As you may know, Poland is the most accommodating country toward the Ukrainian people. The UN states that over 14 million people are thought to have fled their homes since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Poland has taken the most, as you can see from the numbers below.
(Some people who traveled from Moldova to Romania are included in both countries’ totals).
The Help offered
The EU has granted Ukrainians the right to stay and work throughout its 27 member nations for up to 3 years. Poland, which has taken the highest number of refugees, and Moldova, which has the largest concentration of refugees by population, have both asked for international support to help fund their efforts.
The Struggles
Poland has offered many special benefits in order to support the growing number of Ukrainian refugees. For example payments for the households that keep refugees, free use of public transport, extra spots in kindergartens and schools, and free medical benefits (checkups and tests). Unfortunately, due to the high number of people that need help and the lack of funds, the Polish Government has decided to revoke some of the benefits.
The Withdrawal
The families or individuals that have taken refugees into their homes, via a law passed in March, were entitled to a daily payment of 40 zlotych (approximately 8-9 euros). The Government, sometime in April, counted that about 600 000 Ukrainian people benefited from such help.
Last week, though, the deputy interior minister Paweł Szefernaker announced that this benefit will no longer be available. He also mentioned that many refugees chose to return back and mentioned that since the 10th of May there have been more people crossing the border into Ukraine than into Poland.
Starting the 1st of June also the free municipal public for the refugees from Ukraine has been revoked. Free train travel is also off since this month.
No more discounted fares for those traveling without tickets. The city wants to recover PLN 41 million by entering free riders into the debtors’ register.
The Public Transport Authority in Krakow is waiting for PLN 41 million of unpaid fines and, since March, has been entering people who do not validate tickets in the BIG InfoMonitor Register of Debtors. Currently, there are almost 100,000 in areas across the country due to unpaid fines. Poles, their debts amount to PLN 141 million. Krakow followed the example of Warsaw, which thanks to the 61,000 PLN, in 2 months we managed to recover over 600 thousand PLN – even before publishing the cases in the debtor’s database.
It is getting harder and harder to remain an unpunished free rider. With a view to reporting people who do not buy tickets and then do not pay the penalty fee, other cities sign an agreement with the BIG InfoMonitor register of debtors. They have already done so Warsaw, Łódź, Rzeszów, Lublin, Białystok, Płock, Radom, Gdańsk, Olsztyn, Częstochowa, Katowice and other cities of the Upper Silesian-Zagłębie Metropolis, and from March also Krakow joined.
– Thanks to the requests for payment sent in December to the capital free riders, ZTM Warszawa has already recovered 633 thousand. PLN receivables even before the case is made public in the register. After being added to the list of debtors, the impact of the register increases even more. Debtors wishing to obtain financing, installment purchases or signing a subscription agreement usually strive to delete the entry and contact the creditor – says Łukasz Rączkowski, BIG InfoMonitor expert.
Transport is more expensive and savings on the ticket are tempting
The pandemic has reduced the number of passengers, and rising fuel prices and wages have hit urban transport companies hard. In Krakow, where in 2019 ticket revenues covered 53 percent. of the total costs of functioning of public transport, in 2020 it was only 38 percent. In 2021, it improved a bit, tickets were financed by 41%. ZTP costs.
– But it’s still far from expected. The situation is difficult, but we do not want to completely pass the cost increase only to passengers who buy tickets, hence the decision to report people who want to travel for free to the register of debtors. We hope that the information on this subject will act preventively and will translate into a decrease in the number of free riders in our buses and trams – says Magdalena Musiał, Deputy Director for Organization and Supervision of the Public Transport Authority in Krakow.
The problem of free-riding, whether by public transport or rail, and then avoiding paying penalties on this account is quite big in Poland. According to the data of the BIG InfoMonitor Debtors Register, over 99,000 For free riders from all over the country, almost PLN 141 million has to be repaid for free-riding. In financially difficult times, there may be more debtors, because, as Poles declare, when there are problems with money and there is a shortage of life, the first thought is to postpone the settlement of cable TV subscriptions, then the telephone and internet bills, and third place for possible fees related to the purchase of tickets for journeys. This idea is shared by 23 percent. respondents. And this shows that traveling without a ticket in the minds of people using passenger transport services is one of the ways to save money.
