The TBM “Jadwiga” shield, weighing over 2.5 thousand tons, has started the construction of a railway tunnel under Pisarzowa. Over the next year, a new facility with a length of almost 4 km will be built, which will shorten train journeys between Limanowa and Nowy Sącz. This will be the first of 16 such structures planned as part of the “Podłęże-Piekiełko” project, the largest investment of the Polish Railway Lines in the south of the country. The task is co-financed by the European Union as part of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.
The drilling of a railway tunnel between Męcina and Mordarka has begun. They are being implemented by the larger of the two tunnelling machines operating in this place. Jadwiga weighs over 2.5 thousand tons and is 90 meters long. The machine and the specialists operating it face a real challenge – there are exactly 3750 meters of underground route to complete. The object with a diameter of almost 11 meters will be built step by step, with millimeter precision. The TBM shield, with the help of a rotating face equipped with steel teeth, simultaneously removes the soil and installs the concrete walls of the tunnel. In the back room, heavy machinery and the industrial railway supporting them remove the excavated excavated material, and in the opposite direction transport concrete fragments of the tunnel walls, which are being created non-stop in the prefabrication hall located next door. The entire operation was planned for about 10 months of continuous work.
– Railwaymen and contractors have an ambitious task ahead of them. The coming months will be hard work on the construction of the longest railway tunnel in Poland. I am glad that the investment is being implemented in accordance with the adopted plan. Thanks to it, the region will gain new opportunities for economic and social development,” says Dariusz Klimczak, Minister of Infrastructure.
A total of two tunnels will be built under Pisarzowa. In addition to the facility for trains, a smaller evacuation tunnel has been built by TBM Kinga since the end of March. During this time, the machine has already completed 420 meters, and this number is growing day by day. These will be the first tunnels made for the “Podłęże-Piekiełko” project. In total, 20 such structures will be built as part of the largest investment of Polskie Linie Kolejowe in the south of Polish. Trains will run in 16 of them, with a total length of almost 21 km. The remaining 4 will be evacuation tunnels, and their length will reach about 10 km.
” This is one of the most difficult projects currently implemented by Polskie Linie Kolejowe. We build tracks in a completely new course, in a very demanding environment. We are preparing for the implementation of further sections of this largest railway investment in the south of the country ,” says Marcin Mochocki, Member of the Management Board of Polskie Linie Kolejowe S.A.
The longest railway tunnel in Poland, which will be built in the vicinity of Limanowa, is a fragment of the new route of railway line No. 104. The modernisation of the Limanowa-Klęczany siding section is being carried out by a consortium of companies consisting of Budimex S.A./Gülermak Ağir Sanayi Inşaat ve Taahhüt A.Ş./Gülermak Sp. z o.o., and its cost is over PLN 1.9 billion. This is one of the four parts of the “Podłęże-Piekiełko” project, where construction works are already underway. The others are the Limanowa station and the Klęczany-Nowy Sącz and Chabówka-Rabka Zaryte siding sections. Tender procedures are underway for four other fragments of this line: Rabka Zaryte–Mszana Dolna–Fornale (Kasina Wielka), Szczyrzyc–Tymbark, Tymbark–Limanowa and Podłęże–Gdów.
The “Podłęże-Piekiełko” project consists of the modernization and electrification of 75 km of the Chabówka-Nowy Sącz route and the construction of 58 km of a new line, ultimately connecting Podłęże with Tymbark and Mszana Dolna. Thanks to this, a new connection will be created, which will facilitate communication between Krakow and the Podhale and Nowy Sącz regions. The fastest trains will cover the Kraków-Nowy Sącz route in about 60 minutes. On the other hand, the journey from the capital of Lesser Poland to Zakopane will take about 90 minutes. Parts of this investment are financed under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. More about the project: www.podleze-piekielko.pl
