The Mayor of Warsaw, Rafał Trzaskowski, has inaugurated Wilanów tram extension on October 28, 2024, which now is the longest new section of the Warsaw tram network in the last decades.
The 6.5 km new extension with 12 new stops connects Miasteczko Wilanów district located in southern part of Warsaw, with the city centre, and the residential areas of Żoliborz and Bielany, and Ochota. The contract was signed in 2022 with Budimex.
The project has been implemented with EU co-financing through the Operational Programme Infrastructure and Environment (POIiŚ) which supported both the construction of the infrastructure and the acquisition of new trams. The total funding for the project amounted to PLN 518.27 million (EUR 120 million), including PLN 169.4 million (EUR 39.2 million) for the D+E contract covering the construction of a new route.
“We are very proud that another investment financed from EU funds has been almost fully implemented, and the tram is now running. This investment is an example of how well the capital city implements tasks in the field of public transport. Now the residents of Wilanów benefit from a very friendly, ecological transport service,” said deputy director of the Department of Infrastructure Programmes of the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy, Katarzyna Zielińska-Heitkötter.
Wilanów tram extension is the longest section in Warsaw since the 1950s and one of the longest rail routes put into operation in recent decades. The central section of metro Line 2 was approx. 6.5 km, and the oldest section of line M1 – approx. 11 km. It is also one of the longest sections of tram routes in the country.
“The extension provides fast and comfortable tram connections. The residents of Wilanów now can reach the city centre by tram in a similarly comfortable and twice as fast as by bus. This tram route will be even longer, because in the middle of next year we will put into operation a branch to Stegny. This shows how seriously we take public transport,” the Mayor of Warsaw said during the inauguration of the route.
Miasteczko Wilanów district is now served by two tram lines. Line 14 from Ochota and Line 16 from Bielany. Additionally, a branch of this line heading towards the Stegny terminus will feature trams on Line 19, which is expected to be launched in the summer of next year, according to recent announcements.
Line 14 connects the district with the University of Technology and Ochota, and Line 16, takes passengers to Marszałkowska, and then to the Radosława roundabout and the Piaski loop, with half of the journeys on the shortened route to Muranowska.
Trams of line 14 leave every 8 minutes during rush hours, and line 16 every 4 minutes, thus 22 – 23 departures are planned per hour. In total, a record number of trams are now leaving the tracks in Warsaw every day: 456 units are planned, up until in September there were 427 units.
Target travel times will be introduced after all the work on the road is completed. The trams are running next to the construction site. Temporary traffic management is still in effect on the route to Wilanów, with temporary crossings or crossings over the tracks. After the works are completed, tram priorities will be introduced at intersections, which will significantly shorten travel times.
“This investment was incredibly complicated. It is not only kilometers of tracks and traction network, but also a gigantic reconstruction in the city centre related to the construction of streets, sidewalks, bicycle paths. Hundreds of extremely competent people got involved,” the president of Tramwaje Warszawskie, Wojciech Bartelski, said.
In 2024, the Warsaw tram network was expanded by a total of over 10 km of new tram routes including Kasprzaka, Gagarina and Wilanów extensions. Construction of a tram is underway on Rakowiecka Street and along Bitwy Warszawskiej 1920 Street to the underground stop at the Western Railway Station.
During the first two weeks 478,000 passengers have used the new lines (Line 14 and Line 16) on the new Wilanów tram extension which has become the most popular as 196,000 passengers travelled on the Wilanów section.
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