Ticket to register
However, the savings may turn out to be questionable. For example, in Krakow, the basic additional fare for traveling without a valid ticket is PLN 240, and in the case of reduced fare, the penalty fee is PLN 160. If the free rider does not pay the penalty within 30 days from the designated deadline, the carrier may enter it in the register of debtors kept by BIG. The condition is the arrears of min. PLN 200 and sending a request for payment with information about the planned entry on the list of BIG debtors.
– We intend to report to the BIG InfoMonitor Debtors Register people who will not pay fees for the lack of a public transport ticket. Annually, it may be about 30 thousand. receivables. At the end of January, we had to enforce over 133,000. additional fees worth nearly PLN 41 million. The record holder has over 55.4 thousand to be repaid. PLN – says Magdalena Musiał.
Practice shows that some people pay off arrears already when they learn that they can be entered in the register, others ignore their presence in the register until it begins to disturb them, for example, in taking out a loan, purchasing a telecommunications subscription or signing a cable TV contract.
– The mere announcement that information about the debt will be added to the register causes some to pay off the liability immediately after receiving the summons. They do not want to be entered, because such information, which is almost publicly available, reduces the payer’s credibility and may take away the opportunity for credits, loans or purchases. Before establishing cooperation, banks, loan companies, telecommunications service providers and contractors verify a potential client in BIG, both consumers and companies. In addition, data on debts appearing in BIG InfoMonitor also appear on most BIK reports downloaded by banks when verifying the customer’s credit history – explains Łukasz Rączkowski.
Cities are mobilizing, and so are debtors
According to the data collected in the BIG InfoMonitor Register of Debtors, in January this year the number of debtors-free riders exceeded 99,000, together they have almost PLN 141 million in arrears to be repaid. Compared to last year, almost 44.5 thousand were lost. free riders, and the arrears decreased by almost PLN 53 million. There were several reasons. Pandemic, remote work, remote learning, fewer opportunities for spending and COVID-19-related financial concerns made passenger transport less used, but many people who had all sorts of arrears used the time of the coronavirus to put their financial situation in order and “opted out” of the debtors’ register paying off debts. From the time of the pandemic to the end of January this year. the number of debtors in BIG InfoMonitor decreased by 112 thousand. to 2.13 million people, and the sum of arrears by over PLN 3.5 billion to 39,
– The aim of the cooperation between the Public Transport Authority in Krakow and the BIG InfoMonitor Debtors Register is to motivate passengers to travel honestly, so that others do not lose on the so-called “free riders”. The more people buy tickets, the higher the share of ticket revenues in financing public transport and the chance of avoiding fare increases. The more so because the transport offer has been made more attractive, and the operating costs of ZTP have increased – says Magdalena Musiał. – We also hope that cooperation with BIG will allow us to collect amounts due from dishonest passengers. People who end up in the debtors’ register will sooner or later stumble over this arrears on their way to a loan or subscription contract with a telecommunications company and will have to choose to pay off the arrears and implement plans, or give them up – he adds.
Most stowaways in Mazovia
Currently, the largest number of free riders in the BIG InfoMonitor Debtors Register comes from Mazovia. At the end of January, their number amounted to almost 20,000, and the total debt exceeded PLN 34.5 million. Next in line is Silesia and the province. Lodzkie. The inhabitants of Podkarpacie and Podlasie have the lowest arrears. At the same time, Podlasie has the highest average arrears per person – PLN 1,947, which would indicate that those who travel without a ticket do it often.
The inhabitants of Krakow were very keen on the idea of running special city buses that will take Krakow residents to popular recreational places outside the city, such as the Niepołomice Forest or the Ojców Forest. The response was so great that the city is planning to launch 4 bus lines for the May weekend!
Officials of the Public Transport Authority prepared special questionnaires in which they asked residents whether it was worth creating the so-called recreational bus lines. These would transport residents to popular recreational areas on the outskirts of Krakow. Specifically, it is about the Niepołomicka, Ojców, Dolinki Podkrakowskie and Przylasek Rusiecki forests.
Over 3.5 thousand polls. Residents want recreational buses
The proposal hit the spot. The residents filled out over 3,500 questionnaires and strongly supported the idea of ZTP.
“The residents mainly want to travel to Ojców. They prefer the departure time between 9 and 12 and return in the afternoon. For example, 62 percent. of the respondents were in favor of the hours of departure to Ojców between 9 and 12” – tells us Sebastian Kowal, spokesman of the ZTP.
