PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe signed a contract for the design of Niepołomice–Kraków railway line that will provide inhabitants of the town in southern Poland fast and efficient journeys.
The PLN 4.6 million (EUR 1 million) contract was signed with a consortium of Infra – Centrum Doradztwa and Infra–Projekt that will be responsible for the preparation of design documentation, conducting social consultations, obtaining the necessary arrangements, permits and environmental decisions.
The building permit is expected to be obtained in 2026 which will enable the announcement of a tender procedure for the construction of the new line.
A new track is planned on the Podgrabie – Niepołomice Dworzec Autobusowy section. Trains will travel along it at a speed of up to 80 km/h and will stop at three stations (MAN, Boryczów and Niepołomice). The journey along the new Niepołomice–Kraków railway will take approximately 30 minutes. The cost of building the new 6 km long track was estimated at over PLN 320 million (EUR 74.2 million).
“Niepołomice will regain its railway after many years. This is good news not only for residents, but also for us, the railway workers. We are consistently increasing the role of the agglomeration railway in the region,” Ireneusz Merchel, the president of the management board of PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe said.
The construction of a new railway line between Niepołomice and Kraków will enable efficient communication for thousands of residents of the city itself and the surrounding communes.
The investment will open up an opportunity for efficient transport for many excluded places and will also facilitate access for employees of the local economic zone.
The project to build the Niepołomice – Kraków railway line is part of “Government Programme for Supplementing the Local and Regional Railway Infrastructure Kolej Plus until 2029”.
Kolej Plus programme has a total value of PLN 13.3 billion (EUR 3 billion), of which PLN 11.2 billion (EUR 2.6 billion) is provided from the state budget, while the remaining PLN 2 billion (EUR 463.9 million) will be covered by the local authorities.
Across Poland, under the Kolej Plus programme, 34 projects have been selected submitted by local governments of 11 voivodeships.
Under Kolej Plus, in the Małopolskie region (Lesser Poland Voivodeship), three projects have been selected consisting of the construction of new railway lines totalling 32 km. Besides the construction of Niepołomice–Kraków railway, the other two projects include the construction of a new 22 km line between Kraków and Myślenice, and the construction of the 4 km Kraków – Olkusz railway line.
The tenders covering the design documentation and obtaining approvals and building permits for all the three projects were launched this spring.
For Kraków – Myślenice rail route the design documentation is expected to be completed in 35 months (almost three years) while for the Kraków – Olkusz line, in 29 months (2.5 years).
The construction of Kraków – Myślenice railway will require two tunnels and seven stations along the line which will be adapted to passengers with reduced mobility. Trains will run at a speed of 80 km/h on the sections crossing difficult foothill terrains and at 120 km/h on the sections that do not face difficult geography. Passengers will travel 40 minutes from Krakow to Myślenice.
The construction of the Borowa Górka – Pieczyska railway connection will shorten the travel time of trains from Kraków to Olkusz. Thanks to the new tracks, carriers will not have to turn around at the station in Jaworzno Szczakowa. The journey from the capital of Małopolska to Olkusz will be approximately 15 minutes shorter. Residents of Bukowno will also benefit from a faster connection and the access to the railway will increase thanks to the new Jaworzno Sosina stop. Trains will run at a speed of 80 km/h on the new double-track railway line.
The entire programme concerns cities with over 10,000 inhabitants. The programme has been designed to provide access to railway transport services to the cities or towns that currently have no passenger rail connections or connections that require improvement or revitalisation to deliver better services. Thanks to the implementation of Kolej Plus, approximately 1.5 million people will gain better access to passenger rail.
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