The heaviest component of the TBM machine, which is set to begin boring the 4.6-kilometre tunnel for the High-Speed Rail (KDP) in spring 2027, has been lowered into the launch chamber at Retkinia in Łódź. The contract with PORR is worth approx. PLN 2.2 billion gross.
Cutterhead in the launch chamber
At the Retkinia construction site, one of the key operations preceding tunnelling has been completed. A cutterhead weighing about 430 tonnes has been delivered to the underground chamber – the heaviest single component of the machine. The entire shield is about 130 m long and weighs approx. 4,000 tonnes. Assembly requires accuracy on the order of a few millimetres.
A large part of the equipment is already assembled underground. After the cutterhead is installed, further assembly work awaits, followed by tests and a trial start-up. Only after these will the machine move towards Łódź Fabryczna railway station. According to the schedule, this will happen in spring 2027.
– Behind us are years of preparation, design and construction of the infrastructure needed to start this operation – said Piotr Malepszak, Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Government Plenipotentiary for the CPK. Also taking part in the event were Piotr Borys, President of CPK (Port Polska) company, and a board representative of PORR, the investment’s contractor.
Tunnel and contract parameters
The tunnel will connect the „Retkinia” launch chamber with the „Fabryczna” reception chamber. It will be 4.6 km long and about 14 m in diameter. It will be the longest TBM-bored railway tunnel in Poland. Trains will run at depths of 25 to 35 m beneath the city centre.
The construction contract, worth approx. PLN 2.2 billion gross, was signed by the CPK company with a consortium led by PORR. It is the largest element of the Port Polska programme contracted so far. The tunnel is a key section of railway line no. 85, part of the Y-shaped railway that is to connect Warsaw and the CPK airport with Łódź, and in the longer term with Wrocław and Poznań. The first HSR trains on the Warsaw – Port Polska – Łódź section are scheduled to run in 2032.
The tunnel will serve mainly long-distance trains, including HSR services, which will stop at Łódź Fabryczna. It is a separate investment from the cross-city tunnel that PKP PLK is building in Łódź.
Why TBM technology
The investor stresses that the machine will allow work beneath the city surface while limiting the impact on buildings and infrastructure. The shield is being built with the participation of a team of experts from several European countries, including Austria, Germany, Slovakia and Italy. In keeping with tradition, the machine will be given a name.
As of publication, we have not found an official announcement with the exact date of the first metre of tunnelling – the schedule points to spring 2027.
