01.10.2021 representatives of the Budimex and KZN Rail consortium together with representatives of the investor – the local government of the Małopolska Region; and the final beneficiary – Koleje Małopolskie; inaugurated the construction of technical facilities worth over PLN 92 million to service rolling stock in Kraków.
The contract for the investment, implemented in the design and build model, was signed a year ago. During this time, the contractors managed to make the necessary multilateral arrangements for the project – which, due to the prevailing pandemic, was associated with numerous difficulties and prolongation of the process. Finally, at the beginning of September this year. The Voivode of the Małopolska Region issued a decision approving the construction design and granting a building permit.
The symbolic groundbreaking ceremony, which took place 4 weeks later, begins the actual construction process. As part of the project, within the next 10 months, modern technical facilities of Koleje Małopolskie will be created, which will guarantee the reliability of the rolling stock and the high quality of the carrier’s services. The back-up building itself, built by Budimex, will be divided into four zones, where the actual repair hall will be located; The two-storey office and social part m.in. with a signal box, control room or facilities for conductor teams; workshop and warehouse part and a whole train wash. The facilities will be equipped with a sewage treatment plant, as well as a station for emptying toilets and launching tanks, an underfloor lathe, an overhead crane and rail vehicle lifts, devices for measuring wheel pressure and controlling wheel wear. According to the project, the hall will also include water supply, sanitation, central heating and air conditioning installations. The consortium leader – Budimex – will also be responsible for the general development of the area (pavements, access road, car park).
The scope of the project also includes partial demolition and construction of the track system and overhead contact line, for which the consortium member – KZN Rail – will be responsible. The hall will have three 140 m long tracks made in ballast-free technology – two for inspection and repair and one for a closed-circuit car wash. In addition to the hall, 15 parking tracks with a total length of almost four kilometers will be built. A dozen or so necessary turnouts will be manufactured by the KZN Bieżanów Group’s Krakow plant. The entire track system will accommodate and freely operate up to 30 modern 4-5 unit vehicles.
The construction of a service centre for the Małopolska railway carrier is the first investment of this type by Budimex. However, the company has many years of experience in running railway projects. She completed m.in. modernization of LCS Kutno on the Żychlin – Barłogi section with a length of 18 km and is carrying out the reconstruction of the Port of Gdynia station worth PLN 1.8 billion gross. KZN Rail, on the other hand, has already carried out a similar order for Koleje Dolnośląskie. Both companies have an extensive portfolio of jointly implemented projects, such as the construction of the Łagiewnicka Route currently underway in Kraków or the modernisation of the Nowa Huta Depot, where KZN Rail operates as a subcontractor for track works for Budimex. The companies have their own equipment to perform railway works and specialized staff of engineers, thanks to which they complete the won contracts on time, guaranteeing the highest quality.
The project entitled. “Construction and equipment of technical facilities for the operation of rolling stock” is one of the strategic investments of the Małopolska Region, aimed at comprehensive support for regional rail transport in Małopolska. This investment is financed from EU funds under the Regional Operational Programme of the Małopolska Region for 2014-2020, Measure 7.2 Rail transport, Sub-measure 7.2.1 Rolling stock, the budget of the Małopolska Region and the own funds of Koleje Małopolskie. The total value of the investment is PLN 92,384,199.76, eligible costs – PLN 75,165,102.56 and the value of EU co-financing: PLN 63,890,337.18.
