A 480 km high-speed rail line is due to be built in Poland by 2035. It will connect four of the country’s five largest cities and also an airport to be built from scratch. Poland would be able to source most of the materials and components needed to build and operate the line from domestic production, given the country’s growing rail industry.
by Adrian Barbulescu
The construction of the high-speed rail line is part of the Warsaw authorities’ plan to make it possible to travel between the country’s main cities in 100 minutes. The explanations were given to a small group of journalists, including the author of this article, by Michał Jasiak, deputy general director for rail strategy at Centralny Port Komunikacyjny (CPK), the Polish state-owned company responsible for transportation investments.
It is the biggest infrastructure project ever undertaken in Poland, worth 140 billion zlotys (about EUR 32.5 billion), CPK officials explained to foreign journalists in Warsaw. They also presented some novel elements of the project, which break with the patterns set by other high-speed rail links in Europe and elsewhere in the world.
The railroad project will be coordinated with automobile transportation in all regions of Poland through which it will pass. In other news, a much more friendly approach, so to speak, has been chosen for the expropriation of land (many hectares) and residential buildings that will be needed for the construction of the line. “We will provide very favourable conditions for the purchase of houses by those expropriated in order to minimize the social impact of the project. On the one hand there are protests against the expropriations, which is inevitable, on the other hand there are local authorities pressing us with questions about when the line will be ready. What we can say for sure is that we are doing our best to limit the impact of the project on small communities,” said Michał Jasiak.
In this respect, it also sets a first. Generally, high-speed rail lines only have stations in very large cities. Well, the new line in Poland will have a station in a small town, namely Brzeziny on the Warsaw-Lodz section. According to the last census in December 2021, the town had a population of just 12,326. And other small towns are also being considered to build stations where high-speed trains would stop, precisely to disprove the widespread idea that such a line is only intended to serve the interests of citizens in large conurbations.
The tender for the first section will be launched in 2025
But let’s take a closer look at the major aspects of this rail line planned by the Warsaw authorities. This is not just a project put on paper to “intoxicate” public opinion with promises that have no chance of being realized. The tender for the first section (Warsaw-Lodz) will be launched next year, according to the official timetable, and 25 major companies have already expressed their interest in participating. For this section, environmental clearance has also been obtained from the relevant environmental authorities. A construction permit has also been obtained for the approximately 6km-long tunnel under the city of Lodz.
The line will be in the shape of the letter Y (this is also the name of the project). It will start in Warsaw, pass through the newly built airport (which we’ll come back to), Lodz, and from Sieradz it will branch off to the cities of Poznan and Wroclaw. In total, it will be 480 kilometres long.
Back to the official project timetable. The results of the tender to be launched for the first two sections (Warsaw-Lodz and Sieradz-Poznan) will be announced in 2026, when the winner will be chosen, while the actual design and construction works are scheduled to start a year later. The Warsaw-Lodz high-speed rail line is expected to be completed in 2032. The other two sections, Lodz- Wroclaw and Sieradz-Poznan, are scheduled for completion in 2034-2035.
The line will be designed and built in such a way that the fastest section of the line will be 350 km/hour and trains will run at 320 km/hour on this section. On the slowest sections of the new rail link, speeds of less than 200 km/h will not be accepted.
Investment in infrastructure and rolling stock
Travel time between Warsaw and Wroclaw and between Warsaw and Poznan will be 100 minutes (one hour and 40 minutes). The type of electrification chosen is 25 kV 50 Hz alternating current
for most of the line, and 3 kV direct current on short sections to connect with existing rail lines. The European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS), European Train Control System (ETCS) and Global System for Mobile Communications for Railways (GSM-R) will be introduced along the entire route, in line with European interoperability standards. Regional high-speed trains will also run on the new high-speed rail line and freight trains will be allowed on certain sections.
The new line is part of the Trans European Network – Transport (TEN-T), as revised in 2024, and will basically be an extension of the Rail Baltica network, which will connect Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, work on which started in 2020. It will also be the start of the new connection between the Czech Republic and Germany, with work on the high-speed rail in the Czech Republic due to start next year. Once completed, this mix of networks will provide fast rail connections from Warsaw to Prague, Berlin, Budapest (from here also to Bucharest), Vienna, Riga and Vilnius.