Officials emphasize that the surveys also wanted to check the transport behavior of residents. It turned out that the inhabitants of Kraków travel mainly by car to popular recreational places, but a large part would use public transport if there was such an option.
The interest was so great that officials plan to launch recreational bus lines at the turn of April and May, i.e. for a picnic.
“We now have to adjust the appropriate frequency of the buses. Having planned courses on weekends (Saturday and Sunday) and on additional days off. We thought about the frequency every hour, but after the surveys we can see that there is more demand. So we will consider courses every 45, 40 or 30 minutes. We see that the offer of courses every hour is insufficient” – adds Sebastian Kowal.
In connection with the coronavirus pandemic, the Public Transport Authority in Krakow introduces a change regarding fees for parking cars in park & ride parking lots. From April 1, the parking fee can only be made by a payment card or by making a contactless payment using, for example, a phone or a watch with the NFC function.
The change is dictated by the developing pandemic, and the limitation of coin payments minimizes the possibility of getting infected through contact with the vending machine
The city is preparing to open a new bus line in the very center of Krakow. The small buses running along it would take passengers along the streets of the historic Old Town, incl. ul. Sławkowska, Szpitalna and Mikołajska.
The final route for the new line has not yet been mapped out. Remember that inside the Planty, we do not have any public transport on Franciszkańska and therefore people with reduced mobility may have a problem with getting around, so we focused on the northern part of the very center. As a pilot, the line could run on streets with traffic. An example route is the following streets: Sławkowska, Pijarska, św. John, then St. Thomas or St. Marka to Szpitalna Street, then ul. Mikołajska, Westerplatte, to the Main Post Office, and then turn into ul. Sienna, St. Cross to St. Ducha, where the bus would take you to ul. Basztowa to the “Stary Kleparz” stop.
Sebastian Kowal from the Public Transport Authority in Krakow
Focus on the elderly living in the Old Town
He admits that the new line would be introduced especially for the elderly, those living within the Planty area, as well as those commuting to the very center. Currently, you can get there by tram, e.g. to the stop at the Main Post Office, and then if someone wants to get to the Main Market Square or its surroundings, you have to go on foot. After introducing a new bus route, it will be possible to drive, for example, to ul. Mikołajska or St. John. Other passengers, including tourists, will also be able to use this line.
“We are planning to start the piloting of the new line only when the center is unfrozen. We are currently hearing about another lockdown. However, if the new line is fully developed and the epidemiological situation is such that, for example, restaurants will be opened in the center, the new solution could be introduced in the second quarter of this year“ – explains Sebastian Kowal.
Karsan mini-busses to the rescue!
Karsan mini-buses will run on the new route (with a frequency of about 20 minutes). Recently, Krakow has purchased 2 vehicles of this type and their presentation took place.
Karsany are the smallest buses in the MPK SA fleet in Krakow. On March 10, one of them joined the vehicles used to operate the Tele-bus, the popular telephone bus. A day later, the second vehicle will start transporting passengers on the line No. 176 “Bodzów” – “Kostrze OSP”.
Karsans are vehicles with a length of 5.8 meters. Inside there is room for 21 passengers. – The biggest advantage of the Karsans is their small size and high maneuverability. These features are perfect for narrow streets, small intersections and turning loops, which drivers have to deal with on line 176. The maneuverability of the mini-bus will also work well on the roads of Płaszów and Rybitw, where the Tele-bus service is available – emphasized in the office.
The high maneuverability of the Karsans is evidenced by the turning radius of these buses. It is only 6.8 meters. Compared to a standard bus with a length of 12 meters, it is almost 2 meters smaller.
Apart from the maneuverability advantages of the Karsans, the vehicles are also passenger-friendly. They have a low floor, and for people in wheelchairs, there is also a special place inside the vehicles and a folding platform by the door. The vehicles were also equipped with a passenger information system, air conditioning, and USB ports for charging batteries for phones, tablets, and other mobile devices.
With the driver’s comfort in mind, the door has been designed exclusively for the bus driver. Panoramic windshield and large mirrors provide good visibility for drivers.
For two mini-buses, the city paid 812 thousand. PLN net.
