At the construction site between Limanowa and Klęczany, “Kinga” finished work on the evacuation tunnel, reaching the pick-up point on the west side of the facility. This is a breakthrough moment in the construction of railway line No. 104 and another important stage in the implementation of the “Podłęże-Piekiełko” project, which is one of the most complex railway investments carried out in Poland today.
After 359 days of work, the “Kinga” TBM shield broke through to the other side, completing the drilling of the evacuation tunnel under Pisarzowa. This is an important moment for the entire investment, where one of the longest railway tunnels in Poland is being built. The Limanowa-Klęczany siding section itself is part of the “Podłęże-Piekiełko” programme – the largest undertaking of PKP PLK in the south of the country, which in the future is to significantly improve connections in Małopolska, shorten travel time and increase freight transport capabilities.
– The successful breakthrough of the escape tunnel means the completion of one of the most demanding stages of this investment. This undertaking required not only appropriate technological facilities and the import of specialized machines, but also high executive competences. For us, this project has been of particular importance from the beginning – not only because of the scale of technical challenges, but also because of its strategic role for the development of modern railway infrastructure in Poland. Today’s stage brings us closer to completing the entire tunnel system and shows that we are consistently translating ambitious assumptions into real progress of works – says Artur Popko, President of Budimex SA.
The Limanowa-Klęczany siding section implemented by Budimex in a consortium with Gülermak includes the modernisation and electrification of over 12.5 km of railway line No. 104, the construction of two tunnels under Pisarzowa and a wide range of engineering works, including 10 viaducts and 12 bridges.
Two shields – “Kinga” and “Jadwiga” – are working near Pisarzowa – brought to Polish especially for the needs of this investment. Their task is to drill two parallel tunnels about 3.8 km long each. “Kinga” was the first to start work and was responsible for the construction of the evacuation tunnel, which will perform the key function of safety and technical maintenance of the entire infrastructure. At the same time, a larger shield “Jadwiga”, responsible for drilling the main railway tunnel, is working, where the contractor achieved an excellent result – as much as 46.02 m (23 rings) hollowed out in one day, which is a new record and significantly exceeds the previous 32 meters per day. For comparison, the average daily pace has so far been about 11 m, which best shows the scale of this achievement. There are still 672 meters left to complete the drilling of the main tunnel.
– The scale of the work carried out as part of this stage is best illustrated by the numbers. “Kinga” worked on this task for 359 days, of which 311 days were drilling alone. During this time, we built 3090 special rings constituting the tunnel casing, and the average pace of work was about 11 meters per day, including downtime, and an average of 12 meters per day without technological breaks. The piercing of the exit portal wall itself was one of the most demanding moments of the entire process, as it required very precise preparation of the machine pick-up site, and then control of the head position in order to lead to a safe passage through the final wall of the portal in a previously planned place – says Maciej Olek, Member of the Management Board of Budimex SA, Operational Director of Railway, Energy and Industrial Construction.
Budimex is consistently strengthening its presence in the “Podłęże-Piekiełko” programme. In addition to the construction of the Limanowa-Klęczany siding section, the company was responsible for the first commissioned section of the modernized line No. 104 on the Chabówka-Rabka Zaryte section. It is also implementing the H section of line No. 622 between Szczyrzyc and Tymbark in a consortium with Gulermak, and in March 2026 it signed an agreement with PKP PLK for the next stage of the investment – the construction of line No. 622 on the Podłęże R401–Gdów section and slip road No. 627 on the Podłęże R301-Podłęże Balachówka section.
The scale of Budimex’s involvement in the “Podłęże-Piekiełko” programme is in line with the company’s broader experience in the implementation of complex railway and infrastructure investments. The value of the railway segment in the Budimex Group’s order book is nearly PLN 6 billion, which shows the growing importance of this area in the company’s operations. In recent years, Budimex has been responsible, among m.in other things, for the reconstruction of the Warszawa Zachodnia station, the modernisation of the Czechowice-Dziedzice station and works at the Port of Gdynia station, and is currently implementing further railway projects in Poland and the region, including the modernisation of lines 201 and 214 in Kashubia and as part of Rail Baltica in Latvia and Estonia.
