The modernisation of a 214.55 km section of the C-E 65 railway corridor between Chorzów Batory and Zduńska Wola Karsznice will improve services for both freight and passengers. Work to upgrade various lines on the route – which links the Polish regions of Śląskie and Łódzkie – will increase safety, reduce the environmental impact of rail travel and improve access for people with limited mobility.
Railway line upgrade in central Poland will reduce travel times and improve safety
- 05 November 2019
The project includes replacing the track surface, and replacing and reinforcing the ground underneath it, along with the modernisation and construction of engineering structures such as bridges and viaducts. Stations and passenger stops along the route will be adapted to the needs of people with reduced mobility.
The scheme includes construction of new signalling controls and work on overhead traction networks – including construction and modernisation of the traction network subsystems. The upgrade paves the way for future implementation of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS).
Quicker journeys
The project will significantly improve the quality of rail traffic in the C-E 65 corridor and includes work on a number of lines. Upgrading a 164 3 km section of line No.131 will allow passenger trains to travel at maximum speed of 140 km/h and cargo trains at a maximum of 120 km/h. This modernised line will be able to deal with maximum axle loads of 221 kN and maximum train lengths of 750 m. For the remaining lines covered by the scheme, existing operating parameters will be maintained.
Overall, the project aims to reduce travel times for cargo transport by 37 minutes. In addition, travel times for interregional rail traffic should be reduced by 27 minutes and regional traffic by eight minutes. The work should therefore improve the competitiveness of railway transport compared with other modes of travel.
Improving connections
The project also serves to improve rail connections in the EU’s Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). A total of 178.8 km of line covered by this project is in the TEN-T network, including railway line No.131, which forms part of the TEN-T core cargo network. Investments through TEN-T aim to improve transport infrastructures across Europe so that people and goods can move more easily in and between Member States.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Works on the C-E 65 railway line on the section Chorzów Batory - Tarnowskie Góry - Karsznice - Inowrocław - Bydgoszcz - Maksymilianowo” is EUR 1 357 609 571, with the EU’s Cohesion Fund contributing EUR 837 996 053 through the “Infrastructure and Environment” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period. The investment falls under the priority “Transport and energy networks”.