It will consist of five tubes. The tunnel in Łódź will not only make it possible to travel between the Łódź Fabryczna railway station and the Łódź Kaliska and Żabieniec stations, but will also make it possible to use the new underground stops. The citizens of Łódź will thus gain a substitute for the underground. The project involves the construction of three underground stops: Łódź Koziny, Łódź Polesie and Łódź Śródmieście.
The construction works are in intensive progress. The Łódź Polesie station, which is 24 metres underground, is already emerging. The platforms where the trains will stop can already be seen. The railwaymen forecast that due to the proximity of the Manufaktura shopping centre, this stop will be used by the most passengers. In total, Łódź Polesie will have three underground floors. The first (closest to the surface) will have a transport function. Lower down, there will be technical facilities. Platforms will be built on level -3, with escalators and lifts leading to the platforms.
As part of the work, the side walls, pillars and floor slabs have already been constructed. The platforms, which will be 150 m long, are ready. Work is also continuing on the other two underground stops.
At the Łódź Śródmieście stop (in the area of the junction of Zielona Street with Zachodnia Street and Kościuszki Avenue), all collisions with the external infrastructure have been removed. A set of diaphragm walls has been constructed. Construction work is underway and soil is being excavated from inside the stop. At the Łódź Koziny stop (at the junction of Włókniarzy Avenue and Drewnowska Street), which is the largest structure on the Łódź tunnel route, reinforcement of the lowest level -3 is in progress. Level -2 is being built into the ceiling. The erection of pillars on which the floor of level -1 will be supported is beginning,” informs the railwaymen.
In the single-track tunnels between Koziny and Kaliska and Żabieniec, work on the concrete substructure is underway. The substructure for the tracks has been made in the tunnels and further layers of track surface will soon appear on the surface. Their task will be to reduce noise and vibrations.
In Żubardz, the TBM discs have started work. The western chamber, from where the Faustina disc set off, has already been built up and covered with soil. At the eastern chamber, from where Catherine started, construction work is nearing completion.
TBM Faustyna has completed its mission to excavate the single-track tunnel and is being dismantled. The second shield, Katarzyna, encountered ground difficulties at 1 Maja Avenue during the tunnelling. The area under the endangered tenements was reinforced. At the end of December and the beginning of January, ground investigations were underway to determine the extent of additional work to protect the buildings in the area affected by the machine. Shield work will not be resumed until the relevant safeguards have been realised. Once the construction work has been completed, the tunnel will be subjected to testing and technical acceptance before being put into service. The tenants of the relocated tenements are still staying in hotels funded by the contractor for safety reasons, where they are provided with food. Instead of a hotel, the tenants may receive a financial equivalent from the contractor. The safety of the residents and future users of the tunnel is our priority, and every decision taken during construction is based on expert analysis and the highest technical standards,” reads a PKP PLK communiqué.
When the works are completed, Łódź Fabryczna station will cease to be a terminal station and will become a through station. Regional and long-distance trains will pass underneath the centre of Łódź.
PLK SA’s investment worth more than PLN 2 billion is seeking funding for the work to be carried out after 2023 from the EU budget for 2021-2027 under the European Funds for Infrastructure, Climate and the Environment (FEnIKS).
source: tunel-laczypolske.pl
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