Budimex has reached the first four milestones on the contract covering the construction of a new railway line No. 622 on the Podłęże – Gdów section and the railway link No. 627 Podłęże – Podłęże Balachówka. The general contractor has begun work on the construction of engineering structures, which open the next stage of a key investment for the Małopolska Region. The planned completion of the construction is scheduled for 2029. The investment is being carried out at the request of PKP PLK.
The first milestones concern the start of works related to the construction of two railway bridges, each about 1.4 km long, a railway viaduct about 600 meters long and a railway bridge also 600 meters long. In addition to the construction of engineering facilities, work has also begun on one of the key elements of the entire investment – the T11 railway tunnel with a length of nearly 900 meters, which will be built on the route of the new Podłęże-Gdów railway line. Currently, works are being carried out to prepare the area for its construction.
“Reaching the first milestones confirms that the project has entered a key phase of implementation. The commencement of the construction of the most important engineering structures required professional preparations, project coordination and the mobilization of significant technical resources. This is one of the most demanding railway investments currently being implemented in Poland, which will use advanced execution technologies, including tunnel drilling using the TBM method and the construction of large-scale bridge structures – says Adrian Jasiówka, Contract Director, Budimex SA.
Budimex signed the contract for the implementation of the contract in March 2026. The value of the investment is over PLN 2.57 billion net, which makes it one of the largest railway contracts currently implemented by the company. For the purposes of the task, with the support of the Budimex Technical Office, an advanced BIM (Building Information Modelling) model is also being developed, which supports inter-branch coordination, work planning and analysis of technical solutions at all stages of the investment.
New connection for Małopolska
Ultimately, the contract includes the design of SRK equipment and the construction of approximately 19 kilometers of double-track railway line No. 622 and single-track railway link No. 627 along with their integration into the existing railway lines No. 91 and No. 95. As part of the investment, two new railway stations will be built: Podłęże Balachówka and Gdów and two passenger stops: Wiatowice and Zagórze near Niepołomice. A total of 8 platforms will be built. The scope of the project also includes the construction of the T11 tunnel, 17 bridges and 11 railway viaducts, 6 bridges and 5 road viaducts. In addition, 24 culverts, two passages under the tracks and a total of 18 walls and retaining structures will be made. The scope of the task also includes the construction of road systems, overhead contact line, power supply systems, drainage, sanitary and telecommunications infrastructure. The contractor will also deal with the construction of passenger service facilities and the reconstruction of hydrotechnical infrastructure.
The “Podłęże-Piekiełko” project is currently the largest railway investment implemented in the south of Polish. After the completion of the works, the travel time between Krakow and Nowy Sącz will be reduced by about an hour, while the journey from Krakow to Zakopane will be shorter by up to 90 minutes. The investment will also increase the capacity of the railway network and freight transport capabilities in the region.
For years, Budimex has been implementing the most demanding railway projects in Poland and Europe. Currently, the company participates in the implementation of the strategic Rail Baltica project, which consists of the Estonian section of Pärnu – Latvian border in the “Alliance” formula. In Latvia, on the other hand, as part of ERB Rail, the company is running a project to build 230 km of railway infrastructure. In Poland, the company is responsible, m.in, for the modernization of the railway line No. 104 Chabówka – Nowy Sącz, also implemented as part of the “Podłęże-Piekiełko” project, and also carried out the construction of the “Fabryczna” receiving chamber, one of the key elements of the infrastructure accompanying the construction of the long-distance tunnel in Łódź.
