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EXCITING: Kuznica Bialostocka station is open for travellers! What can the passengers expect from its modernization?

EXCITING: Kuznica Bialostocka station is open for travellers! What can the passengers expect from its modernization?
photo: PKP/EXCITING: Kuznica Bialostocka station is open for travellers! What can the passengers expect from its modernization?
21 / 07 / 2022

A distinctive orange-grey facade, a modernly arranged space for serving travellers, as well as improved comfort and safety - all these are the effects of the completed reconstruction of the Kuźnica Białostocka station. On July 19, it was opened to travellers.

The investment, carried out as part of the 2016-2023 Station Investment Program with funding from the state budget, lasted just over two years. During this time, the facade of the station changed its appearance. It was made of system panels in mélange-grey and orange colours, which gave the facility a distinctive look. The grey colour scheme was also maintained with new windows and doors. A new accent is the illuminated inscriptions with the station name and the illumination highlighting its body at night.

Many changes have taken place inside the building. The travel service area, which is located on the first floor of the building, has been modernly decorated. The walls and characteristic columns are dominated by mélange greys resembling architectural concrete, broken by the white of the floor and ceiling. In the air-conditioned lobby-waiting room, travellers will find benches, so-called squats, display cases with timetables, electronic boards of train arrivals and departures, a defibrillator and a clock. The station has also been equipped with a new voice information system, making announcements more audible. Restrooms for travellers and a room for the ticket office have been located adjacent to the lobby. The remaining space at the station is occupied by the Border Guard, Customs and Fiscal Service and PKP CARGO offices.

"Kuźnica Białostocka is another station in Poland that has become a comfortable space for serving travellers. Thanks to the investment, it has gained completely new aesthetics and has become functional, modern and safe. I am convinced that it will meet the expectations of travellers and the Border Guard and the Customs and Fiscal Service, which have their headquarters there. Such a developed space is proof that railroad properties can also serve other important purposes related to state and local government activities," says Maciej Małecki, Secretary of State at the Ministry of State Assets.

"The opening of the station in Kuźnica Białostocka is another element of the great modernization of the Polish railroad. Residents of yet another village in the Podlaskie Voivodeship will thus gain access to safe and comfortable railroad infrastructure. I hope that the modernized station building will become a showpiece of Kuźnica, the centre of the local community and will make rail travel easier for passengers. All this is thanks to the Railway Station Investment Program as part of which the Polish government will allocate more than PLN 2 billion for the modernization of nearly 200 railway stations by 2023," says Andrzej Bittel, secretary of state at the Ministry of Infrastructure.

"Kuźnica Białostocka is the second station in Podlaskie Voivodeship that opened this year as part of the Station Investment Program. Although it is located in a small town, it is a vital facility, as it is located right on our eastern border. After modernization, it provides comfort not only to travellers using the railroad but also to the services based there," says Ireneusz Maślany, member of the PKP S.A. management board.

The station, after reconstruction, is fully adapted for people with limited mobility. Architectural barriers have been eliminated, and technical solutions facilitating the use of the station have been implemented, such as pathways for the blind and visually impaired, tactile maps of the station, signage in Braille and automatic doors leading to the station lobby.

The investment also increased security in the building and its immediate surroundings. It was possible after the modern monitoring, access control, burglary and assault signalling and fire protection systems installation. Environmentally-friendly solutions were also implemented during the investment. Comprehensive thermal modernization of the building was carried out, insulating it and replacing window and door ironwork with new ones. Air curtains appeared above the entrances to the lobby, limiting, especially in winter, the cooling of the travellers' service area. It's also worth mentioning the intelligent building management system (Building Management System), which controls equipment and installations at the station while taking care to optimize water, electricity and heat consumption.

Quite a few changes are also waiting for travellers in front of the building. The surface of the parking lot and sidewalks has been replaced. The square to the north of the station was redesigned, where a recreational space with walking paths, benches, and greenery, was created.

The cost of the construction work for the Kuźnica Białostocka railway station reconstruction is just over PLN 22 million gross. The investor is Polskie Koleje Państwowe S.A. (Polish State Railways). The contractor for the construction work was Merx Sp. z o.o. of Warsaw, and the station reconstruction project was developed by Przedsiębiorstwo Organizacji Inwestycji AllPlan sp. z o.o. of Bydgoszcz.

 

Source: PKP Press Releases

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