Redevelopment of Olszamowice station is complete: trains now travel faster

A contract worth almost PLN 45 million included both design and construction work. As part of the task, Budimex modernised the technical infrastructure of the station, including the junctions and the overhead cable system. This increased the station’s capacity, allowing trains to travel at up to 200 km/h.

The contract was part of the “Modernisation of railway line no. 4 - Main Railway Line” project. Budimex began work on the project in November 2016.

Completing the first stage proved to be the most challenging part - it was planned for July-August 2017 and required the complete blocking of all railway traffic on the section. Due to this, Budimex had only one month for the disassembly and construction work. “This need to block all traffic meant we could not afford even an hour of delay, and work had to be performed round-the-clock for 32 days. We dismantled the overhead cable systems and built new junctions - these being delivered to the construction site as 3-part blocks. Thanks to the impeccable organisation and use of the best quality railway equipment, we managed to meet the requirements and reopened the section to railway traffic on time,” explains Dariusz Blocher, President of the Budimex S.A. Management Board.

As part of the contract, Budimex redeveloped the station’s technical infrastructure, including the tracks, junctions, overhead network of cables, and equipment for managing railway traffic. 12 new junctions were built at the station with movable points frogs - creating high-speed lines allowing velocities of up to 250 km/h.

“The Olszamowice railway station is a very contemporary design - it is now capable of being automatically controlled, without people being involved. It also has visual monitoring and there are automatic fire extinguishing systems in the distribution board room,” explains Marcin Kopeć, contract manager in charge of the investment.

Even though the station is a passenger stop, it is also important for railway traffic in general. Its modernisation makes it possible to increase the capacity of the Main Railway Line on one of the most heavily used railway lines in Poland. It will now be possible for passenger express trains travelling at 200 km/h to pass slower cargo trains.