Nearly 6 000 sq. meters, 31 retail points, 49 monitoring cameras, nine cash-desks, two passenger service points and a smart building management system – this is the Katowice Station new hall that has just been officially delivered on 29th of October.
Almost two years after construction works began, the investors – PKP S.A. and Neinver Poland – are giving passengers one of the country’s most modern railway stations.
“Reconstruction of the station in Katowice has been a very important investment project over the past few years. I am more than glad that we have managed to efficiently conduct such a large venture based downtown and highly complicated from the architectural and construction point of view. Following the delivery of the investment’s subsequent parts, Katowice station will become a comprehensive top-notch transport center. The experience we have gained while handling this project will definitely turn out to be useful in other places across Poland” – said Jakub Karnowski, Chairman of the Board at PKP Group.
This modern and designer-style building will have up to 12 million visitors a year. 520 trains pass through Katowice Osobowa station daily. A traveler’s eye will surely enjoy the hall’s interior arrangement with simple yet noble materials: glass, stainless steel and raw concrete covered only with anti-dust agents.
The spacious, perfectly-lit and air-conditioned station hall has one more advantage: it is well adapted for the disabled unlike the old building. Most of it is located at one level.
The delivery of the passenger hall crowns the first stage of downtown Katowice-based investment carried out by PKP S.A. and Neinver Poland. The first quarter of 2013 will see the opening of an underground bus station which will be a significant element of the Upper-Silesian agglomeration’s public transportation system. Galeria Katowicka mall and a parking lot for 1 200 cars are supposed be ready in the second half of 2013. These three parts will form one of the country’s largest hubs combining railway, public and individual transport.
“The Railway Station is part of a EUR 70 million project boosting the quality of railway and bus transit in Poland’s biggest agglomeration. We believe that this building, alongside Galeria Katowicka and a large parking lot, both of which are going to be delivered next year, will help restore the city’s old charm” – said Agata Brzezińska, Country Manager at Neinver Poland.
The investors of the project at Szewczyka Sq., which involves developing bus and railway stations, Galeria Katowicka and an office building, are Neinver Poland and PKP S.A. Strabag Sp. z o.o. operates as the general contractor, while infrastructural investments around the complex are handled by Katowice City Hall. Cushman & Wakefield is responsible for commercialization of the retail space.
The whole complex being currently built at Szewczyka St. were designed by SUD Architectes. The interior of the Railway Station hall was prepared in co-operation with Medusa Group.
