E20 railway line on Konin – Kutno section open to traffic

For the duration of the investment, and in order to accelerate its implementation, the complete track closures had to be introduced on two of the three railway sections and alternative bus communication was put in place. In the first stage, the traffic was closed on the section Września – Konin, which was put back into service on 15 July 2018, while on the section Konin – Koło, which was closed with the opening of the previous section, the traffic was resumed today. This means that the connection from Poznań to Warsaw is already direct with still some complementary track-related works on the construction site to be finalized, which in turn will not have a direct impact on the possibility of conducting traffic. The full and planned completion of all works in the area of LCS Konin shall be at the end of August 2020.

The implementation of the contract in the LCS Konin area required the involvement of over 590 employees managed by experienced engineering staff, as well as over 150 machines, including SUM and PUN railroad machines, MB 80 and RM 76 ballast cleaning machines together with MFS wagons, UNIMAT 4S, 3S and CSM tamping machines as well as catenary trains and platforms. In addition, specialist equipment was involved, such as the SPENO train for grinding rails.

A total of 13.5 thousand were installed for the needs of the modernization of a 118-kilometer long railway line. tons of rails and 186,000 sleepers. 109 turnouts were built and over 443 thousand tons of ballast and 435 thousand tons of compacted stone mix were used. 8,200 pieces of foundations and 8,500 pieces of support structures were used to build the overhead contact line, on which over 300 km of the catenary network were hung.

The modernization also included 83 engineering objects, such as 8 railway bridges, 65 culverts, 3 passages under the tracks and 7 viaducts. Bridge structures located on the Grójecki Canal and the Warta – Gopło Canal deserve special attention. On a 40-meter long bridge on the Grójecki Canal, a 160-ton steel truss was replaced, while a 25-meter bridge on the Warta – Gopło Canal gained a new reinforced concrete-steel structure. New tracks were also laid on both facilities and a traction network was installed. Due to the modernization, both facilities meet the traffic control standard at speeds of up to 160 km/h.

The newly built Local Control Center in Konin (LCS Konin), like the other 7 control rooms in its vicinity, has been equipped with modern equipment and technical solutions from Bombardier.

The main effect of the modernization will be the increased capacity

train traffic and the efficiency and safety of railway transportation. Reconstruction of the route should ultimately double the capacity of the line and allow the passage of more powerful locomotives, as well as the service of 750 meter long trains. Passenger trains will be able to travel at a speed of 160 km/h, and freight trains at 120 km/h. The refurbished stations will have better service, while passengers will gain more comfort and more facilities for the disabled.