an interview with Andrzej Wach, President of the Board, PKP SA

Marek Lewoc: Poland starts construction of the first high-speed railway. What do you feel? Excitement, impatience, anxiety?

Andrzej Wach: It is a huge endeavour, looked forward to by travellers. Many people today still do not see advantages of fast trains. However, everyone who had the opportunity to travel in such trains – in Spain or France, to name the closest places – dreams to have them also in Poland. Experience of other countries suggests that opening of one part leads to opening further parts very quickly. We are preparing a project of fast trains in Poland and, looking at other countries of Western Europe, we can see that the deadline of its launch is quite achievable. What we need are firm actions in order to start the construction in 2014, as it was planned. It is going to be one of the greatest achievements of the Polish rail.

How important is Łódź for Polish Railways? Why did PKP choose this place to launch its first track of Polish high-speed?

Łódź is, next to Warsaw and Katowice, one of the largest agglomerations in Poland and the largest city in the vicinity of Warsaw. Fast train connection between the cities will result in them becoming one organism. It is thanks to high-speed railway that citizens of Łódź can get to work or school in Warsaw faster than they can drive through the capital. The city that we are talking about is also an element of the railway connection between Warsaw and Wroclaw. It is natural for us to incorporate Łódź into our large investment programmes, thanks to which we increase attractiveness of the railway as a means of transport between the three cities. High-speed railway, which is to connect Poznan, Łódź, Wroclaw and Warsaw, as well as Cracow and Katowice, will be a new quality, not only regarding the Polish railways but transport in general.

Łódź Fabryczna Railway Station will be closed down in less than a year. What has already been planned and what is about to be decided?

Łódź Widzew Railway Station will be extended and modernised. Reconstruction of the existing buildings and construction of new ones, coupled with development of land adjacent to the Łódź Widzew station, is a part of the second stage of the Łódź-Warsaw railway line modernisation – the Łódź Fabryczna-Łódź Widzew sector. The abovementioned line modernisation is closely related to the programme of constructing and launching high-speed railway in Poland. First of all, the Łódź Widzew station will be modernised. It will service all the passengers from the Łódź Fabryczna station while the latter will be reconstructed. The next step will be the reconstruction of the railway line between the stations, coupled with moving Łódź Fabryczna underground in 2010-2013. The new station, belonging to PKP SA, will be a new multimodal node, integrating all sorts of transport – railway (including agglomeration, cross-regional, high-speed trains), city communication (buses and trams) and PKS (coaches). Car parks will be built next to the station. Łódź Fabryczna platforms will be situated 16 metres below the ground, and the station itself will be multi-level. All trains will move in a tunnel dug under the centre of Łódź. Such solution will allow to use the surface for office, hotel and dwelling purposes. All the construction works at the Łódź Widzew station will be completed in mid-2010. The station will be prepared for the increased number of travellers. Modernisation will include extension of the station building and creation of additional space for passengers. Additionally, car parks for about 400 cars will be built. A bus loop will be situated next to the station, probably for three lines. These works will be carried out by PKP SA in cooperation with city transport authorities (Zarzad Drog i Transportu) in Łódź. They are going to be finished in mid-2010, so that in the 3rd quarter of the year, the Łódź Fabryczna station could get closed down. In order to deal with the train traffic, some of them will be rerouted from Łódź Widzew to the Łódź Kaliska station. Even after the extension, Łódź Widzew will not have the capability to service large numbers of passengers. It has to serve as an important node until basic operation on the Widzew-Fabryczna section will be finished. Redevelopment of the station will start with a complex reconstruction of the station in respect of track lines and platforms distribution. First trains are going to travel from Łódź Widzew to Łódź Fabryczna in 2013.The second half of 2010 will see the beginning of the next stage, i.e. construction of a railway line between Łódź Widzew and Łódź Fabryczna, construction of Łódź Fabryczna itself and the second stage of the Warsaw-Łódź railway line modernisation (operations on Skierniewice-Warsaw West part of the line). It is an investment programme which can be compared, in respect of scale and cost, to the construction of a new airport. In the last stage (2011-2015), PKP SA will choose a developer who will manage the development of the ground level area of the Łódź Fabryczna railway station.

All the works will be conducted in an open dig site system. Railway will be used instead of lorries. What is it going to look like?

For us, it is a challenge as well as dreams about railway development coming true. This huge investment will create first elements, serving as a base for the project of high-speed railways and a new quality for the citizens of Łódź. We will aim not only at using railway in construction to the maximum, but also to minimize all inconveniences that people may suffer due to altered train timetables. That is why we decided to rebuild Łódź Widzew, construct new car parks next to the station, as well as a diversion for trains from Warsaw to Łódź (due to the Skierniewice- Warsaw line modernisation). The diversion will be used only by passenger trains, which will allow us to avoid unscheduled delays. We will put stress on better information service for passengers and compensations for bigger delays. We have learned a lot from our mistakes in the first stage of works on this line. Seizing the opportunity, I would like to apologise our customers for those problems once again. There will be no situations of the type we had two years ago.

The city boasts that the earth dug from the Big Hole (the dig under the New Centre of Łódź) will be used to create the Big Hill – a recreation space on the outskirts of Łódź. What is your opinion about the idea?

I think it is a very good idea. Warsaw has its Gorka Szczesliwicka – a place where people can ski and sledge almost in the city centre. The place is really attractive for the Warsaw people.

When can we expect construction of the high-speed railway tunnel under Łódź?

