{"id":321047,"date":"2026-03-25T06:32:47","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T06:32:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bdm-stg.mda.pl\/informacje-prasowe\/after-359-days-of-work-the-tbm-kinga-shield-broke-through-to-the-other-side\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T08:02:01","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T08:02:01","slug":"after-359-days-of-work-the-tbm-kinga-shield-broke-through-to-the-other-side","status":"publish","type":"press","link":"https:\/\/bdm-stg.mda.pl\/en\/press\/after-359-days-of-work-the-tbm-kinga-shield-broke-through-to-the-other-side\/","title":{"rendered":"After 359 days of work, the TBM "Kinga" shield broke through to the other side"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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25.03.2026<\/p>\n

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After 359 days of work, the TBM “Kinga” shield broke through to\u00a0the other side<\/h2>\n

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At the construction site between Limanowa and Kl\u0119czany, “Kinga” finished work on\u00a0the evacuation tunnel, reaching the pick-up point on\u00a0the west side of the facility. This is a\u00a0breakthrough moment in\u00a0the construction of railway line No. 104 and another important stage in\u00a0the implementation of the “Pod\u0142\u0119\u017ce-Piekie\u0142ko” project, which is one of the most complex railway investments carried out in\u00a0Poland today.<\/strong><\/p>

After 359 days of work, the “Kinga” TBM shield broke through to\u00a0the 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\u00a0Poland is being built. The Limanowa-Kl\u0119czany siding section itself is part of the “Pod\u0142\u0119\u017ce-Piekie\u0142ko” programme \u2013 the largest undertaking of PKP PLK in\u00a0the south of the country, which in\u00a0the future is to\u00a0significantly improve connections in\u00a0Ma\u0142opolska, shorten travel time and increase freight transport capabilities.<\/p>

– 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 \u2013 not only because of the scale of technical challenges, but also because of its strategic role for the development of modern railway infrastructure in\u00a0Poland. Today’s stage brings us closer to\u00a0completing the entire tunnel system and shows that we\u00a0are consistently translating ambitious assumptions into real progress of works <\/em>\u2013 says Artur Popko, President of Budimex SA.<\/p>

The Limanowa-Kl\u0119czany siding section implemented by\u00a0Budimex in\u00a0a\u00a0consortium with G\u00fclermak includes the modernisation and electrification of over 12.5 km of railway line No. 104, the construction of two tunnels under Pisarzowa and a\u00a0wide range of engineering works, including 10 viaducts and 12 bridges.<\/p>

Two shields \u2013 “Kinga” and “Jadwiga” \u2013 are working near Pisarzowa \u2013 brought to\u00a0Polish especially for the needs of this investment. Their task is to\u00a0drill two parallel tunnels about 3.8 km long each. “Kinga” was the first to\u00a0start 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\u00a0the same time, a\u00a0larger shield “Jadwiga”, responsible for drilling the main railway tunnel, is working, where the contractor achieved an excellent result \u2013 as\u00a0much as\u00a046.02 m (23 rings) hollowed out in\u00a0one day, which is a\u00a0new 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\u00a0complete the drilling of the main tunnel.<\/p>

– The scale of the work carried out as\u00a0part of this stage is best illustrated by\u00a0the numbers. “Kinga” worked on\u00a0this task for 359 days, of which 311 days were drilling alone. During this time, we\u00a0built 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\u00a0it required very precise preparation of the machine pick-up site, and then control of the head position in\u00a0order to\u00a0lead to\u00a0a\u00a0safe passage through the final wall of the portal in\u00a0a\u00a0previously planned place \u2013 <\/em>says Maciej Olek, Member of the Management Board of Budimex SA, Operational Director of Railway, Energy and Industrial Construction.<\/p>

Budimex is consistently strengthening its presence in\u00a0the “Pod\u0142\u0119\u017ce-Piekie\u0142ko” programme. In\u00a0addition to\u00a0the construction of the Limanowa-Kl\u0119czany siding section, the company was responsible for the first commissioned section of the modernized line No. 104 on\u00a0the Chab\u00f3wka-Rabka Zaryte section. It is also implementing the H\u00a0section of line No. 622 between Szczyrzyc and Tymbark in\u00a0a\u00a0consortium with Gulermak, and in\u00a0March 2026 it signed an agreement with PKP PLK for the next stage of the investment \u2013 the construction of line No. 622 on\u00a0the Pod\u0142\u0119\u017ce R401\u2013Gd\u00f3w section and slip road No. 627 on\u00a0the Pod\u0142\u0119\u017ce R301-Pod\u0142\u0119\u017ce Balach\u00f3wka section.<\/p>

The scale of Budimex’s involvement in\u00a0the “Pod\u0142\u0119\u017ce-Piekie\u0142ko” programme is in\u00a0line with the company’s broader experience in\u00a0the implementation of complex railway and infrastructure investments. The value of the railway segment in\u00a0the Budimex Group’s order book is nearly PLN 6 billion, which shows the growing importance of this area in\u00a0the company’s operations. In\u00a0recent 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\u00a0the Port of Gdynia station, and is currently implementing further railway projects in\u00a0Poland and the region, including the modernisation of lines 201 and 214 in\u00a0Kashubia and as\u00a0part of Rail Baltica in\u00a0Latvia and Estonia.<\/p><\/p><\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section> \n

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