POLAND: Port Polska has opened competitive dialogue with four consortia for a 6 km rail tunnel and six-platform underground station beneath the planned national airport between Warsaw and Łódź.

Port Polska rail tunnel tender advances with four consortia competing to build a 6 km tunnel and six-platform station by 2032.
Port Polska rail tunnel tender advances with four consortia competing to build a 6 km tunnel and six-platform station by 2032.

The procurement has moved from formal qualification into contractor discussions. According to the official 30 July announcement, all four shortlisted groups are bidding for both work packages, with price, delivery methodology and warranty period among the evaluation criteria.

Port Polska expects to conclude the procedure and sign the contract in the first quarter of 2027. Construction is scheduled to begin around the turn of the third and fourth quarters of that year.

Two packages cover the tunnel, station and rail junctions

The selected consortium will design and build the tunnel, railway station and platform hall. The eastern and central tunnel sections, station and multimodal interchange form the first package, while the western section and its rail junctions form the second.

Both packages also include optional work covering the track system and the design, supply, commissioning and maintenance of lifting and transport equipment. The base scope therefore extends beyond excavation and structural construction to the systems needed to operate the underground complex.

The station will have six platforms connected directly to the airport’s multimodal interchange. Together with the partly underground platform hall, the complex will exceed 1.6 million cubic metres in volume, almost three times the size of Warsaw Central Station. The tunnel is planned to be approximately 6 km long and between 50 and 160 metres wide.

The four competing groups are Mirbud, Kobylarnia and Torpol; Mostostal Warszawa, NDI, NDI Sopot and Intercor; PORR and Gülermak; and Strabag with TYM-BUD. Eleven companies are represented in total.

Don’t miss…MTA Subway Vending Machines Head to 26 NYC Stations

Opening is aligned with the Warsaw–Łódź high-speed line

The station and tunnel are scheduled to open at the end of 2032 alongside the Warsaw–Łódź high-speed railway. Trains would initially use the hub on an east–west axis, with north–south operation enabled after completion of the planned CMK North line.

Port Polska’s subsequent high-speed branches towards Wrocław and Poznań are planned to enter service by the end of 2035. An earlier official design update said the project team anticipated that up to half of airport passengers could arrive by train.

The wider Port Polska programme also covers the national airport, access roads, a logistics centre and Airport City. The current dialogue is a procurement stage rather than a contract award; the winning contractor is due to be selected after the discussions and final evaluation.

News on railway transport, industry, and railway technologies from Railway Supply that you might have missed:

Don’t miss…Amtrak Adds Buses for Piedmont Track Work in North Carolina