The idea for the reconstruction of the station and its vicinity dates back to the 1920s. However, the inhabitants of Łódź had to wait for nearly a century for its implementation. It all began in February 2006, when Łódź signed a framework agreement with Polish State Railways (PKP S.A.) regarding cooperation which is to cover the grounds of Łódź Fabryczna station. This was a step in the development of the idea of building the New Centre of Łódź, which originated from the idea to revitalize the historic EC1 power plant and convert it into a modern art centre.

The plan adopted by the City Council of Łódź assumed a conversion of 90 hectares in the quarter of Kilińskiego-Tuwima-Narutowicza-Kopcińskiego streets into an entirely new district in which culture and business would play the main role. At the same time, PKP, which began to plan the course of the first Polish high-speed rail line, decided that it should also have its stop in the very centre of Łódź. The only way to make this possible was to construct an underground railway station and a tunnel underground, which would allow passage of fast trains on the route connecting Warsaw, Łódź, Poznań and Wrocław. At the same time, the railway station could be used by the passengers of the conventional railway, and the new transportation system would enable smooth train travel around the region. In short, Łódź, which since the very beginning of its adventure with the railway, has been torn into two parts due to the two outlying and poorly connected stations, has received a great opportunity to become the communication centre of the region and the country.

It should be noted that from the very beginning of the investment, PKP PLK and the City of Łódź have cooperated in harmony. On 16 December 2008, the city signed with the French consortium SYSTRA a contract to conduct a feasibility study of land development in the area of the planned excavation and preparation of materials for applications for funding the project of the New Centre of Łódź from European Union funds. The study was finished in December 2009. Guidelines for future contractors concern the construction of the tunnel for long-distance, regional, agglomeration and high-speed traffic, the construction of the Łódź Fabryczna railway station as the underground station with four platforms and eight tracks. The railway tracks and platforms will be located 16.5 m beneath the ground level, and 10.5 m above them, there will be a network of roads and a part of a bus station. Hotels, office buildings, shopping facilities and residential apartments will be built on the ground level. The project also involves creating a ‘Park and Ride’ car park system and parking places for bicycles. The streets leading to the Łódź Fabryczna station will be: P.O.W, Składowa and Węglowa. Tram lines and tram stops around the train station will be rebuilt, and city and regional bus stops will be created on the northern side of it. Also, new streets will be established: a two-lane extension of Targowa street and a street connecting the railway station with Kopcińskiego street.

PKP PLK had to create a financial engineering project to prepare the tender procedure. It was clear from the beginning that this would be the largest railway investment in Poland, worth about PLN 2 billion. Therefore, the reconstruction of the station was included in the scope of the second stage of modernization of the Łódź-Warsaw railway line, thanks to which the journey from the “Polish Manchester” to the capital is to take only 65 minutes. The entire project, financed in large part from the “Infrastructure and Environment” Operational Programme, is divided into so-called Lots. Lot A includes the modernization of the Warszawa Zachodnia-Skierniewice (Miedniewice) segment, and Lot C - other works: the construction of the Local Control Centre in Skierniewice and a viaduct over road no. 72 in Rogów. Lot B, implemented in Łódź, will be divided into parts: B1 - including the reconstruction of railway tracks from the station Łódź Widzew to Łódź Fabryczna Station, and B2, which will involve the design and construction of an integrated transfer node, i.e. multimodal Łódź Fabryczna railway station, located in the New Centre of Łódź.
On 31 August 2010, the Ministry of Regional Development announced the lists of individual projects – the most important investments that are likely to receive funding from the EU in the coming years without having to participate in the call for proposals. As part of the “Infrastructure and Environment” programme, our investment in the area of the Łódź Fabryczna station was also listed (PLN 1.2 billion funding to a nearly PLN 2 billion worth investment). Additionally, a project submitted by the City of Łódź to create a multi-modal hub was on the basic list of measure 7.3 “Urban Transport in metropolitan areas.” Łódź may receive a PLN 230 million funding for an investment which will cost a total of almost PLN 600 million.

