Łódź railway tunnel contracts terminated as PLK exits PBDiM deal

Łódź railway tunnel contracts terminated after PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe (PLK) ended its agreements with Przedsiębiorstwo Budowy Dróg i Mostów (PBDiM) on the city’s rail tunnel scheme linking Fabryczna, Kaliska and Żabieniec stations, as set out in a PLK press release and reported by Railway Pro.

PLK said it made the decision to protect residents and properties along the tunnel route, and to ensure the project can be delivered in a stable and professional way. The termination covers three agreements: construction of the large-diameter main tunnel, construction of the Łódź Koziny station, and construction of the Włókniarzy traction substation.

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PKP PLK Łódź tunnel contract termination: what triggered the decision

PLK said it had spent recent months in intensive mediation with the contractor in an attempt to restart work and keep the tunnel in Łódź moving. Even with support measures and the involvement of contracting authorities, the company said PBDiM did not overcome organisational, financial and technical problems.

As PLK describes it, its review of contract and technical documentation—together with the Contract Engineer’s recommendations and opinions from independent experts—showed the contractor was not able to continue the investment in line with the contract. Marcin Mochocki, a member of PLK’s board, pointed to a lack of necessary resources, insufficient experience in tunnel boring machine (TBM) technology and serious financial difficulties.

PBDiM TBM problems Łódź tunnel: delays and stalled excavation

PLK characterised the tunnel excavation as extremely inefficient. The contract assumed the tunnel boring machine (TBM) would complete the main tunnel section in 14 months, but after 4.5 years only 1.5 km had been excavated, with the machine active 17.5% of the time.

The infrastructure manager added that the TBM disc has been blocked since November 10, 2024, and said the contractor has not presented a credible plan to resume work despite repeated assurances. It also referenced successive execution schedules—14 plans submitted in the last 15 months—that pushed deadlines further out, up to August 2028.

Łódź city crossing tunnel project status and scope

With Łódź railway tunnel contracts terminated, PLK said it has started procedures to take over the site and prepare the next steps. Those steps include protecting the investment and selecting a new contractor, while the company says it wants work to restart as quickly as possible and, above all, safely. PLK also said it will support and protect residents who have been relocated as a result of the investment.

The tunnel is also known as the city crossing tunnel and is separate from the Łódź tunnel planned by CPK for high-speed train traffic, which has been covered by Railway Supply. PLK’s project is planned as a tunnel system with a total length of 7.5 km and a track length of 17 km, including a 3 km double-track main tunnel and four single-track tunnels totalling 4.5 km.

The scheme also includes three underground stations—Śródmieście, Polesie and Koziny—each designed with three levels. At its deepest point, the tunnel is expected to pass about 26 meters below the surface, roughly equivalent to nine stories of a residential building.

Once delivered, the tunnel is intended to allow regional and long-distance trains to cross the city centre on an east–west axis via Widzew, Fabryczna and Kaliska stations, and on a north–south axis via Widzew, Fabryczna and Żabieniec stations.

The initial value of the project was estimated at over PLN 2 billion (EUR 477 million). It received European co-financing: phase I through the Infrastructure and Environment Operational Program, and phase II through the European Infrastructure, Climate, and Environment Funds 2021–2027. The city crossing tunnel was due to be completed this year.

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