Benefits of the new tram line
Tram construction to Vilanova (Wilanów) is part of a large project to build a tram connection between West Station and Vilanova stations. In the future, this line will allow tram travel from the Warsaw area Will through desire and Mokotów to The town of Wilanów or Vilanova. The current construction of the tram to Vilanova is planned to be completed in the first half of 2024, reports “muratorplus.pl”.
Tram operators have announced that the travel time of the eight-kilometer tram route from Vilanova to the metro station “Centrum” will be approximately 30 minutes, to the metro station “Pole Mokotowskie” – approximately 18 minutes. Currently, drivers have to reserve about 50 minutes in order to travel the Vilanova-“Centrum” route during peak hours. In addition, rail transport can accommodate more passengers than buses, and tram journey times are more predictable.
Two branches are planned on the route. The first one will run along Gagarina Street to Cherniakovsky Street. This is a separate project implemented by the company “Warsaw trams” together with the municipal water and sewerage company. As part of the contract, which will include design and construction works, approximately one kilometer of tracks will be built.
The second branch under construction, about 800 meters long, will be built along Sv. Bonifacia street and will lead to Stegny bus terminal.
The main route to Vilanova is being built pa Republic of Poland avenue, and the last terminal of the route will be located near Republic of Poland avenues and Branicki street intersection.
The construction of the tram route to Vilanova will use “green” track technology. The new track bed will be planted with sedums – plants characterized by increased resistance to high temperatures and which do not require watering. Currently, there are 33 kilometers of such “green” tracks in Warsaw.
According to the investor, the tram route to Vilanova will be ready by the middle of 2024. And by the end of 2024, the last section will be put into operation – the branch of the route along Sv. Bonifacia Street.
The construction of the route is co-financed by the European Union Infrastructure and Environment Action Program 2014-2020. for the year. The official name of the project is “Construction of a tram route to Wilanów together with the purchase of rolling stock and related infrastructure”. Its total cost is one billion 190 million Polish zlotys (approx. EUR 266,518,350) and EU funding is PLN 555 million (approx. EUR 124,300,575).
Difficulties are encountered when building two branches and reconstructing the heating line
Work is currently underway along the entire route. It was also announced that the construction of the branch of the line in Sv. Bonifačia street, ie tram to Stegni. According to the Warsaw City Hall, after the construction of this branch, it will be possible to reach the center of the capital within 20 minutes. However, the construction works are associated with certain difficulties for drivers and pedestrians, for example, pedestrian bridges over Sobieski street
The tram to Stegni is one of two tram branches on the route to Vilanova that are currently under construction (the other is the tram branch on Gagarina street). At this stage, the tram will run along St. Bonifačia Street, from the bus terminus near the church and school to the intersection with Jan III Sobieski street, where the branch will connect with the main tram route to Vilanova.
Using part of the investment of 56 million Polish zlotys (approximately EUR 12,549,794.3 million), it is planned to create tram and bus terminals instead of the current bus terminal. An approximately 800-meter-long green track covered with sedum will be created.
It will be built between the roadways of the street, preserving the existing Sv. Bonification of the cross section of the street (the number of car lanes will not change). The construction of a bicycle path along St. Bonification of the streets, as well as planting 40 new trees with a minimum height of five meters, 1188 shrubs and 355 perennial and flowering plants.
The construction of the branch to Stegni is also positive news for other parts of the city. If the branch of Sv. On Bonifacia Street, any tram damage, for example, near Vilanova, would have blocked traffic on the entire route to the city center. Thanks to the existence of the branch, in the event of an emergency it will be possible to maintain tram traffic on at least part of the route.
Trams will have two tracks with platforms at the terminal, including one shared by tram and bus. In this way, a convenient place to change trains will be created. As before, drivers will have one lane in each direction and two track crossings – at the level of Batumi street and at the end point, the Warsaw Public Transport Authority informs.
Workers are also working on the branch of the route on Gagarina Street. And after a year Pulawska trams have returned to the street – from September 4 this year there are three lines (4, 10, 18) from the previous five. The absence of the two lines previously here is due to the preparation for the implementation of the traffic organization after the opening of the route to Vilanova. Two lines (it is not yet known which ones) will be diverted to the new route.
On September 25, the city announced a tender for the introduction of priority for trams Pulawska on the street so that they can run faster. Thanks to priority, trams will have a “green wave” and will be able to cross intersections faster. The tender was announced on October 9, and the contractor will have 22 weeks.
Also, at the end of August, the reconstruction of more than five kilometers of heat pipe, which is located under the future tram route, was completed. This is an important step, because without this reconstruction it was not possible to carry out some of the following works. On August 31, this difficult task was completed. According to Warsaw Trams, “it was the largest construction operation of its kind in the city’s history.”
At the same time, the construction of the tram route to Vilanova was resumed. In August of this year, a court ordered a halt to work on a 500-meter section due to a sewer system under the tram tracks, whose ownership is the subject of a legal dispute between developer Polnord and the city. However, in the middle of September “Warsaw Trams” managed to reach an agreement with “Polnord” and the construction works could start again.
“Polnord” and “Warsaw Trams” have reached an agreement to prevent collisions between rainwater drainage facilities and the tram route under construction. The parties have effectively agreed on detailed conditions for the relocation of some equipment of this network, which allows the contractor “Budimex” to resume construction, reports “muratorplus.pl”.
Every day, around 500 workers and 200 different types of machines (70 excavators, almost 90 trucks, 11 cranes, rollers, drilling machines, etc.) are involved in the construction of the new tram line. In some stages, work is carried out even at night (Sobieski and Nałęczowska street). One of the biggest challenges was the reconstruction of the district heating network along the entire length of the future route, which had to be completed before the rails could be laid. Thanks to the reconstruction, if any damage to the heating network occurs in the future, its repair will not stop tram traffic.
In Warsaw, trams run on “green” rails
In Warsaw, trams run more and more on tracks that are not concrete, but are green and “alive”. The Polish capital already has 33 kilometers of green tracks planted with plants called sedums, and more “green” tram tracks are planned.
The history of “green” tram tracks began in 1905, when the first such tracks appeared in Berlin. In Poland, they were introduced only in 2000 in Krakow, Bronowice on the street. However, the second decade of the 21st century has significantly increased the popularity of this solution, and today cities are competing with each other to green the rails.
“Green” rails are not only aesthetic, but also a matter of specific ecological effect. Thus, the level of sounds produced by the tram is reduced, exhaust gases are filtered and the temperature in the immediate vicinity of the tracks is lowered – the soil on which the grass grows absorbs moisture. In addition, such “green” tracks, planted with durable and water-retaining sedums, improve the visual characteristics of the city, explains the Warsaw municipality.
The “green” tram tracks, once mainly grassy, are now mostly covered with sedums, which are ideal plants for this purpose – drought tolerant and usually do not require watering in urban conditions. Due to these advantages, sedums are becoming more and more common in the Polish capital, not only around the tram tracks, but also at the green bus stops, as there are already 50 in Warsaw.
Sedums are plants intended for urban conditions. They have a positive effect on air quality – they reduce the amount of dust in the area of stops by approximately 15-20 percent and absorb 7.3 kg of carbon dioxide per year. On hot days, they lower the temperature under the canopy by 3-5 degrees Celsius. During rain, they store up to 150 liters of water, which contributes to the retention of rainwater. Thanks to the long flowering period, they also attract insects, emphasize Warsaw municipality officials.
2023-10-29 03:15:04
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