PKP Announces Great Changes on Podlaskie Tracks

The construction of the Rail Baltica route and the implementation of the Bus Stop Programme is the most vital investments of PKP Polskie Linii Kolejowe S.A. in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. Passengers are already enjoying the effects of the work, e.g., new connections and more accessible platforms. Railway workers take care of track and crossing maintenance daily.

Rail Baltica is the most prominent rail investment currently underway in the voivodeship and one of the largest in the country. The project is co-financed by European Union funds. From Czyżew to Białystok, work is progressing on 70 km of line, six stations and 12 stops. Work is advanced in Czyżew and Szepietowo. Work can be seen in Racibory, Łapy and Białystok. The station in Baciuty and the new stop Białystok Zielone Wzgórza are under construction.

In the last year, most of the work has been done at the stations in Czyżew and Szepietów. New platforms are available for travellers. Traffic officers from new signal boxes with computerised equipment supervise train traffic. The contractor is completing the subways. At Białystok station, work is progressing on the construction of a new platform, a subway and the reconstruction of almost 55 km of track. Work has also started in Łapy. PLK S.A. will build two viaducts and four subways there. The new solutions will significantly increase rail traffic safety.

Work is progressing on the tracks and the construction of collision-free intersections. In January 2022, a new road viaduct over the tracks in Szepietowo was commissioned. It is one of 25 collision-free road crossings over the tracks between Czyżew and Białystok. The facilities increase the level of safety in rail and road traffic. In addition to the already-used viaducts in Szepietowo and Uhowo, the remaining collision-free crossings and more than 60 km of access roads are under construction.

Positive changes associated with the Rail Baltica line modernisation include new opportunities for train traffic. Since September, regional trains have been arriving in Czyżew from Warsaw. Since January 2023, the first regional trains from Bialystok have returned. Trains can be boarded from new platforms at the Kity and Dąbrowa - Łazy stops. Train traffic is running on two new tracks on the 28-kilometre Czyżew - Racibory section.

2023 will have more positive effects on the Rail Baltica line. At the end of January/beginning of February, a second track will be available in the section Kietlanka - Czyżew. Trains will travel on the new track between Białystok and Łapy. In the following months, new platforms and viaducts will be put into service. In the middle of the year, the opening of the Białystok Zielone Wzgórza stop is planned. In the second half of the year, bridges over the Narew River in Uhowo will be ready. Most of the work on the Czyżew - Białystok section will be completed in 2023, with the continuation of work on the two largest stations - Łapy and Białystok - planned for 2024.

The investment is being carried out as part of the project 'Works on the E75 line between Czyżew and Białystok'. The project is co-financed by the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). More information about the investment is at www.rail-baltica.pl.

The government programme for the bus stops' construction or modernisation for 2021-2025 in the Podlaskie Voivodeship allows for the reconstruction of 12 bus stops. It aims to reduce transport exclusion and facilitate access to provincial and inter-provincial rail transport. Since December, passengers have been using a more comfortable and better-located platform in Kleszczele. In Suchowolce on the Białystok – Czeremcha line, travellers have been boarding trains from a new platform since May. In addition, the nearby railroad crossing will be protected with light and sound signalling. Further work will include the Gregorowce stop on the Białystok - Czeremcha line and the Gliniszcze, Sidra, Różanystok, Dąbrowa Białostocka, Balinka, Augustów, Augustów Port, Szczepki, Płociczno k. Suwałki stops on the Sokółka - Suwałki line. Procedures are underway to select contractors for the work.

In addition to investments, PLK S.A. conducts ongoing activities to maintain the safety and proper condition of railway lines. This enables the efficient passage of passenger and goods trains. As part of the so-called maintenance works in 2022, repairs and adjustments of almost 200 km of tracks and 95 turnouts were carried out in the province, among other things. More than 4,500 sleepers and 11,000 tonnes of ballast were used. Safety at track-road junctions was ensured by carriageway repairs at 40-level crossings.

Source: PKP S.A. Press Releases