Porr, the company selected to construct the Łódź high-speed tunnel, has awarded Alstom a contract to carry out works related to the installation of railway traffic control systems within the long-distance tunnel.
Under the contract, Alstom is responsible for the full design and delivery of the signalling solutions inside the tunnel, as well as their integration with the Łódź Widzew station area. These solutions are part of Alstom’s Onvia mainline signalling portfolio.
“The design and installation of the railway traffic control system in the Łódź long-distance tunnel are of strategic importance for the safety and reliability of the entire investment. This is a unique project, both in terms of its scale and technical requirements. In delivering it, we will draw on the extensive experience of our qualified engineering team in Katowice in designing and implementing control systems, gained both in Poland and through international projects across Europe,” said Adam Juretko, Managing Director of Alstom’s Katowice branch in Poland.
This is Alstom’s first signalling contract within high-speed rail infrastructure linked to the development of the Port Polska investment programme.
Alstom’s experience in the Polish market includes, among others, the first implementation of ERTMS Level 2, the deployment of ERTMS Level 2 on ten PKP PLK railway lines, the construction of more than 30 centralised traffic control (CTC) systems, the installation of computer-based interlocking systems at over 220 stations, and the modernisation of more than 1,700 level crossing signalling systems.
Łódź high-speed tunnel, key to the CPK network
The Łódź high-speed tunnel is a crucial part of the “Y” railway line being developed by CPK under the Port Polska programme, which will enable train operations at speeds of up to 350 km/h. By 2032, the “Y” network will connect Warsaw and the new national airport with Łódź, and by 2035 it will allow the launch of the fastest high-speed rail connections to Wrocław and Poznań.
The tunnel in Łódź will have a diameter of 14 metres and a length of 4.6 km, making it the longest and largest-diameter railway tunnel structure in Poland. Trains will run through the city centre at depths ranging between 25 and 35 metres.
The new Łódź tunnel forms part of the North Sea – Baltic corridor within the TEN-T trans-European transport network.
The tunnel will allow trains to operate at speeds of up to 160 km/h and will be dedicated exclusively to long-distance services. In parallel, Poland’s railway infrastructure manager, PKP PLK, is constructing a separate tunnel for regional traffic.
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