A step towards a rail line that will connect the center of Gdansk with its southern districts. Pomeranian Metropolitan Railway has announced a tender for the preparation of design documentation for the agglomeration section of the new PKM South railroad line. Thanks to this investment, travel time from the planned Kowale junction to the center of Gdansk will shorten, from about an hour now to 14 minutes. And there will be an opportunity to create public spaces around the new stops.
The milk has been spilled. Gdansk South is today a big bedroom of the city, with chaotic infrastructure and cumbersome commutes to the center, which does not create a real urban space. And it is estimated that by 2030 there will be 100,000 people living in the southern districts of Gdansk alone - and that's not counting the surrounding villages of the Pruszcz Gdanski, Kolbudy and Zhukowo municipalities.
PKM South is taking shape
Life for residents is to be made easier by the planned PKM South, which will be another strand of the PKM line opened in 2015. PKM line, leading from the Gdańsk Śródmieście SKM stop to the southern districts of Gdańsk, and then its connection with both the existing railroad line 248 (PKM) and the currently closed line 229 (Pruszcz Gdański - Stara Piła), which requires modernization.
An agreement on cooperation in the construction of the PKM South was signed by the Pomeranian Voivodeship authorities and the City of Gdansk on November 20 of this year. Now the Pomeranian Metropolitan Railway has followed suit and announced a tender to develop design documentation and obtain decisions for the first stage of the investment.
The grand project is to consist of a two-track electrified railroad line more than 7 km long. It will join the existing SKM railroad line in Gdańsk Śródmieście and run to the planned railroad station, located on the border of Gdańsk and Kowal. Six new passenger stations will be built: Trakt św. Wojciecha, Madalińskiego, Łostowice - Świętokrzyska, Niepołomincka, Wielkopolska, Kowale. Thanks to the investment, travel time from the planned Kowale Junction to the center of Gdansk will shorten from about an hour now to 14 minutes after the construction of the new railroad line.
Gdansk Development Bureau's vision for the PKM Gdańsk Kowale station
mat. BRG
Also planned is the construction of New Sand omierska Street on the section from Sandomierska Street to Malomiejska Street via Nakielska Street and Radunska Street. A significant part of the route will run on a road overpass. Drivers are also expected to drive on Nowa Swietokrzyska Street on the section from Kampinoska Street to Swietokrzyska Street in the area of the planned railroad station Gdańsk - Kowale Junction.
The company is waiting for bids in the tender for the project until January 25, 2024. The winner of the tender will be determined by the price (90 percent) and the contractor's experience (10 percent), and the documentation will be ready by early 2027 at the latest.
The design work will be carried out in 2024-2026. If the local governments preparing PKM South succeed in obtaining EU funding at the same time, it will be possible to implement the investment as early as 2027- 2029, reports Tomasz Konopacki, PKM spokesman.
grand plans for a troublesome bedroom community
But the new line is not only to facilitate the movement of residents from the southern districts. Because PKM South is a great opportunity to create new public spaces in the bedroom part of Gdansk. These could be created around the six planned stops.
This is how, according to BRG, the area around the Trakt św. Wojciecha stop could look like
matt BRG
The announcements sound really promising, as planners from the Gdansk Development Bureau, who leaned over the development of the PKM surroundings, speak of frontage development, shopping streets and a multiplicity of functions.
- These are our original visions. Now it's time to discuss what the development of the PKM South stops should look like, in order to then translate these concepts into planning documents. We currently have 13 procedures underway to amend local zoning plans with a total area of about 380 hectares. This is a big challenge for planners ," said Edyta Damszel-Turek, director of BRG.
Attractive public spaces, new workplaces, offices, services - including social ones - could be created around the stops. There is also talk of green spaces, parks, schools, kindergartens, libraries and neighborhood houses. These are ambitious plans, and it's worth keeping our fingers crossed that they don't just remain on paper.
This is what the Łostowice Świętokrzyska stop may look like
matt. BRG
