomorskie region’s other joint capital, some 45 kilometres north west of Toruń.
- 09 May 2018
The project includes the construction of a tram line connecting the centre of Toruń with the residential district of Jar in the northern part of the city and the comprehensive modernisation of other selected sections of tramway.
A further element is the purchase of five low-floor trams and three technical vehicles for the maintenance of tram tracks and overhead lines. A total of 20 low-emission buses are also to be acquired, of which 14 are hybrid – combining a conventional internal combustion engine propulsion system with an electric propulsion system – and six are fully electric.
Increased use of environmentally friendly transport
The main objectives of the project are to develop and integrate the different public transport systems in Toruń and to increase the share of environmentally friendly transport in the city. The purchase of the 25 new vehicles covered by the investment is expected to be completed by 2020, while by the following year, Toruń should have a total of 10.1 kilometres of newly constructed or modernised tram line.
The overall budget for the improvements comes to almost EUR 92 million, of which close to EUR 45 million is provided from the EU’s Cohesion Fund. The project is in line with the EU priority of developing low-emission public urban transport as part of moves to support the shift towards a low-carbon economy in all sectors.
An integrated transport system
With a population of just over 200 000, Toruń is the second-largest city in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie region after Bydgoszcz, which has around 360 000 inhabitants. It is the seat of the elected regional assembly and the regional executive, which is headed by the marshal. Bydgoszcz, on the other hand, serves as the seat of the centrally appointed governor of the region.
Toruń currently has five tram lines and around 40 bus routes, and is situated close to Poland’s A1 motorway, which runs from Gdańsk, on the Baltic Sea in the north, to the Czech border in the south. It also has three main railway stations and thus constitutes an important rail junction.
Under BiT-City, the rail connection with Bydgoszcz has been modernised and new rolling stock purchased in order to cut journey times between the two cities and strengthen the territorial cohesion of the Bydgoszcz-Toruń metropolitan area. BiT-City also allows passengers to travel between and within the cities using a single ticket. The aim now is to further integrate the rail link with the urban transport systems of Toruń and Bydgoszcz, thus creating a fully unified network.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Improving the functioning of urban transport in Toruń - BiT City II” is EUR 91 989 588, with the EU’s Cohesion Fund contributing EUR 44 937 625 through the “Infrastructure and Environment” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period.