Warszawa Zachodnia railway station, Poland’s largest railway junction, was officially handed over for use after many years of modernisation. Budimex obtained an occupancy permit and commissioned the main hall and the new level -1, which is an impressive subway. This is one of the key milestones of one of the largest railway investments of the last decades, carried out in an area of more than 70 hectares, where 14 railway lines intersect.
The modernisation was carried out under exceptional conditions – throughout the works, the station remained accessible to passengers and handled train traffic. Now travellers have gained the use of the new station building on the Tunnel Street side and a spacious 63-metre-wide subway. Budimex reports that it would successfully accommodate a Boeing 737 aircraft. The scale of the project is impressive: nearly 92,000 cubic metres of concrete and 11,500 tonnes of reinforcing steel were used in the construction, with an average of 600 people and 160 equipment units working every day.
Warsaw West serves up to 60,000 passengers and almost 1,400 trains every day. The new track layout is more than 35 kilometres long, equipped with 137 switches, 191 semaphores and almost 580 information displays. Nine modern platforms, with a total area of 35,000 square metres, have been fully adapted to the needs of people with reduced mobility. Lifts and escalators facilitate access to the passenger tunnel, and the retail and service space in the new station building will soon offer shops and restaurants.
The investment has been designed in the spirit of sustainability. A photovoltaic installation of more than 8,000 square metres allows the facility to cover around 30 per cent of its electricity needs on its own. In addition, nearly 100 trees and more than 4,000 shrubs have been planted around the station.
The construction of the Warszawa Zachodnia station is an example of how a Polish contractor can realise investments of key importance to the country’s development. This is one of the most important infrastructural investments of recent years – a project that strengthens the backbone of the Polish transport system and improves the safety and comfort of travelling around Poland for years to come. (…) It is thanks to competence, determination and daily work that it was possible to complete such a complex task in extremely difficult conditions,” said Artur Popko, President of the Management Board of Budimex SA.
After modernisation, Warsaw West is not just a railway station, but a multifunctional, modern transport and service hub. We are proud that Budimex, together with Mostostal Kraków and its partners, has completed a project of such strategic importance for the capital and the whole country. Thanks to it, travellers received a safe, functional and comfortable facility that meets the standards of the 21st century,” emphasised Maciej Olek, Member of the Management Board of Budimex SA.
The value of the entire investment carried out for PKP PLK amounted to PLN 2.7 billion. The project was co-financed by EU funds under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) programme. After reconstruction, Warszawa Zachodnia becomes not only a showpiece of modern Warsaw, but also one of the most technically advanced railway stations in the region.
architecture: DWAA Architekci – Marcin Wolszczak, Oliwia Dec-Wolszczak
design documentation: TorProjekt
source: Budimex
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