Finally, the European Union will add PLN 1.2 billion to the investment. However, the station must be built by the end of 2014, otherwise the money will have to be returned. The tender history has taught us that it is not necessary always so rosy. A two-stage design-and-build tender was launched on 4 December 2009, but only on 4 November 2010 we got to know a list of the five consortia that had been invited to tender, and until 8 April we had to wait to learn about what they offer. The author of the cheapest one was a consortium of Przedsiębiorstwo Robót Inżynieryjnych POL-AQUA (Piaseczno) and Spanish company Dragados. The consortium committed to build a station for PLN 1.5 billion gross. The contractor had allotted PLN 2.463 billion for the investment. However, on 13 April, serious problems with the investment began. A court ruling excluded the consortium of Pol-Aqua and Dragados from the tender procedure. This was the result of a protest by Warbud, which had been excluded in an earlier stage. PKP PLK started legal consultations and prepared possible scenarios of action. One of them was to hold a new tender procedure. At the same time, however, the time limit for the completion of the renovation was threatened.

On 24 May, PKP PLK decided to choose a contractor in the course of the tender procedure in progress then. It was a consortium of the following companies: Torpol (Poznań), Astaldi (Rome), Przedsiębiorstwo Usług Technicznych INTERCOR (Zawiercie) and Przedsiębiorstwo Budowy Dróg I Mostów Minsk Mazowiecki), offering the net price of PLN 1.43 billion (PLN 1.76 billion gross.) Italians from the Astaldi company participated, among others, in the construction of the high-speed railway line between Rome and Naples and the subway in Rome, Genoa, Caracas and Copenhagen. Three consortia which lost (the excluded Pol-Aqua and Hydrobudowa and Budimex) objected against the decision of the tender committee, but were dismissed by PKP PLK. In the next stage, only the Pol-Aqua consortium fought for the tender cancellation. The hearing before the National Board of Appeal took place in Warsaw on 5 July, and its decision was announced on 11 July. The National Board of Appeal rejected the appeal of the excluded consortium, which made the Torpol-Astaldi consortium the final winner of the tender procedure. On 5 August, the chairman of the Public Procurement Office approved the tender.

It is noteworthy that the largest investment in the history of Łódź, the redevelopment of the Łódź Fabryczna station, required special infrastructure preparations by railway companies. In order to avoid paralysis of the railway communication in Łódź, it was necessary to rebuild the Łódź Widzew station and repair the railway route Łódź Widzew -Łódź Chojny-Łódź Fabryczna, which is in turn the railway line encircling the town. Renovated for PLN 6 million, the Łódź Widzew station was opened on 23 October 2010. As part of the investment, the Skanska S.A. company added a new wing to the building. The modernized station houses five ticket offices, a waiting room, a newsagent’s stand, a booth with food, toilets for the disabled and the Tourist Information Centre. More benches have appeared, and travelers have gained access to wireless Internet. The surroundings of the station have changed completely as well – access roads: Augustów and Służbowa – have been rebuilt. At the entrance of the building, two car parks for a total of 350 cars were built. At the same time, the City provided public transport directlz at the station door.

Soon, the Trakcja-Tiltra S.A. company will start the redevelopment of platforms and tracks. The contract amounts to nearly PLN 239 million (PLN 294 million gross.) The first stage will involve the repair of the line around the city, thanks to which during the reconstruction of the Łódź Fabryczna station, trains from Warsaw will be able to get to the Łódź Kaliska station faster. At the same time, the bypass will be used for the needs of the emerging Łódź Agglomeration Railway. The contract refers to preparation of design documentation and construction works involving the construction and reconstruction of railway infrastructure, including the railway permanent way and subgrade, traction, electrical power engineering, civil engineering, platforms, passages and crossings. Works involving the construction of facilities for environmental protection will be done as well. The task also involves building a new Łódź Niciarniana railway station together with a grade-separated crossing with Niciarniana street and Local Control Centre on the Łódź Widzew station.

This is just a part of the history of the most important investment in Łódź. To read the sequel, we invite you to visit www.ec1kolejowy.pl. We hope that all inhabitants of Łódź will celebrate a happy ending to this extraordinary story already in 2014.