Centralny Port Komunikacyjny (CPK) has launched a tender for the construction of the 4.6 km Łódź HSR tunnel located in the city centre.
The CPK company plans to open the bids at the beginning of September. The selection of the most advantageous bid will be based on price evaluation (70% of the tender criteria) and personnel qualifications (30%). The contractor will have 46 months from the signing of the contract to complete the works.
“The CPK long-distance tunnel is the key element of the so-called Y-line, the planned high speed rail (HSR) route between Warsaw, CPK, Łódź, Wrocław and Poznań. This investment is crucial for the operations of the Polish railways and respresent a significant milestone in the realisation of the Poland in 100 minutes project,” Dariusz Klimczak, the Minister of Infrastructure said.
The Łódź HSR tunnel will be excavated using a TBM mechanised shield with a diameter of about 14 metres, and will have two tracks, allowing trains to run in both directions. “It will be the longest and largest-diameter underground railway passage constructed using this method in Poland to date. The CPK tunnel is one of the most technically demanding pieces of the Y HSR line. At the same time, it is also our most advanced project,” Filip Czernicki, CEO of CPK, said.
Trains running on railway line 85 (LK85) from Warsaw will enter the tunnel behind Łódź Fabryczna station. The tunnel exit will be located south-west of Łódź Kaliska, in the vicinity of the existing railway line 14 (LK14). Further on, the route will lead westwards towards Sieradz, beyond which there will be a fork of the “Y-line” – towards Wrocław and Poznań.
„The tender for the construction of the tunnel in Łódź is proof that we continue the implementation of the CPK investment with focus on passenger benefits. Upon the completion of the rail from Łódź to Warsaw in 2032, the travel time between these cities will be reduced to approximately 40 minutes, significantly shorter than it is currently. This will make the journey comparable to a metro journey in Warsaw” Maciej Lasek, Government Plenipotentiary for the CPK said.
To date, the CPK company has signed two of the three major contracts relating to the city of Łódź. The first is a contract for the reinforcement of the Łódź Cultural Centre (ŁDK) foundations which is already well advanced. The second contract which has already been signed, includes the construction of the Retkinia launching chamber (work is already underway) and the Fabryczna receiving chamber (work will begin after the completion of work on the ŁDK).
The reinforcement of the ŁDK foundations, on the western side of the Łódź Fabryczna station, has been carried out by Keller Polska since last September. The value of this contract is over PLN 93 million (EUR 21.8 million). The work is scheduled for completion by mid-2025.
The launch chamber enabling the start of excavation with a mechanised TBM shield, is being built in the vicinity of the Retkinia housing estate – south-west of Łódź Kaliska. The work is being carried out by Budimex, under a contract worth PLN 147 million (EUR 34.4 million), signed with CPK in December 2023, and should be completed later this year.
The construction of the Łódź HSR tunnel is coordinated with the ongoing construction of the tunnel for regional and agglomeration traffic, led by the Polish railway infrastructure manager PKP PLK.
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