The first location decision has been issued for the high-speed rail line connecting Warsaw, the Central Communication Port (CPK) Airport, and Łódź. The decision, granted by the Mazovian Voivode, covers the section near Warszawa West station.
This initial segment is approximately one kilometre in length, with part of the route running through a tunnel close to Warszawa West. The section is significant as it will form the outbound track from Warsaw towards both the CPK Airport and Łódź, where construction is already underway on the long-distance tunnel.
CPK High-Speed Rail line
© CPK
The Warsaw–Łódź line is part of the ‘Y’ configuration within Poland’s planned high-speed rail (HSR) network, for which CPK is responsible.
The location decision ensures this segment will connect directly with existing track infrastructure developed by PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe, accommodating the current CPK plans.
Piotr Rachwalski, CPK Board Member for Railway Investments said:
We have secured the first of the 12 necessary location decisions. This important stretch near Warszawa West is paving the way for further investment. We value our constructive cooperation with the Mazovian Voivode and look forward to the next location decisions, which are essential for continued progress.
Design work for the 140-kilometre Warsaw–Łódź HSR section is nearing completion. To date, CPK has submitted eight of the 12 planned applications for location decisions. The company also holds all environmental permits and nine of the 14 water-law decisions required for the project.
The Warsaw–Łódź line was the first to be included in the Railway Voluntary Acquisition Programme, with CPK acquiring more than 151 plots (159 hectares) and securing participation from over 95 percent of eligible owners.
Once operational, travel between Warsaw and Łódź is expected to take around 40 minutes, compared with roughly 70 minutes today. Journeys from Warsaw to the CPK Airport are anticipated to take less than 20 minutes. Upon completion of the full ‘Y’ network, travel from Poznań to Warsaw should take just under 1 hour 40 minutes, while journeys from Warsaw to Wrocław would take less than half the current duration.
The Warsaw–Łódź section, with design work supported by the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF 2), is scheduled to open at the end of 2032, coinciding with the launch of the CPK Airport. Subsequent HSR sections from Łódź via Sieradz to Wrocław and Poznań are expected to open by the end of 2035.
The Council of Ministers has allocated more than 76 billion PLN for CPK railway investments by 2032, representing approximately two-thirds of the current CPK Multiannual Programme.
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