Centralny Port Komunikacyjny (CPK) signed the EUR 64 million (PLN 290 million) financing from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) for the development and construction of Warsaw – CPK – Łódź high-speed rail. The agreement was signed with the representatives of the Polish Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy (MFiPR) and the Polish Centre for EU Transport Projects (CEUTP).
“Funding for CPK was granted through the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) under the second call for Connecting Europe Facility 2 (CEF 2). This is the first agreement between CINEA and CPK for support under the 2021-2027 financial perspective,” Jarosław Orliński, Director of the Department of Infrastructure Programmes at MFiPR said.
The value of the project was estimated at almost EUR 75 million (PLN 350 million), of which up to 85% is to be financed by the EU. The signed agreement will enable the financing of the full project documentation, including the construction project, and the documents needed to obtain water permits and a location decision for the 140 km Warsaw – CPK – Łódź high-speed rail.
The Warsaw – Lodz – Poznan/Wroclaw railway line is part of the so-called “Y” railway line, which is part of the TEN-T North Sea – Baltic Sea European Transport Corridor.
“CPK is pursuing European transport objectives while the EU is supporting the construction of the CPK transport infrastructure. The new line between Warsaw and Lodz is a key section of the new transport system we are implementing. Firstly, it will provide comfortable access to the CPK airport. Secondly, as part of the ‘Y’ line, it will connect Warsaw, Lodz, Wroclaw and Poznan, as well as numerous important urban centres along the way,” Mikołaj Wild, CEO of CPK, said.
The Warsaw – CPK – Lodz line is currently undergoing advanced design work. The documentation for the Warsaw – CPK section has been under preparation since November of last year by a consortium of Metroprojekt and Sud Architekt Polska. The design of the next section of the line from the CPK airport to Lodz has been entrusted by CPK to a consortium of Egis Poland, Egis Rail and Jaf-Geotechnika. According to the schedule, the design should be completed by the end of the first quarter of next year.
Thanks to this project, the travel time by rail between Warsaw and Lodz will be reduced to about 45 minutes from today’s 90 minutes. Passengers will be able to reach theCPK airport from Warsaw in about 15 minutes and from Lodz in about 30 minutes.
“The EU funding for the design of the line between Warsaw and Lodz is very good news for rail passengers in Poland. The European Commission has once again recognised the strategic importance of CPK’s rail projects. The planned HSR line will enable the integration of the CPK airport into the high-speed rail network, and is therefore a priority investment for us,” said Marcin Horała, Deputy Minister of Funds and Regional Policy and government plenipotentiary for CPK.
The section subsidized by the EU is part of line no. 85, CPK’s ‘spoke’ no. 9, which will connect Warsaw and Lodz with Wroclaw and Poznan. In the first stage, trains running along this route will be able to reach speeds of up to 250 km/h, and ultimately up to 350 km/h (the design speed).
This is not the first grant from Brussels for the CPK railway project. In 2021, CPK secured around PLN 110 million (EUR 24.3 million) under the same EU CEF instrument for the construction project for the CPK long-distance tunnel in Łódź and for the feasibility studies related to the Warsaw – Łódź – Sieradz – Poznań section.
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