When the high-speed rail line comes into operation, rolling stock will obviously also be needed to run on the new tracks. According to CPK’s planning, 100 electric multiple units (EMUs) capable of speeds between 250 and 350 km/h, another 120 for 160-200 km/h, 30 hydrogen- powered multiple units, 190 locomotives and 1,500 passenger carriages will have to be purchased.
Kombud Group wants to enter the Ukrainian and Romanian markets
But state investment cannot be achieved without private investment and innovation. But the problem seems to be solved for Poland.
“Poland has long been perceived by our Central European neighbours as one of the leaders of transformation. Entrepreneurship, hard work and a high level of education have allowed us to catch up with Western European economies in some areas. We are proud of the level our economy and rail industry have reached. We believe in our solutions, our work culture, the determination and talent of our engineers. We want to take advantage of the opportunity created by our potential to enter foreign markets”, said Anna Szczygielska, member of the Board of Directors of Kombud Group S.A.
The Polish company has recently completed an investment worth PLN 70 million, equivalent to more than EUR 16 million, to be realized between 2020-2024. The investment has resulted in the construction of one of the most modern factories producing rail traffic control devices in Europe. The first stage of the investment took place in 2020 in Radom, where a production hall was built, to which the production of the landmarks was successively transferred. The latest extension of the hall with another area of about 300 square meters took place this very year. The capacity of the main production site is approximately eight level crossing systems per week and six to ten computerized interlocking systems, together with computerized relay and station feeder devices. Depending on the size of the station, the device testing time for a given station can take up to several months. To achieve maximum energy efficiency and reduce negative environmental impact, the buildings have been equipped with an intelligent energy management system, 200 kW photovoltaic panels and a 60 kW energy storage facility.
Modern devices that control train traffic in more than 300 stations all over Poland were on display in a production hall of about 5,000 square meters. During the foreign journalists’ visit, Kombud Group engineers also presented various ETCS-compatible signalling and automation solutions. Thanks to the innovative approach, the implementation of ETCS L1 level limited supervision can enable improved safety on the entire European rail network with low investment costs.
One of the solutions developed by Kombud Group is ETCS L1 Limited Supervision, which enables rail infrastructure managers to replace decommissioned Class B systems. At the same time, this solution is cheaper than ETCS L2, easier to deploy and does not require the installation of a GSM-R network. An important advantage of ETCS L1 LS is also the ability to deploy investments on almost any rail system in Europe – electric, computerized and even mechanical. The limited supervision in the version recommended by the Polish Association of Engineers’ team of manufacturers (SITK RP) limits the effects of SPAD (signal overrun on red). Incidentally, if such a system or at least the Indusi type had been available in Greece, the rail tragedy of last year when two trains collided would not have occurred. We close the parenthesis and return to Poland, where rail systems and components are not exclusively for the domestic rail market.
“We have an interlocking system ready for Slovakia and we are working with our partners to implement it on the Slovak market. We are also interested in the Ukrainian and Romanian markets, where for the selected systems and configurations we are ready with solutions for further discussions with infrastructure managers to prepare the appropriate documentation. In other markets, we first intend to supply rail traffic control components such as point machines or signals, as well as ETCS components in compliance with European interoperability rules. Foreign customers are also interested in rail level crossing systems. However, the challenge is that there are still high barriers to entry in selected markets. We see an imbalance in this respect in relation to foreign suppliers on the Polish market,” said Szymon Kniaź Szymon Kniaź, Director for International Business of Kombud Group S.A.
Nearly 2,500 square meters is the size of another investment made by the said group at the RWT (former Radom Telephone Factory) plant, which started production in 2022. Telecommunications containers with automatic fire extinguishing and air-conditioning systems, as well as signalling and other track devices are being built there. A production line for robotic beacons and a research and development laboratory were also opened in Warsaw in 2023. The total area of the offices and production facilities is more than 22,000 square meters, which is more than the combined area of three football fields.
Finally, about Kombud Group SA only a few key figures need to be mentioned: 33 years of experience, 65 systems and devices certified in Poland and the European Union, 610 employees (including 330 engineers), EUR 140 million turnover by 2023.
Innovative solutions to reduce vibration
Other innovative investments in Poland have been made for years by a Warsaw-based company, Tines Rail. It produces infrastructure systems that considerably reduce vibrations caused by rail vehicle movements.
