Progress of work on modernisation of Port of Gdynia railway junction
On August 10, 2022, Budimex commissioned the P1 Switching District for use as part of the contract ‘Improving railway access to the Gdynia Sea Port’. The completed works have significantly improved access to the port quays (Dutch, Swedish, Silesian and French quays), which is crucial for improving rail transport in the Port of Gdynia. The recommended deadline for completion of the contract including certifications and acceptance is 31 August 2023. The investor is PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe SA.
The main objective of the activities carried out under the contract is to improve the capacity of the strategic railway junction and increase the volume of cargo transported. Budimex, as part of the contract, is responsible for, e.g. the reconstruction of the Port Gdynia railway station together with the pre-port areas and the accompanying infrastructure, as well as the improvement of the associated railway lines.
‘We have made an additional 21 tracks and 30 turnouts available for rail traffic, along with complete power, tele-technical, drainage and sanitary infrastructure. Road systems with level crossings were also put into operation. All the track systems put into operation were included in the computer control of the previously commissioned P1 control room. The rebuilt range of the P1 switching district constitutes one third of the entire Gdynia Port station. This is a milestone on the way to completing the entire modernisation of this key investment from the point of view of port accessibility’, says Maciej Olek, Director of Railway Construction at Budimex SA.
As part of the entire investment, 115 km of track will be modernised and access to the port gates will be electrified. 13 km of roads, a railway bridge and 29 level crossings will be rebuilt. Communication will also be facilitated by two new railway viaducts. The contract also covers the construction of the Local Control Centre building, two railway control rooms, a PKP Cargo office building and an overhaul of three existing control rooms. The investment project is co-financed from the funds of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), and its total cost is PLN 1.5 billion net.
Budimex is one of the leaders in railway construction in Poland. The company is currently undertaking such contracts as the new Warszawa Zachodnia station, constituting one of the largest PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe SA investment projects. In 2021, Budimex also completed the modernisation of the Warsaw – Lublin railway line.