On Monday, February 15, a new traffic organization was introduced near Wawel. The changes will result in the passage of ul. st. Idzi and Podzamcze will be severely limited. There will be no more transit on this route. The ride is still to be made available there only for selected vehicles, including those belonging to the inhabitants of the center of Krakow.
Changes in the traffic near Wawel Castle / Wawel Hill
We are finishing the process of introducing changes to the traffic organization near Wawel, which has been going on for over a week. We are implementing a project prepared by the Public Transport Authority and the Municipal Traffic Engineer to calm traffic in the area of the Royal Castle. As part of the changes, from Monday, St. Idzi and Podzamcze will be included in the restricted traffic zone. Most of the people who have used this ride so far will not be able to do it anymore
Michał Pyclik from the Road Administration of the City of Krakow
In the office, they emphasize that arranging parking spaces for cars, the movement of electric cars, facilitating the movement of pedestrians, and thus increasing safety, are the main goals of the solutions being implemented near Wawel.
“The next step in the implementation of the city’s transport policy plan, as well as part of improving the quality of space in the cultural park, is the inclusion of Podzamcze and św. Idzi, where there is already a residential zone to the currently restricted traffic zone” – explains the city hall. “According to the assumptions, the new traffic organization together with the currently binding residence zone in this area is to significantly contribute to the improvement of the safety of vulnerable road users” – they add.
Who will be able to move freely there?
Only the following persons will be authorized to enter the restricted traffic zone: – residents with a K type parking subscription for sectors A1, A2, A4; – from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. only for and for the duration of loading and technical service – bicycles, horse-drawn carriages, consular corps, diplomatic corps, public transport, taxis, post office special services, municipal services, labeled medical assistance; – commuting to the property, garage, or reserved space at ul. Podzamcze, ul. st. Idzi and the Wawel Royal Castle; – commuting to the property at ul. Grodzka 64; – supplying the property at ul. st. Gertrude 26-29; – drivers with a permit from the Krakow City Roads Authority.
A tender for a new electric city bike is to be announced in February. The city plans that if all goes well, there will be 1000 bicycles at 100 stations available for residents already around the holidays. These are also to be located on the periphery and in less urbanized neighborhoods. The new municipal electrics are to be access function to means of public collective transport.
A tender for electric bikes is up!
“We will announce the tender in February. To start with, we want a thousand bikes. The inhabitants do not massively use and do not know electric bikes, so we want to distribute them. That is why we do not go straight to the level of three thousand bikes. We will be the first city in Poland to offer an electric city bike” – says Łukasz Franek, director of the Public Transport Authority (ZTP).
A new system – lease for min 4 years
The new system of the Krakow city bike (there is no official name yet) works differently from the Wavelo system, where the costs of the system, but also the income, were on the operator’s side. Now, Krakow wants to have a service, at least for 4 years, for which it will pay, as it pays MPK and Mobillis for transport services.
The costs behind it
What costs are we talking about? ZTP estimates that it will be approx. PLN 5-7 million per year. For the implementation of the bicycle policy, including the city bicycle system in Krakow, in 2021 the city budget has allocated less than PLN 10 million.
“The interested companies declare that they are able to prepare the system in 3 months. Theoretically, the bike could be available during the holidays, I do not want to declare it. The situation is what it is. It may turn out that there are no bikes or companies will miss financially. You also have to take into account appeals from the tender” – emphasizes Łukasz Franek.
1000 bicycles at 100 stations, including a lot on the outskirts
ZTP officials assume that the basic function of the new city bike will be the function of accessing public means of collective transport. In addition, the electric bicycle is to play an important communication function in the more peripheral, less urbanized regions of Krakow. Initially, there will be about 100 stations (10 bikes for each station) and they are to be evenly distributed throughout the city. Thus, there will be less accumulation of stations in the very center of Krakow.
Hubs outside of the city + on the outskirts
The stations would appear, among others in such locations as Tyniec or the area of ul. Klasztorna. It is also about places where there is a bicycle infrastructure, there are paths for bicycles, thanks to which you can cover longer distances on electrics, up to 10-15 km. For now, it remains unknown how much the residents will pay for the new city bike, whether it will be somehow related to the public transport ticket tariff, etc.
“If we were to make an ordinary bicycle, we can repeat the Wavelo model, but here we want flexibility, where the stations are integrated with public transport, where it is possible to change and correct it” – adds Łukasz Franek.
