PKP withdrew three contracts with Przedsiębiorstwo Budowy Dróg i Mostów (PBDiM) covering the construction of the main cross-city tunnel, the Łódź Koziny stop, and the Włókniarzy traction substation.
In recent months, PLK had been mediation with the contractor to resume construction but PBDiM was unable to overcome organisational, financial, and technical challenges.
PLK board member Marcin Mochocki said the contractor lacked resources and experience with TBM technology and faced serious financial difficulties.
Numerous construction errors were noted during tunnel excavation, including improper pressure maintenance in the TBM chamber, lack of excavated material balance control, inadequate soil conditioning, stopping the drill in unprepared locations, and numerous equipment failures.
“Warning signals, including sudden pressure drops and ground deformations, were not properly analysed by the contractor. This led to a series of geotechnical incidents, culminating in a construction disaster on September 6-7, 2024, when part of the annex building at 1 Maja Street 23 collapsed,” PLK said.
Investigations identified design errors, insufficient geological exploration, and a lack of appropriate structural safeguards.
Serious concerns also arose regarding the design documentation. For years, the contractor failed to develop the complete technical designs necessary to continue construction.
PLK said tunnelling was conducted with extremely low efficiency. Excavation of the large tunnel section was scheduled to take 14 months, but only 1.496km was completed in four-and-a-half years of work and the TBM was operational for only 17.5% of that time. Since November 10, 2024, tunnelling work has remained idle.
