Poland: ESI Funds invest over €475 million to modernise key railway infrastructures

The Commission recently approved the continuation of eight major projects to improve railway infrastructure in Poland in 2014-2020. Started in the 2007-2013 period, these projects concern the modernisation of hundreds of kilometres of railway across several Polish regions. Over €475 million from the Cohesion Fund will be invested in these projects in 2014-2020. Regional Policy Commissioner Corina Creţu said: “These investments will contribute to a better connectivity in the country, to a faster, safer and greener mobility, while linking Poland to EU-wide transport networks. And upgrading railway infrastructure does not only boost the economic competitiveness of a region; it also has a positive impact on the environment, and on the quality of the citizens’ everyday life. This is why I am particularly proud of these projects.” Four projects, worth €319.3 million, will upgrade linkages between the regions of Mazowieckie and Łódzkie. They will modernise existing railway lines, improve safety and increase travel speed, both for passengers and freight traffic. Thanks to these projects, connections from and to Warsaw will be improved. The Commission will also invest €74.6 million in a project in the region of Wielkopolska, in order to complete the modernisation of a railway section from Czempiń to Poznań, part of the Baltic-Adriatic corridor of the Trans-European Transport (TEN-T) network. Railway lines running through the region of Pomorskie, also part of the Baltic-Adriatic corridor, will be improved thanks to three projects worth €81.5 million. These investments will notably upgrade the connections to the cities of Gdansk, including to the port of Gdansk, and Gdynia, thus contributing to less traffic congestion in these urban areas. More information on ESI Funds investments in Poland is available on the Open Data Platform and in this factsheet.