One of the most heavily trafficked railroad stations in Poland is in for a decent modernization. We're talking about Gdańsk Wrzeszcz station, which handles up to 9 million travelers a year. As announced by PKP S.A., which recently signed an agreement with the project contractor, the modernized station will be modern, functional and environmentally friendly. What solutions does the project include?
Gdansk Wrzeszcz is one of the stations in Poland that serves the most travelers. It is visited by up to 9 million people a year. The building that houses the station needs to be renovated and modernized, including, above all, modernization and adaptation to European standards for traveler service.
The history of the Gdansk Wrzeszcz railroad station dates back to 1870. That's when the first facility serving this function was built. It was adapted to the size of the town, which began to develop at the turn of the 20th century. In the interwar period, plans to expand the station were ultimately not realized. The next, and current, building was not erected until 1952. Since then it has been rebuilt several times. The time has come for more work.
consistency and modernity
As announced by the investor, PKP S.A., the planned modernization of the station is aimed primarily at improving its functionality, but also at giving it a modern character. The changes will be visible mainly in its exterior of the station building. First of all, there will no longer be scattered extensions, but one coherent body. Its facade will be made of steel and glass, which are expected to give the building a modern flair. Its most representative element will be the entrance to the travelers' service area. Large-format glazing will appear there, along with an entrance leading directly to the platforms.
The station from the side of the main entrance with a glazed part (visualization)
© PKP S.A.
green and ecology
The modernization project for the Gdansk Wrzeszcz station also includes a number of pro-environmental solutions, which are highly desirable in this time of climate crisis.
Station wall from the side of the platforms (visualization)
© PKP S.A.
First of all, there is to be a lot of greenery, including a roof covered with vegetation of 400 square meters! The bioactive surface will be made of ready-made vegetation mats, consisting of mosses, sedums and herbs. The project's authors emphasize that these plants are low maintenance and drought-resistant. In addition to the greenery, 28 photovoltaic panels for obtaining so-called "green energy" will also appear on the roof. And that's not all. Heat pumps will also be used to heat the building, as well as energy-efficient lighting with control automation.
The facility after modernization from a bird's eye view (visualization)
© PKP S.A.
A place friendly to travelers, including those with disabilities
The interior of the building, i.e. the space for serving travelers, will also undergo a complete change. It will be a spacious lobby, which will also serve as a waiting room. There will be ticket offices and retail outlets, as well as devices to improve travel: electronic boards of train arrivals and departures and a modern voice information system. An interesting feature will be graphics depicting the appearance of the station over the past 150 years.
Interior of the building (visualization)
© PKP S.A.
The modernized Gdansk Wrzeszcz railroad station is also to be better adapted to the needs of people with disabilities. As a priority, all architectural barriers will be eliminated. Instead, there will be solutions to improve the use of the station, including so-called guided paths with attention fields, signage in Braille, tactile boards with a plan of the station and its surroundings. There will also be hearing aid amplification devices at ticket counters, as well as toilets for people with disabilities. The modernized station will also gain modern security systems: monitoring, access control, burglary and assault signaling, and fire alarms.
As for the area around the station, new sidewalks will be laid there, and bicycle racks have been designed at the main entrance to the station's lobby.
The signing of the contract with the contractor for the reconstruction of the station in Gdansk Wrzeszcz is very good news for the residents of the Tri-City and all tourists enjoying the charms of the Polish sea. Gdansk residents will gain access to safe and comfortable railroad infrastructure. I hope that the modernized station building will become one of the landmarks of the city and will allow to serve even more travelers. All this is thanks to the Railway Station Investment Program, under which the Polish government will allocate almost PLN 2 billion for the modernization of nearly 200 railway stations by 2023, " comments Andrzej Bittel, Deputy Minister of Infrastructure.
The reconstruction of Gdańsk Wrzeszcz railway station is one of the 22nd investments carried out by PKP S.A. in the Pomeranian Voivodeship as part of the 2016-2023 Station Investment Program. We recently wrote about another project carried out under the same program - the reconstruction of the station in Pruszcz Gdański.
The estimated cost of modernizing the Gdansk Wrzeszcz station is about PLN 13.2 million. The investment is partly financed by EU funds under the Infrastructure and Environment Operational Program. The end of the modernization work and the opening of Gdańsk Wrzeszcz station is scheduled for the end of 2022. The project for the reconstruction of the facility was prepared by the TPF studio. The contractor for the construction work is TYM-BUD Zakład Remontowo-Budowlany Waldemar Tymoszewski.
elaboration: Katarzyna Domagała
