Trans-European rail route to run through Poland, trains to run 35 meters under buildings

• CPK signed a contract worth approximately PLN 2.2 billion gross for the construction of a high-speed rail tunnel under Łódź.
• The contract covers the construction of a 4.6 km long and 14 m wide high-speed rail tunnel.
• This is a key section of the railway "Y", which will connect Warsaw and the CPK Airport with Łódź and will enable the launch of the fastest connections.

On Friday (27 June), the Central Communication Port company signed a contract for the construction of a high-speed rail tunnel under Łódź.

It concerns the construction of a tunnel for long-distance trains from the "Retkinia" chamber to the "Fabryczna" chamber, together with the infrastructure necessary for the operation of the tunnel, chambers and railway line.

As reported at the press conference, the investment is a key part of railway line no. 85, i.e. railway "Y" , which will connect Warsaw and the CPK Airport with Łódź by 2032, and in 2035 will enable the launch of the fastest High Speed ​​​​Rail connections to Wrocław and Poznań.

Additionally, it will be an element of the trans-European North Sea-Baltic Sea Route , i.e. a corridor designated by the European Union as part of the TEN-T communication network.

The contract includes the construction of a 4.6 km long, 14 m diameter High Speed ​​​​Train tunnel . It will be carried out by the construction company PORR. It has 4 years to do it.

The value of the contract is approximately PLN 2.2 billion gross. It will be the longest and largest diameter railway tunnel facility bored with a mechanized TBM shield. Trains will travel at a depth of 25 to 35 meters under the city center.

The construction of the tunnel will start this year. In the first stage, the contractor will prepare the design documentation and organize the facilities for the boring machine.

Work will begin in the "Retkinia" starting chamber towards the "Fabryczna" extraction chamber, and the drilling itself will begin in the fourth quarter of 2026.

The CPK tunnel in Łódź is the second investment of this type in the city. Unlike the cross-city tunnel, which PKP PLK is building, it will be intended mainly for long-distance trains, primarily HSR .

Within the city, fast trains will stop at Łódź Fabryczna station.

In order to minimise the impact of tunnel works on existing urban development , geotechnical reinforcements will be implemented to reduce potential ground settlement and structural reinforcements will be provided to increase the stability of buildings.

In addition, buildings along the tunnel route will be covered by a geodetic monitoring system.

Currently, construction experts will prepare complete documentation of the current technical condition of buildings on the tunnel route , including checking the load-bearing capacity, stability and safety of the structure.

Today is proof that the CPK project is moving from the design phase to the implementation phase . We are implementing the investment according to schedule. I am convinced that in 4 years this tunnel will be ready for delivery.

- said Maciej Lasek, government representative for CPK, during the signing of the contract.

As emphasized by Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Piotr Malepszak, the construction of the tunnel will translate into travel times between Warsaw and Sieradz, Wrocław and Poznań.

This investment is supported by hard numbers, which provide economic and traffic justification for it. The construction of CPK in Łódź is closely coordinated with the ongoing implementation of the agglomeration tunnel by PKP PLK , which will improve travel between Łódź districts.

- Malepszak said.

In turn, CPK president Filip Czernicki noted that the HSR tunnel under Łódź, like the entire CPK infrastructure, meets dual-use standards , i.e. dual civilian and military use .

The high-speed rail lines, the CPK Airport and the road system being built around it are being built according to safety standards set by the Polish government and the European Union. The CPK under construction will be an important element of Poland's resilience system in crisis situations.

- Czernicki emphasized.

According to PORR President Piotr Kledzik, the construction of the tunnel is a task of exceptional scale and technical complexity, never before seen on the Polish market.

Our team consists of experienced engineers who not only know the latest technologies, but can also effectively implement them in conditions that are not only densely built up in cities, but also geologically difficult. And these are the challenges we will be dealing with in this project.

- Kledzik emphasized.

As PORR, we have dozens of kilometers of tunnels completed throughout Europe. These include, among others, the longest , measuring approximately 2,300 meters, non-urban tunnel bored in rock located in Lower Silesia and the tunnel under the Świna River in Świnoujście

- added PORR management board member Krzysztof Laskowski.

The CPK Program is to include the construction of a central airport located between Warsaw and Łódź, as well as a high-speed rail system.

The new airport is to be initially adapted to handle 34 million passengers per year and designed in such a way that in the long term it can be flexibly expanded, in line with market needs and development forecasts.

According to the adopted schedule , the construction of the CPK Airport in the Baranów, Wiskitki and Teresin communes is to begin in 2026. In 2031, the airport is to obtain the necessary certifications, and in 2032 it is to be put into operation together with the first section of the high-speed rail network in Poland: Warsaw - CPK - Łódź. The estimated cost of the investment until 2032 is PLN 131.7 billion.