Wavelo bikes left Krakow
Let us remind you that Wavelo has been operating in Krakow since 2016. It was very popular among residents and tourists. The Krakow authorities have signed a contract with BikeU to run a city bike rental facility for as many as eight years, until 2024. As part of it, BikeU provided residents with up to 1500 bicycles available at one time at 168 stations located throughout the city.
The Krakow city bike solution was quite innovative, because all costs and responsibility for the system were borne by the concessionaire, i.e. BikeU. The city paid only PLN 1 month for each bike, i.e. PLN 1,500. In addition, the city got 1 percent. loan receipts.
At the end of 2019, however, the BikeU company suddenly submitted a letter to the Krakow City Hall terminating the contract for running the Wavelo bicycle rental. More Wavelo two-wheelers began to disappear from Krakow. Ultimately, it happened at the beginning of 2020.
MPK is modernizing the bus fleet. New electric buses from the pool of 50 purchased by the city carrier are slowly starting to arrive in Krakow.
On Monday, January 25, the first of 50 new electric buses ordered by MPK in Krakow left the Solaris Bus & Coach factory in Bolechowice near Poznań. The bus will be delivered on a special tow truck to the Wola Duchacka Bus Service Station.
After delivery, the technical acceptance of the new bus will begin. It will be carried out entirely at the MPK depot (due to the limitations related to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, it is currently not possible for these technical approvals to take place at the manufacturer’s factory as before).
50 new buses for Krakow
The contract for the delivery of 50 electric buses and 50 charging devices via a plug-in connector, dedicated to each vehicle, was signed on May 25, 2020. All new buses will carry passengers on four lines No. 144, 173, 179, and partially 503, running through Aleja Trzech Wieszczów, i.e. in the area of the city, where the greatest exceedances of the permissible air pollution standards occur.
The electric buses that Solaris will deliver to Kraków will be driven by axles with integrated electric motors. Articulated buses will be structurally prepared for charging in 2 ways: through a 4-pole roof pantograph located above the first axle of the vehicle or through a plug-in connector. The energy storage will be Solaris High Energy + batteries.
European Union Funds ON!
Electric articulators will be able to offer a journey for 141 passengers at a time, 43 of whom will be able to use seats. The newest buses for Krakow will be equipped with monitoring, passenger information system, air conditioning, USB chargers and an electric heating system. People on wheelchairs will be able to use a platform that will facilitate getting on and off the bus. The ramp will be mounted at the second door. For the purchase of these vehicles, MPK SA obtained approx. PLN 110 million in subsidies from the European Union funds.
These are the next electric buses in the capital of Małopolska. The residents of Krakow can currently use 29 emission-free vehicles.
The article is taken from Gazeta Krakowska – you can find it here in Polish language.
The Polish government plans to minimize the movement of Poles during the Christmas and New Year period. Krakow’s public transport will also operate in a reduced form at this time.
Suspended tram and bus lines!
Fewer rounds, suspended tram and bus lines – these are changes in the Krakow public transport schedule, which are to apply from December 24 to January 8. But now the Public Transport Authority reserves that trams and buses may run according to the changed timetable until January 15th.
Tram lines schedule
For now, from Christmas Eve to January 8, tram lines have been planned:
No. 1, 13, 18, 20, 24 – will run every 10 minutes during peak hours and every 20 minutes off-peak on weekdays
No. 2, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 14, 19, 21, 22 – will run on weekdays every 20 minutes throughout the day
No. 3, 8, 50, 52 – will run every 10 minutes on weekdays. Additionally, line 52 will run every 20 minutes on Saturdays
6, 12, 17 – will continue to be suspended
No. 16, 49 – will run on weekdays in the current hours, every 20 minutes
No. 44 – will be restored and will run every 20 minutes during rush hours on weekdays (except 24 and 31 December).
Bus lines schedule
No. 106, 136 – will run on weekdays in rush hours with a frequency limited to 30 minutes
No.111, 131, 141, 161, 171, 181, 271 – timetable adjustments on weekdays will be introduced in order to adapt to the new hours of arrivals and departures of tram lines
132, 166, 429, 482 – will continue to be suspended
No. 137, 179 – will run on weekdays with a frequency limited to 15 minutes
144, 164, 169, 173, 469, 503 – will run during rush hours on weekdays with a frequency limited to 15 minutes
155, 413 – will be suspended in the period from December 24 to January 8
172, 174, 178, 572, 578 – they will run on weekdays with a frequency limited to 20 minutes (line 572 as before only during rush hours)
No. 194 – from December 24 to January 3 it will run on weekdays every 15 minutes during peak hours and every 20 minutes off-peak; Regular frequency will be restored from 4 January.