The first part of the tunnel will be a tunnel connecting Łódź Widzew and Łódź Fabryczna stations. It will be the largest tunnel in Poland (1400m). This part of the tunnel will be built in an open dig site. It is a part of the current investment, i.e. the second stage of the Łódź-Warsaw railway line modernisation. Simultaneously, preparations for construction of the entire tunnel (4000m) are in progress. It is a part of a huge government investment to build high-speed railway in Poland in 2014-2018. In the first half of 2011, we plan on finishing the study concerning the location of a high-speed railway line. After that, we will move to the investment stage. Construction of the line and successive completion of sections will be carried out between 2014 and 2018. The initial study for construction of this part of the tunnel has already been made, and we will move on to the second stage of study&project operations in this year. The tunnel will be located about 20 meters underground, and it will be constructed, of course, by a drill method, also underground. In this way, the city will not get paralysed.

Construction of the high-speed railway in Łódź is related to construction of the New Centre. Polish Railways will have its say in what it will look like. How do you imagine a city which will emerge on the premises of PKP, that is, on the space freed from old station and tracks?

The project for development of this area is being prepared in cooperation with the city. It is being worked on by the best specialists, who are preparing the most citizen and passenger friendly concept. The Railways will carry out the vision of the new centre which local authorities and citizens of Łódź will fully identify with. It will be a very modern part of the city.

How are duties divided between the City of Łódź and the Railways in relation to the construction of the Łódź Fabryczna station and railway infrastructure? Which elements will PKP SA be responsible for, which tenders will be announced?

PKP PLK is responsible for modernisation of platforms, tracks and tunnel construction. PKP SA is responsible for railway stations and reconstruction of Łódź Fabryczna facilities. The city is responsible for communication between the new Łódź Fabryczna station and the rest of the agglomeration. In July, PKP SA, PLK SA and the city of Łódź signed a contract regarding a common investment at the Łódź Fabryczna station. By the end of September, a unified functional-utility programme will be developed, according to the contract provisions. It will serve as a basis for implementation of a tender procedure. Simultaneously, in addition to works resulting from the programme, PKP SA will carry out a procedure to choose an investor for development of the area on top of the underground railway station. At the same time, the city is to build a road system for communication between the station and the rest of the agglomeration.

Which elements of the New Centre of Łódź project were forced by the Railways? How were the talks over the project? Did you have to fight for anything?

This is a huge investment, both for PKP and for Łódź. We have experience in cooperation with other cities, but this project is complicated in both technical and formal way. We had to prepare several dozens of various parcels of land for the investment, make arrangements and negotiate arrangements with the city, with the conservation officer, and prepare funding for the investment. I have no doubt that all the effort put into the preparation of this investment, as well as hard work in the following years, will result in the changed face of Łódź for many generations. The preparation process started on the 3rd of July, 2007, with signing a partnership contract for the construction of the New Centre of Łódź by PKP SA, PLK SA and the city. So far, the investment preparation was carried over in an atmosphere of understanding, without any greater conflicts between the parties. A great deal of work was done by the Ministry of Infrastructure, which supports and oversees the process of preparation for the introduction of high-speed trains in Poland.

We all know that the cost of the great dig will be divided between the Railway and the city. Are the PKP and the city equal partners?

Projects involve funds of the PKP companies, city and the developer, who will develop the New Centre of Łódź. The largest amount will come from PPK PLK and the EU funding. Detailed distribution of costs for the Great Dig is not known yet. It will be specified in the already mentioned function-utility programme, in proportion to the area owned by each party of the agreement.

We will wait several years for the high-speed trains. What next? What are PKP plans?

Our goal is to create connections between Warsaw and Łódź, Wroclaw and Poznan. We hope it is just a beginning. When, finally, in 2018 the first line will be created, the passengers will demand more lines. Such was the way in other countries where fast trains proved to be a perfect way of travelling. Spaniards started in 2004 with almost 500 km of tracks. Today, they have over 2000 km. I wish our network of high-speed railway was connected to those of other countries, i.e. a line from Wroclaw to Dresden, for example. We will increase speed on Gdansk-Warsaw and Katowice-Cracow lines. In a few years, trains will travel there at a speed reaching 200 km/h. We will use the best solutions, applied not only in Europe but also in China or Japan, both in respect of the line construction and trains. It will be a very modern railway.

How do you imagine Łódź after the works are done? What will be the role of the city in Polish and world system of communication?

Warsaw and Łódź connected by a high-speed railway and a central airport in between would create perfect communication conditions for citizens of both agglomerations. Łódź will become a very important city in respect of rail transport due to fast trains and the vicinity of Centralna Magistrala Kolejowa (Central Railway Route), where trains will travel at a speed of above 200 km/h, which is faster than current 160 km/h. Let us also remember that A1 and A2 motorways will cross in Łódź.

In your opinion, is there any danger that the project will be stopped, delayed or abandoned?

Barriers and risks in investments are always present, at all stages. We will be assured of success when first passengers will board trains on Łódź Widzew and travel to the Łódź Fabryczna station. Up to this moment, we will have to show determination in struggle with all problems: formal, technological or financial ones. Preparations in Poland last 5 years, the work itself – about 3. We have achieved a lot, contrary to what people say. We have shown that local authorities, PKP companies, with a great deal of help from the Ministry of Infrastructure, can together process investments which would be impossible for each of them separately. It is a fine example for other local authorities and companies on this market.