PKP SA, the Polish Ministry of Infrastructure and Pomeranian Voivodeship signed the Railway Pact for Pomerania, a letter of intent to collaborate on the rail infrastructure revitalisation and restauration of traffic on the selected lines in the region, including from Kartuzy to Lębork and from Lipusz through Bytów to Korzybie.
The Ministry of Infrastructure and the Pomeranian Voivodeship will take action to identify sources of financing that will allow for the implementation of construction works for two main projects. These include the the restoration of rail traffic together with the reconstruction of the infrastructure facilities on the Line no. 229 on the Kartuzy – Sierakowice – Lębork rail section as well as the expansion of the Line no. 213 part of the railway line linking the station in Hel town with the Tri-City area which is formed by the cities of Gdańsk, Gdynia, and Sopot.
The Ministry of Infrastructure and the Pomeranian Voivodeship will also consider the restauration of rail traffic by constructing the infrastructure and facilities on the Line no. 212 on the Lipusz – Bytów – Korzybie section.
PKP PLK will carry out construction work to improve access to the nuclear power plant involving the construction of a new rail line from Choczewo to Łeba. In addition, the rail infrastructure manager is ready to carry out construction work on Kartuzy – Sierakowice – Lębork rail section, if the project is identified as an accompanying investment within the meaning of the provisions of the Act of 29 June 2011 on the preparation and implementation of investments in the scope of nuclear power facilities and accompanying investments.
“This is a significant extension of the Kartuzy corridor, which was created after the construction of the PKM [Pomeranian Metropolitan Railway]. The line is important not only for the densely populated Kartuzy district, but for the entire region. Especially now, in view of the planned construction of a nuclear power plant, another transport corridor is simply necessary for Lębork,” Mieczysław Struk, Marshal of the Pomeranian Voivodeship said at the signing ceremony on October 21, 2024.
If funds are provided, PKP PLK will build passing loops in Hel Bór and Chałupy, on railway Line no. 213, will widen the current platform and build a new one at Władysławowo station, and will develop the design documentation and obtain administrative decisions for the modernisation and expansion of the section of Line no. 213 from Reda station to the Władysławowo Port stop. These works are expected to be completed in 2028.
“The Hel corridor is a very important line from the perspective of the region and the country, which is used by over a million passengers a year. We want to build additional passing points there, Hel Bór and Chałupy, thanks to which trains will be able to run more often,” the Marshal explained.
PKP PLK will also build Lipusz – Bytów – Korzybie section if the project secures financing, that will improve freight transport towards Gdańsk, using the connection with the modernised Maksymilianowo – Kościerzyna – Gdynia Główna section (on Line no. 201). The rail infrastructure revitalisation and restauration on the line from Lipusz through Bytów to Korzybie is one of the most anticipated railway investments in Pomerania. The last passenger train, excluding special trains and the seasonal resumption of traffic a few years ago, departed from the city in 1993.
It is worth to mention that in 2023, the European Investment Bank announced it will analyse the upgrade of Gdynia – Kościerzyna rail connection which is estimated at EUR 1.2 billion. The project covers the construction of the second track, the modernisation of the existing track and electrification works. The project is expected to be completed in 2027 when passenger trains will be able to run at up to 140 km/h, while freight trains at up to 100 km/h.
Bytów is one of the most dynamically developing economic centre in the voivodship and is the most excluded region of the province in terms of transport connections.
The revitalised Line 212, thanks to the restoration of rail traffic through Bytów to Korzybie, will improve the connection of the Słupsk region, enabling convenient commuting from Miastko, Kępice or Borzytuchomi to the Tri-City area. In the opposite direction, it will be possible to travel from Kościerzyna or Bytów to Słupsk, via Korzybie. It is worth adding that the building of the Bytów railway station has been renovated and since 2021.
In addition to the construction of the infrastructure, PKP PLK will carry out works to improve stations’ areas and their facilities.
After completing these investments, the Pomeranian Voivodeship will undertake activities related to the organisation of rail transport, adequate to the financial capabilities and economic potential of each line, on a scale no smaller than that provided for in the Transport Plan for the Pomeranian Voivodeship.
Recently, PKP PLK signed a contract to double the existing 28 km single track which will be modernised, on the rail section from Somonino to Gdańsk Osowa which connects Bydgoszcz with the Tri-City.
The signatories of the Railway Pact for Pomerania their willingness to cooperate on the rail infrastructure revitalisation in connection with the planned rail investments in Pomerania and will undertake joint activities aimed at the self-government of PKP SKM, which operates the transit and commuter rail system in Tri-City area.
The local government has built the Pomeranian Metropolitan Railway (PKM) network, the Kartuzy bypass and has purchased new rolling stock. “The railway has returned to Kartuzy and Stara Piła. Now it is time for the railway to return to Bytów and Sierakowice. Such investments have been included in the Railway Pact for Pomerania and this agreement defines a specific plan for a common goal,” the Marshal of the Pomeranian Voivodeship, said.
A resident in the Pomerania Voivodship uses trains over 30 times a year and last year, the trains in Pomerania transported more than 70 million passengers.
“We need to develop the metropolitan transport, and we have an idea how to do it. We should strive to divide metropolitan transport into two departments, into two transport organisers,” said Marcin Gromadzki, an expert in transport issues, and Michał Tusk, deputy director of the Department of Infrastructure of the Municipal Office of the Public Transport Authority during a presentation held at the same event.
The first department would be represented by the metropolitan board which will be responsible for the connections within the metropolis, including railways, and the second department would be the provincial government which would be responsible for the rail transport services outside the metropolis.
Pomorska Kolej Metropolitalna (PKM) is a company established by Pomeranian Voivodeship to conduct infrastructure investments in the province and manage the railway infrastructure it has built
The company’s objective is to conduct infrastructure investments in the Pomeranian Voivodeship and the railway infrastructure it has built. The Pomeranian Metropolitan Railway is the first railway line in Poland built by a local government and was launched in 2015.
In 2021-2023, the company electrified and improved the infrastructure and built Gdańsk Firoga new stop. The existing 19.5 km line connects at both ends with the SKM line, the main transport corridor in Tri-City. The system will be extended by constructing the PKM Południe line, which will ensure connection to the centre of Gdańsk and city’s southern districts and neighboring municipalities.
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