CPK has announced that five bids have been submitted for the construction of Łódź long-distance tunnel situated on the rail line no. 85. The process of evaluating and verifying the bids will now commence, with its duration depending on the quality of the submitted documents. This marks the largest construction tender announced by CPK to date and will result in the creation of Poland’s longest railway tunnel. The contract with the selected contractor is planned to be signed in the second half of 2025.
The tender encompasses the construction of the tunnel from the “Retkinia” chamber to the “Fabryczna” chamber, along with the infrastructure required for the functioning of the tunnel, chambers, and railway line.
The contracting authority allocated PLN 2.8 billion (EUR 658.5 million) for the project. The lowest bid amounted to PLN 2.16 billion (EUR 509.44 million), while the highest was PLN 2.8 billion (EUR 657.85 million).
The bidders are:
- Porr with a bid worth PLN 2.16 billion (EUR 509.44 million);
- Gülermak with PLN 2.58 billion (EUR 607 million);
- China Harbour Engineering Co. with PLN 2.58 billion (EUR 607 million);
- NDI – leader of the consortium, Doğuş İnşaat ve Ticaret as partner with an offer of PLN 2.59 billion (EUR 609.85 million);
- Torpol (leader) in consortium with Mirbud with PLN 2.79 billion (EUR 658 million).
The most advantageous bid will be selected based on the evaluation criteria: price (70% weighting) and personnel qualifications (30%). The contractor will be required to complete the project within 46 months of signing the contract.
The contract covers the construction of a 4.6 km tunnel which will primarily serve high-speed trains running between Warsaw, Wrocław, and Poznań. The tunnel drilling is set to commence in the fourth quarter of 2026 and is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2028.
“The safety of people living in the immediate vicinity of the ongoing investment is a priority. All residents of Łódź must be assured that the project is being conducted responsibly, adhering to the highest technical standards. I am pleased that we are consistently marking important steps in the CPK programme,” the Minister of Infrastructure Dariusz Klimczak said.
The complexity of the process is evidenced by the fact that the specification of the contract terms, together with annexes, amounted to approximately 2000 documents. In total, CPK received around 1000 questions regarding the tender from 25 potential contractors.
The CPK long-distance tunnel is a key element of the “Y” line – the proposed high-speed railway route connecting Warsaw, CPK, Łódź, Wrocław, and Poznań. The tunnel will run through the centre of Łódź, underneath densely built-up areas. Accordingly, the selected contractor will be required, even at the detailed design stage, to re-analyse geotechnical reinforcements and structural safeguards.
Łódź long-distance tunnel “will have the largest diameter of any underground structure constructed to date using the TBM method in Poland. It will also become the longest tunnel of its kind built as a single section,” the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and CPK Government Commissioner Maciej Lasek said.
The entire section of line 85 between Warsaw and Łódź is scheduled to be operational by 2032, coinciding with the opening of the new national airport. Once completed, the train journey between the two cities will be reduced to approximately 40 minutes. This investment represents a crucial step in realising the “100 Minutes Poland” rail project, which aims to improve connections and address transport exclusion across Poland.
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