“This year alone, the company has sold and installed its systems in, among others, Belgium, Latvia and Ukraine, extending the list of more than 15 countries where, for 20 years, its systems have been able to reduce noise and vibration and ensure a long life cycle of the most intensively used infrastructure such as tunnels, viaducts, railroad. railroad level crossings and tram tracks,” said Tomasz Szuba, the company’s founder and chairman of the board of Tines Rail.
The company focuses on supplying rail infrastructure materials and systems that reduce environmental pollution such as noise and vibration. At the same time, these solutions extend the lifetime of track structures and reduce their maintenance costs.
Tines Rail uses raw materials from recyclable waste in its production process, up to 90% of which is recycled. The company’s engineers and specialists have tested the performance and durability of the manufactured products in certified laboratories based on the latest European standards. Thanks to this, the company has obtained certificates that allow their use by railway infrastructure managers throughout the European Union, said Tomasz Szuba.
One of the most advanced systems produced by TINES consists of TINES® EBS coated rail block supports. The solution is currently approved for use in EU countries, among others for railway tracks running at speeds of up to 250 km/h, but also in subways. Tomasz Szuba went down with the press trip journalists to Warsaw’s nearest subway station, Swietokrzyska (where the Polish capital’s two underground transportation lines meet), to show them his systems “at work”, i.e. installed in the track for years.
This system, in addition to quick and easy installation and long-term operation, provides a high level of vibration reduction generated during the movement of rail vehicles. The effect of vibroacoustic insulation can be further improved and strengthened by using the mats produced by the Polish company, which are made of 90% recycled raw materials.
Tines Rail is also a leading manufacturer of modern railway superstructure systems in Poland. The company is a manufacturer of systems and components included in ballastless surface structures for railways, metro lines, tram tracks and crane rails. Tines ensures technology transfer between various rail transportation infrastructure systems, which promotes its development and quality improvement. The company also produces an integrated surface for railway level crossings, which eliminates the use of steel in the rail fastening system. In addition, TINES is also a leader in the field of the construction of rail-graded tram rails.
And, since we were talking about the Lodz rail tunnel at the beginning of the article, Tines’ anti-vibration systems will be used in its construction. Another novel approach is also worth mentioning: the company is moving its production line as close as possible to the place of product delivery in order to reduce logistics costs.
New airport on high-speed rail line
We could not end this article without giving you the details, as promised at the beginning, about the new airport project in Warsaw to be built by the Polish state- owned CPK. Of course, airports do not fall within our sphere of interest, but when they are located right on the route of a high-speed rail line and have an important rail component the approach changes fundamentally.
According to the CPK plans, the new airport will be located about 40 kilometres southwest of Warsaw, on the administrative territory of the municipality of Stanisławów, and will be connected to the new high- speed rail network and a highway system, thus connecting not only to the capital but also to the rest of the country. Initially approved by the Warsaw government in November 2017, the CPK’s investment plans were re-evaluated by the winning coalition in the 2023 parliamentary elections. In June 2024, the coalition government confirmed that the airport element of the project will go ahead, as will the rail element. The cost of the air and rail elements of the investment plan is expected to be 131 billion Polish zlotys (equivalent to over €30 billion).
Initially, the airport is planned to be equipped with two runways (4,000 m long and 45 m wide). The airport and the railway station together are planned to serve, in the first phase, 34 million passengers per year (double that of Berlin Brandenburg Airport), with 310,000 aircraft movements (take-offs and landings) per year.
As air traffic at this new airport could reach a potential of 40 million passengers per year by 2040, according to CPK’s specialists, a second phase of airport capacity development is envisaged. This will involve the construction of a third runway, bringing annual traffic through the airport to a capacity of 60 million passengers and 435,000 aircraft movements.
The design works for the construction of the new Warsaw airport terminal, railway station building and intermodal transfer hub for public transportation will be carried out by Foster + Partners Limited in collaboration with Buro Happold Limited. The approval procedure for the documentation submitted by the contractor under Stage 4 of the project is currently underway. The contractor has submitted the documentation for the project for the construction of the terminal, railway station and multimodal terminal for public transportation.
The design documentation for air, ground and utility network connections is carried out on the basis of an agreement with Dar Al-Handasah Consultants. It will produce the multidisciplinary design documentation for the technical infrastructure, including runways and taxiways, aprons, airport systems and networks and connections, including engineering structures. The design documentation adjusted to the start of construction of the above-ground terminal is under preparation.
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