Budimex has completed construction of the launch chamber so Porr can now begin site preparations, including setting up construction facilities and bringing in the TBM that will build the 4.6km-long, 14m-diameter high-speed rail tunnel.
The TBM is scheduled to start boring in the second half of next year. It will be launched from the Retkinia chamber and bore towards the Fabryczna chamber, located next to Łódź Fabryczna station and the Łódź Cultural Centre.
At the Łódź Cultural Centre, micropiling and jet-grouting to strengthen the building’s foundations has been completed. Work on the Fabryczna chamber is under way and the diaphragm walls have been installed.
The tunnel depth will vary from around 23m below ground at Retkinia to 34m between the emergency chambers. Five emergency chambers will be constructed along the tunnel using diaphragm wall technology, each with staircases to ground level. These will also accommodate technical systems for tunnel operations. Evacuation walkways will run the full tunnel length, serving both as emergency escape routes and maintenance access.
The project is part of the strategic Line No. 85 – the so-called railway “Y” – which will connect Warsaw and CPK Airport with Łódź by 2032, and by 2035 will enable high-speed rail connections to Wrocław and Poznań.
