Polish railway infrastructure manager PKP PLK plans to install additional broad gauge tracks at the Terespol border station in Poland. This will increase the capacity of the Terespol-Brest crossing to Belarus. Moreover, it alleviates pressure on the Małaszewicze intermodal terminal that is crucial for container transportation between China and Europe.

PKP PLK will start preparation of the project documentation this year. The infrastructure manager intends to install ten new broad gauge (1520 millimetres) tracks. Every track is 1,050 metres long and has an axle load of 25 tonnes per axis. The works will be financed from the company’s own funds and will be completed in 2022.

An additional broad gauge track was already installed on the Terespol – Kobylany section in 2017. The previous project cost 9 million Zlotys (more than 2 million Euros) and also included the extension of some other tracks as well the modernisation of the signalling equipment. The main result was the increase in train speed from 40 to 60 kilometres per hour.

Other border facilities

Besides enhancements at the Terespol station, PKP PLK also invests in other border facilities. The company plans to allocate 250 million Zlotys (around 58.3 million Euros) for these projects by 2023. Some works have already been completed. Thus, PKP PLK upgraded the tracks on the Medyka – Mostyska-II crossing on the Ukrainian border. The project facilitated longer and heavier freight trains and enabled an increase of speed. The company will continue the modernisation of this junction by track upgrades close to the Medyka intermodal terminal. The works will cost 91 million Zlotys (circa 21.2 million Euros) and will last until 2023.

PKP PLK also increased the track capacity on the Polish-German border. In 2016 a new bridge across the Lusatian Neisse river was opened. It enabled increased train speed from 50 to 120 kilometres per hour on the Węgliniec–Roßlau cross-border railway.

Also read:

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• PKP Cargo: Malaszewicze border no longer bottleneck on Eurasian railway