The Łódź—Koluszki railway is a national importance railway line in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

., connecting

Łódź Fabryczna Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

station with

Koluszki Koluszki () is a town, and a major railway junction, in central Poland, in Łódź Voivodeship, about 20 km east of Łódź with a population of 12,776 (2020). The junction in Koluszki serves trains that go from Warsaw to Łódź, Wrocław, Cz ...

station. Due to its character it is the main route for passenger trains passing through the city of

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

. It is a crucial part of

Łódź Cross-City Line The Łódź Cross-City Line is an under construction railway line running through the centre of the city of Łódź, Poland, intended to connect three major railway stations of the city: Łódź Kaliska railway station, Łódź Kaliska, Łódź Fab ...

. One section between Łódź Fabryczna and Gałkówek stations is exclusively used by passenger trains.

History

The history of the railway begins in the 19th century. The textile industry in Łódź started to bloom, yet the city had no convenient transportation routes for exporting the goods to other parts of Russian Empire. The closest railway station - Rokiciny, on Warsaw—Vienna railway - was located over away. It was clear - for further development Łódź needs the railway link. In 1865, The Łódź Factory Railway Company (pol. ''Towarzystwo Drogi Żelaznej Fabryczno-Łódzkiej'') - a joint venture company of Karl Wilhelm Scheibler and Jan Bloch - was formed, and in the same year, on 30. June. Russian authorities gave the company permission to build a single track railway from Łódź to

, which were situated on the Warsaw—Vienna railway. The construction began on 1. September and was finished on 18. November 1865. On 19. November the railway was ceremonially opened, and the freight service began to operate. One year later, due to opening of Łódź Fabryczna station, a regular passenger service started operating. From 1898 to 1901 the railway received a second track - this time built with gauge, due to connection with newly built circular railway, going around the southern border of the city to connect with Łódź Kaliska station, located on the west side of the city. Track gauges were unified by Germans during World War I. In 1954 the railway was electrified, while a decade later a connector line, allowing trains from Łódź to head toward Piotrków Trybunalski without turning around in Koluszki, was built. From 2006 to 2008 the railway line was slightly refurbished to raise the maximum operating speed to . From 2011 to 2012 the section between Łódź Fabryczna and Łódź Widzew stations was rebuilt, as the construction of cross-city tunnel commenced. The section was reopened in December 2016.

Future

The railway is scheduled to receive an extension to the west within the cross-city tunnel, which will allow trains to travel through Łódź Fabryczna station toward Łódź Kaliska and Żabieniec stations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lodz-Koluszki railway Railway lines in Poland Transport in Łódź