PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe and a consortium of Multiconsult Polska and Transprojekt Gdańsk signed a contract for preparation of design documentation for nuclear power plant rail connection. PLN 47.9 million (EUR 10 million) is the value of the contract under which the documentation and administrative decisions would be released within 27 months (more than two years) and the financing will be provided by the Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe, a state-owned company ensuring energy security of Poland.
The tender has been launched in July 2022 and the project covers the modernisation of the existing lines and the construction of new tracks providing links to the Lubiatowo-Kopalino nuclear power plant in Lubiatowo, Pomeranian Voivodeship.
The investment will be implemented from the state budget as a task accompanying the construction of the power plant.
“The development of nuclear energy is an opportunity to ensure energy security for Poland. That is why I am glad that the railway, a safe and ecological transport mode will contribute to the construction and later operation of the nuclear power plant,” the Minister of Infrastructure Andrzej Adamczyk said.
The contractor will prepare, among others the programme and spatial concept for two variants of the investment as well as construction and executive designs along with obtaining the necessary administrative decisions. A building permit will be issued for one of the two variants of the investment. The basic variant includes the modernisation of railway line No. 230 on the Wejherowo – Choczewo section, including the construction of new sections, the modernisation of line No. 229 on the Lębork – Łeba section, the construction of a new section of the railway line from Choczewo through a nuclear power plant to be connected to line No. 229 in the area of the Steknica station, and construction of a road link to line No. 229 in the direction of Łeba.
The optional variant assumes the modernisation of railway line No. 230 on the Wejherowo – Garcegorze section, line No. 229 on the Lębork – Garczerze section, construction of a new line from Choczew to the Lubiatowo-Kopalino nuclear power plant and a branch to line No. 230 towards Lębork.
“The construction and modernisation of the nuclear power plant rail connection will ensure efficient and safe transport of goods during the construction and operation of this strategically important investment for the Polish economy. It is also a chance for better access to railways in this part of the province,” Ireneusz Merchel, President of the Management Board of PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe said at the signing ceremony.
The modernisation and construction of railway lines to the planned nuclear power plant is also an opportunity to increase access to railways in the cities of Wejherowo and Lębork part of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. The implementation of the project, depending on the selected variant, will enable the return of passenger trains on the closed line No. 230 and permanent rail connections on line No. 229, which is currently used only in the summer season. The existing stations and stops will be modernised and new ones are planned to be built.
The project will allow trains with a length of up to 750 metres and an axle load of 22.5 tonnes while passengers will benefit new possibilities of access to rail services.
Along the modernised and constructed sections, passenger and freight trains to run at speeds of up to 120 km/h ensuring safe and fast services.
“Railway has always had a huge impact on the economic development of regions. I am convinced that this will also be the case with railway investments in the Pomeranian Voivodeship, which will not only increase the possibilities of transporting goods but will also contribute to the return of passengers to the railway,” Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Andrzej Bittel said.
By 2040, the Polskie Elektrownie Jadrowe intends to build six reactors of up to 9 gigawatts including the Lubiatowo-Kopalino nuclear power plant which in 2021 was selected as the preferred first location for the new plant, situated 65 km northwest of Gdansk.
In 2022, after talks with the US Vice President Kamala Harris and the Secretary for the US Department of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, announced that his country will use reliable, safe technology of Westinghouse Electric Company to implement the USD 40 billion national energy project. It is estimated that USD 20 billion is the value of the project to build the plant in Lubiatowo-Kopalino.
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