Poland signs PLN 4.1bn Rail Baltica contract after lengthy procurement

Poland has signed a PLN 4.08 billion net contract to modernise the Białystok–Ełk section of Rail Baltica, moving one of the largest remaining Polish sections of the corridor into the construction phase.

PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe signed the agreement on September 15 with a consortium led by Track Tec Construction after a procurement process that lasted around 20 months and involved repeated appeals over the selection of the contractor.

The project covers nearly 95 kilometres of railway and is scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter of 2029.

A second track will be added along the entire section. Passenger trains will eventually be able to reach speeds of up to 200 km/h after ETCS is installed, while the upgraded route will accommodate freight trains up to 750 metres long at speeds of up to 120 km/h.

Eight stations and 10 stops will be modernised, while existing level crossings will be replaced with grade-separated infrastructure.

The gross value of the contract is around PLN 5.02 billion, making it the largest individual contract in the history of PKP PLK.

The signing removes a major procurement bottleneck on the Polish section of Rail Baltica.

It does not, however, complete the connection to Lithuania. Design and permitting work is still continuing on the next section from Ełk through Suwałki to Trakiszki at the Lithuanian border, which Polish authorities currently expect to complete in 2031.

The Polish corridor is therefore finally moving into large-scale construction, but the physical link to the Baltic states will follow on a later timetable.