PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe, the Polish rail infrastructure manager, has awarded a contract for the design of Krakow – Myślenice new rail line, one of the three investments planned in Małopolska (Lesser Poland Voivodeship) as part of the Kolej Plus programme.
The contract was signed with a consortium of BBF and IDOM Inżynieria, Architektura i Doradztwo and has a value of PLN 22 million (EUR 5 million). Under the contract, the consortium will develop the design documentation and supervision for the construction of the new railway line between the two cities.Contractors will have 35 months to prepare the project.
The designer’s task will be to prepare an investment involving the construction of a railway line between Swoszowice in Krakow and the centre of Myślenice. The approximately 22 km long track will be run underground in two sections and new viaducts and bridges will also be built. Collision-free intersections will ensure safety in rail and road traffic.
Convenient access to trains will be available not only to residents of Myślenice, but also to residents of three communes near Krakow with 72,000 inhabitants in total. Seven new stopes will be built along the route (Lusina, Konary, Olszowice, Kąty, Krzyszkowice, Polanka and Myślenice).The facilities will be adapted to the needs of people with limited mobility.Trains in mountainous terrain will run at speeds of up to 120 km/h and the journey from Kraków Główny to Myślenice is estimated at approximately 40 minutes.
Thanks to the Krakow – Myślenice new rail link, the residents in Myślenice district, almost 40 km south the Krakow, will benefit from increased access and connection to the capital of the region.
Thanks to the investment, the role of railways in the region will increase. The project will reduce the number of cars entering the capital of Małopolska every day and thus reduce noise and air pollution. Under the Kolej Plus programme, a railway connection between Krakow and Niepołomice will also be built in the Małopolska region, as well as a connecting line, which will shorten train journeys to Olkusz.
In the Lesser Poland Voivodeship, four rail projects have been selected under the Kolej Plus programme and these include works on 63 km tracks of which 32 km forming three lines will be constructed from Krakow towards three towns (Myślenice, Niepołomice and Olkusz). For another 31 km the measures cover revitalisation works of the Gorlice – Jasło rail (Line No. 108) which will improve transport connection between Kraków and Jasło, along with the revitalisation of Line No.110 and the construction of an extension between these two lines.
Under the Kolej Plus in 2023, the Polish rail infrastructure manager has launched the design tender for three projects in Lesser Poland covering the connections between Krakow and Myślenice, Niepołomice and Olkusz totalling 63 km. For these projects, in March 2023, PKP PLK and the Marshal’s Office of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship signed a contract for the construction of a 6 km single line connecting Podgrabie Wisła and Niepołomice. This project includes three new stops in Niepołomice and has a total value of EUR 68.5 million. The design contract for Niepołomice–Kraków rail connection has been signed in December 2023.
The Kolej Plus programme has a total value of PLN 13.2 billion, of which PLN 11.2 billion is the investment provided by the Poland’s government through the Ministry of Infrastructure and PLN 2 billion will be covered by the local or regional authorities.
The programme will improve access to rail transport as well as the connections between medium or small towns to the large or region’s capital cities.
34 projects from 11 voivodeships have been qualified and selected and cover 34 cities with over 10,000 inhabitants that currently have no passenger rail connections or connections that require improvement or revitalisation. Thanks to the investment, approximately 1.5 million of the inhabitants will gain better access to passenger railways.
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