PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe, the Polish railway infrastructure manager, has launched a tender for a feasibility study which will identify new railway capacity on the Katowice – Gliwice line as part of the Silesian Voivodeship rail development plan.
The company says that is aware of the growing interest in rail transport and new needs in passenger and freight traffic on the railway network in the region.
As part of the feasibility study, PKP PLK will analyse the possibilities of building additional tracks on the Katowice – Gliwice route. The assumptions of the planned investment are to separate the agglomeration from long – distance traffic, which will contribute to increasing the capacity on one of the most popular routes in the region.
Increasing the capacity will allow not only to provide more passenger connections, but also to carry more goods. The analyses concern the shortening of the travel time from Katowice to Gliwice which currently takes 20–26 minutes. The assumptions include increasing the accessibility of rail transport in agglomeration and regional traffic and adapting stations and stops to the needs of the people with reduced mobility.
The contractors of the study also analyse the improvement of the rail freight transport in Silesia. The tracks could be used by heavier and longer freight trains – of 750 metres, including the international train services.
The preliminary proposals developed as part of the feasibility study will be consulted with the rail operators that provide or intend to offer railway connections on the Katowice – Gliwice line. This will allow the forecast of passenger and freight traffic be taken into account when developing the concept of investment options.
The feasibility study is to answer how to develop the railway infrastructure and prepare pre–design documentation enabling the works to be carried out. The study works will determine the scope of the project, its effects and implementation costs and will facilitate the investment planning. It will determine the possibilities of adapting agglomeration and freight tracks to the growing train traffic and ensuring the best accessibility of railways on the Katowice – Gliwice route.
The implementation of the study works is expected to take place between 2021 and 2023. The development of design documentation and construction works could be carried out in the new financial perspective.
The tender is part of the “Works on basic passenger routes (E30 and E65) in Silesia, Katowice – Gliwice section – preparation of a feasibility study” project and is planned to be implemented in cooperation with the Metropolitan Association of Upper Silesia and Dąbrowa Basin. The region comprises 41 cities and communes where 2.3 million residents live.
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