POLAND: General contractor Porr has awarded Alstom a contract to design and supply signalling systems for the 4·6 km tunnel which it is to build under the city of Łódź as part of the Port Polksa (previously CPK) high speed rail and airport programme.
The tunnel will form part of the 350 km/h Y-shaped high speed line which is planned to connect Warszawa, the future hub airport, Łódź, Wrocław and Poznań. The initial 140 km Warszawa – airport – Łódź phase is scheduled to open in 2032
The 14 m diameter twin-track bored tunnel will be used by long-distance and high speed trains running at 160 km/h, with local and regional trains to use the existing parallel cross-city tunnel.
Alstom is to supply products from its Onvia main line signalling portfolio. Announcing the contract on March 10, the supplier said the tunnel represents a unique project, both in terms of scale and technical requirements, and it would draw on its experience the of the Polish market as well as high speed rail projects internationally. ‘The design and installation of the railway traffic control system in the long-distance tunnel in Łódź is of strategic importance for the safety and reliability of the entire investment’, said Adam Juretko, Branch Director Katowice at Alstom Polska.
