The EU member states on Friday formally approved the list of 195 transport projects that will receive EUR 6,7 billion of EU funding under the 2015’s calls for proposals of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). Two of the projects will be carried out in the Katowice agglomeration.
The Polish State Railways PLK submitted the motions for the financial support within the calls for proposals in November 2015. 17 out of the 195 projects are to be executed in Poland. The total worth of the EU grants for the Polish schemes amounts to EUR 1,9 billion.
The largest and the most important project will be the modernization works on the E30 railway line (between Katowice and Kraków) on the Jaworzno Szczakowa – Kraków Główny Towarowy section (52 km) as well as signalling works on the section Sosnowiec Jęzor – Jaworzno Szczakowa – Kraków Główny Towarowy (58 km). The total value of the project is EUR 528,9 million and the CEF financial support is EUR 410,2 million.
It is the last phase of the global project „Modernization of the E30 railway line, Zabrze – Katowice – Kraków section” (2006-2020). The project aims at reducing travel time and enhancing security by increasing technical parameters. In the long term, it will help to improve the quality of connections between Poland’s major economic centers and benefit the transport of passengers and goods.
The fore-mentioned modernization of the railway line E30 (the Zabrze – Katowice – Kraków section) is mentioned by the European Commission as one of five flagship transport initiatives to be supported. The remaining four are: the rehabilitation of the Brasov – Sighisoara rail section in Romania, the railway connection Aveiro – Vilar Formoso in Portugal, the development of a standard gauge railway line in the Rail Baltic corridor and the implementation of the SESAR Deployment Programme.
Also, the European Commission will support the second project to be conducted in our agglomeration. EUR 7,6 million will be spent for preparing design and tender documentation and obtaining the administrative decisions necessary for the modernization works on the Będzin – Zebrzydowice – state border section (excluding Katowice – Tychy section), on the Baltic-Adriatic Core Network Corridor (CNC).
The project aims at upgrading the E65 – south line (including increased train speed), at lower operating costs and at improved quality of transport services. The line’s improved technical conditions will contribute to increasing the railway transport’s accessibility as well as its effectiveness and competitiveness in relation to other transport modes.
Individual project grant agreements will now be prepared by the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA) and signed with the project beneficiaries by the end of the year.