Christmas Eve and Christmas
In addition, on December 24, on Christmas Eve, public transport will operate according to daily timetables, with the following changes:
Tram lines:
No. 3, 8, 50, 52 – until approx. 16 will run unchanged, then the frequency will be reduced to 20 minutes
5, 9, 16, 19 – they will not run from approx. 17
No. 13 – will run every 20 minutes all day long
44, 49 – will be suspended.
Bus lines:
No.100, 101, 109, 114, 116, 124, 127, 128, 134, 136, 140, 158, 159, 160, 165, 168, 176, 183, 184, 189, 192, 193, 502, 537, 578 – they will not run from approx. 17
No. 139, 502 – they will run all day every 15 minutes (without peak reinforcements up to 10 minutes)
475, 511, 572 – will be suspended.
On Friday, December 25 – Christmas, public transport will operate according to holiday timetables, with the following changes:
Tram lines:
5, 9, 19 – will be suspended
No. 50 – it will run every 20 minutes all day (except in the morning when it runs every 30 minutes).
Bus lines:
100, 101, 103, 124, 128, 134, 158, 159, 165, 184, 189, 192, 194, 240, 502, 537 – they will run from approx. 13; line No. 134 will perform additional courses: approx. 6.30 from “Cracovia Stadion” and approx. 7 from the “Zoo”.
109, 114, 168, 578 – will be suspended.
On Saturday, December 26 – the second day of Christmas, public transport will operate according to holiday timetables, with the following changes:
Tram lines:
5, 9, 19 – will be suspended
No. 50 – it will run every 20 minutes all day (except in the morning when it runs every 30 minutes).
Bus lines:
100, 101, 103, 124, 128, 134, 158, 159, 165, 184, 189, 192, 194, 240, 502, 537 – they will run from approx. 13; line No. 134 will perform additional courses: approx. 6.30 from “Cracovia Stadion” and approx. 7 from the “Zoo”.
109, 114, 168, 578 – will be suspended.
New Year’s Eve and New Years
On Thursday, December 31 – New Year’s Eve, public transport will operate according to holiday timetables, with the following changes:
Tram lines:
No. 13 – will run every 20 minutes all day long
44, 49 – will be suspended.
Bus lines:
No. 139, 502 – they will run all day every 15 minutes (without peak reinforcements up to 10 minutes)
475, 511, 572 – will be suspended
on the night of December 31 to January 1, the night lines will run according to the current timetables without additional reinforcements.
On New Year’s Day, public transport will operate according to holiday timetables, with the following changes:
Tram lines:
5, 9, 19 – will be suspended
No. 50 – it will run every 20 minutes all day (except in the morning when it runs every 30 minutes).
Bus lines:
100, 101, 103, 124, 128, 134, 158, 159, 165, 184, 189, 192, 194, 240, 502, 537 – they will run from approx. 13; line No. 134 will perform additional courses: approx. 6.30 from “Cracovia Stadion” and approx. 7 from “Zoo”
The construction of the tram line from Krowodrza Górka to Górka Narodowa is in progress. The investment will take 2 years, and during this time the residents will have to take into account considerable nuisance and traffic difficulties. The latest photos & videos (check them out below) show how the construction is going.
Before the 5.5-kilometer-long track to the north of the city is built, a large area must be rebuilt on the section between the Krowodrza Górka terminus and the outskirts of the city on the national road No. 7. Officials from the Municipal Investments Board remind that the construction of the tram line to Górka Narodowa has begun July 8. The construction of the tram line from the Krowodrza Górka terminus to the Górka Narodowa is to take 2 years.
Cutting down trees and leveling the ground
“The first stage of works can hardly be called spectacular, but it is a necessary stage to be able to start the main works: detours are being built, demolition works and preliminary archaeological surveys are underway, underground utilities are being repositioned. Recently, excavations of foundations for segments of the concrete structure, the so-called bathtub, the line of which will run between Kuźnica Kołłątajowska and Banacha Streets. This solution is to reduce the nuisance for the inhabitants of the surrounding buildings” – emphasize in ZIM.
