19 Firms Line Up for Warsaw–Łódź High-Speed Rail Work

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Nineteen companies are competing to help build the first section of Poland’s planned high-speed rail line between Warsaw and Łódź, marking a pivotal step for the country’s flagship Port Polska transport programme.

Eight Bidders Target Strategic Airport Junction Section

According to recent tender information, the Centralny Port Komunikacyjny company has received eight requests to participate in a competitive dialogue for a 14.3-kilometre stretch of the Warsaw–Łódź high-speed corridor. Publicly available details show that these eight bids are made up of 19 individual companies, including six consortia and two sole bidders.

The contested section runs between the future Airport Junction and Bolimów Junction, forming part of Railway Line 85, which will connect Warsaw, the planned new hub airport and Łódź. It is regarded as one of the technically dense portions of the route, with the scope including major structures, road interfaces and environmental protections.

Information released through industry outlets indicates that the contract for this segment will require construction of dozens of engineering structures, such as road and rail bridges, viaducts, culverts for drainage and wildlife crossings. The scale of the works and the prominence of the Port Polska investment plan have drawn interest from leading Polish and international infrastructure contractors.

The bidding procedure is being carried out in a competitive dialogue format, which allows the client and shortlisted bidders to refine technical solutions before final offers are submitted. This model is increasingly used for complex transport projects where design optimisation can significantly affect costs, timelines and environmental performance.

First High-Speed Line in Poland Nears Construction Phase

The Warsaw–Łódź corridor is set to become Poland’s first true high-speed rail line designed for speeds of up to 250 to 350 kilometres per hour. Public documents describe it as a roughly 120-kilometre route that will ultimately integrate into a larger Y-shaped network extending towards Wrocław and Poznań.

Earlier tenders have already been launched for an initial civil works package between Kotowice and the planned airport area, as well as for a 4.6-kilometre tunnel under Łódź that will form a core element of the future high-speed node in the city. Together, these contracts and the new Airport Junction section bring the scheme closer to its first physical construction milestones.

Project schedules made available by the developer indicate that the first operational section of the Warsaw–Łódź high-speed line is planned to open before the end of 2032, broadly in line with the anticipated launch of the new airport. Once fully completed, the corridor is expected to cut travel times significantly, reducing the rail journey between Warsaw and Łódź to under one hour on high-speed services.

The new line is also intended to relieve pressure on existing conventional tracks and to create additional capacity for regional and freight trains. By moving long-distance and airport-bound traffic to a dedicated high-speed alignment, planners aim to modernise the wider rail network while improving reliability on current routes.

Port Polska Programme Links Rail, Airport and Regional Growth

The Warsaw–Łódź high-speed project is a central element of the broader Port Polska programme, which brings together a new greenfield hub airport with an extensive rail investment package. Publicly available information shows that the state-backed initiative is designed to reshape national and international connectivity by combining air, long-distance rail and regional services in a single integrated system.

On the rail side, Port Polska covers both the new high-speed corridors and upgrades to existing lines. The strategic aim is to connect major Polish cities to the future hub airport and to each other within competitive journey times, reducing reliance on domestic flights and road transport. The Warsaw–Łódź line is the first of these high-speed routes to reach the construction tender stage.

Alongside the civil works contracts, the programme is advancing procurement for key technical systems. Competitive dialogues have been launched for signalling and train control, telecommunications infrastructure and overhead electrification systems on Railway Lines 85 and 86. These subsystems will be built to a modern 2×25 kV AC standard, a departure from Poland’s traditional 3 kV DC electrification and a prerequisite for sustained high-speed operation.

Officials behind the programme present Port Polska as both a transport modernisation initiative and a regional development tool. New and upgraded lines are expected to open up areas between Warsaw and Łódź to investment, while improved accessibility could encourage shifts in commuting patterns, airport access and logistics flows.

Electrical and Systems Tenders Signal Technical Shift

In parallel with the civil works competition involving the 19 companies, additional tenders are under way for the Warsaw–Łódź and Warsaw–Łódź–Wrocław corridors’ power supply. Public tender notices highlight the planned delivery of up to five 2×25 kV traction substations, two of which will directly serve the Warsaw–Łódź section, including one near the future airport and another in the Dmosin area.

The move to a 2×25 kV architecture is presented in technical briefings as a foundational change for the Polish railway system. This configuration is widely used on high-speed networks elsewhere in Europe because it allows higher power transfer, longer spacing between substations and more efficient operation at very high speeds. Its adoption on the Warsaw–Łódź route is expected to set a benchmark for future domestic high-speed lines.

Separate competitive dialogue procedures have been initiated for the design and construction of signalling and train control systems, telecommunications networks and the overhead catenary system for Lines 85 and 86. Bundling these systems into dedicated packages is intended to attract experienced international suppliers and integrators while maintaining overall coordination through the Port Polska management structure.

Industry commentary suggests that this staged approach to procurement, starting with a relatively short but technically demanding airport junction segment, allows the client to test contractual models and technical standards before applying them to longer stretches west of Łódź. Lessons learned from the first contracts may influence how subsequent tenders for tunnels, viaducts and rural sections are structured.

Next Steps for the Warsaw–Łódź Corridor

With the requests to participate now submitted by 19 companies, the next step in the Airport Junction tender is the assessment and shortlisting of bidders for the dialogue phase. Evaluation is expected to focus on technical experience, financial capacity and the ability to manage complex, multi-disciplinary rail works.

At the same time, preparatory work continues on the remaining sections of the Warsaw–Łódź line. Project information indicates upcoming procurement for an 18-kilometre tunnel between Warsaw West and Kotowice, an additional 12-kilometre segment through Bolimów Junction itself, a 37-kilometre rural stretch from Bolimów to Brzeziny and an 11-kilometre approach into Łódź. Together, these contracts will progressively fill in the gaps between the capital, the new airport and Łódź.

The current timetable envisages phased commissioning, with initial service focused on linking Warsaw, the airport and Łódź using the new high-speed tracks, before full extension towards other cities. For travellers, the combination of frequent airport express trains and long-distance services could substantially reconfigure domestic travel patterns once the line opens.

For now, the strong response from the construction market to the Warsaw–Łódź airport section suggests that interest in Poland’s first high-speed rail project is robust. As competitive dialogue advances and further tenders appear, the Warsaw–Łódź corridor will remain a key test case for how the Port Polska vision translates into on-the-ground infrastructure.