Greenery is gone! Trees replanting?
As part of the construction of the Krakow Fast Tram to the Górka Narodowa, only the greenery that collides with the planned road and tram system has been cleared and reduced to the necessary minimum. To implement the project, 3,477 pieces of woody plants (deciduous and coniferous) will be removed in total.
Due to the extensive infrastructure of the project and collisions with many technical networks, tree plantings in the investment area cannot be carried out in a 1: 1 ratio. Nevertheless, within the boundaries of the investment, 2,680 tree plantings were planned, and the missing 797 trees will be planted as replacement plantings on plots belonging to the Municipality of Krakow.
Where will the tracks lead?
From Krowodrza Górka (where the existing loop will be completely rebuilt), the tram will travel through the green area between the car showroom and the hospital.
At the intersection with ul. Opolska, a two-level intersection will be built. We will go down Opolska Street and the tram line will go higher.
Then the tram will go straight to ul. Pachoński. Before the crossing with Pachońskiego, Park & Ride parking is planned.
The line will run along ul. Pachońskiego, then slightly turn right, connecting the intersections of Pachońskiego and Zielińska streets, and Białoprądnicka and Bularnia streets.
Between the intersections with ul. Bularnia and Pleszowska, the tram will turn left and reach Górnickiego Street, and further, on the southern side of ul. Pachońskiego, to Siewna Street.
At Siewna, the track will be moved to the northern side of the road and between the buildings (behind the buildings at 30 and 32 Siewna Streets) it will reach ul. Bociana.
The tram will reach building No. 17 along Bociana Street, where it will turn north and through the area of the existing concrete plant, towards the railway tracks.
After passing under the railway tracks, the tram will cross ul. Kuźnicy Kołłątajowskiej and ul. Słomczyńskiego, and then behind the estate at ul. Banacha will go straight ahead for a while to turn right towards al. 29th of November. The loop is planned south of ul. Belwederczyk.
What does the investment include?
The route of the Krakow Fast Tram to Górka Narodowa also includes a two-chamber road tunnel with a length of approx. 100 m along ul. Opolska. This solution is to ensure a collision-free and problem-free passage of tram communication from northern housing estates to the city center.
The investment planned for implementation includes: • construction of a tram line with a length of approx. 5 km along with full road infrastructure, including the construction and reconstruction of communication routes, the construction of bicycle paths, the construction of sidewalks and the construction of lighting • reconstruction of the existing Krowodrza Górka tram terminus and construction a new tram and bus terminus in the area of Górka Narodowa • construction of 3 new traction substations and thorough modernization of 1 substation • construction of a multi-level intersection with a tunnel along ul. Opolska • construction of 3 parking lots in the Park & Ride system: – at the Krowodrza Górka tram and bus terminus with approximately 110 parking spaces – at ul. Pachońskiego in the area of ul. Szopkarzy with approx. 94 parking spaces – at the Górka Narodowa tram and bus terminus – a two-level car park with approx. 240 parking spaces • construction of seven engineering structures: – tunnel along ul. Opolska – road flyover over the Sudół valley – tramway overpass over the Sudół valley – footbridge at the level of Szopkarzy and Danka Streets – bridge over the Białucha river – culvert on the Bibiczanka stream – railway viaduct.
How much will it cost? Who will do it?
The task is carried out in the “design and build” mode. According to the contract signed on May 22, 2017, the contractor for the investment is a consortium of companies: Przedsiębiorstwo Usług Technicznych “INTERCOR” Sp. z o. o. and Przedsiębiorstwo Inżynieryjnych Robót Kolejowych “TOR-KRAK” Sp. z o. o. Before selecting the contractor, the City obtained decisions on environmental conditions (March 15, 2016).
The project is co-financed by the European Union from the Cohesion Fund under the Operational Program Infrastructure and Environment for 2014-2020.
The value of the project is in accordance with the financing agreement of 03/10/2017. Total project value: PLN 378,914,203.93 Eligible expenditure under the project: PLN 216,735 206.67 Co-financing from EU funds: PLN 151,233,429.65
More info can be found, in Polish language, on the ZIM KRAKOW page (Zarzad Inwestycji Miejskich w Krakowie).
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