The Poznań Fast Tram returns on 13 May!

The renovation of the Poznań Fast Tram route is coming to an end. Trams will return to the PFT as early as 13 May, more than half a month earlier than expected. This is great news for passengers, who will enjoy comfortable and fast transportation again in about three weeks.
“On 13 May, trams will return to the Poznań Fast Tram route extremely important for the northern part of the city. This is a moment awaited by 80,000 residents who travel by this tram route section every day. I want to thank them all very much for their patience and forbearance and thank NDI for its efficient work and for delivering the route to Poznań residents sooner than planned,” says Jacek Jaśkowiak, Mayor of Poznań.. “This is yet another transport investment that we are delivering to the residents of Poznań this month. In early April, the route across Towarowa Street and the Uniwersytecki bridge was opened to trams. In the near future, further reconstructed routes will be put into service, significantly improving transportation in Poznań. These include the passage through Fredry and Mielżyńskiego Streets and Św. Marcin Street to Marcinkowskiego Avenue,” adds the Mayor.

On Saturday, 13 May, trams will again run along the entire Poznań Fast Tram route. After 9 months and 13 days since the start of the general renovation, passengers will enjoy a brand new, comfortable, safe and fast route.
“We are delighted that we will be putting such an important investment for the residents of Poznań into service before the deadline. A large part of our crew is from Poznań, which makes us all the happier to be working on the renovation of the Poznań Fast Tram route,” says Cezary Chruściński, CEO of NDI Energy, the general contractor for the works. “The essential track works are behind us: the installation of rails and railway sleepers. Between the Słowiańska and Lechicka stops, the tracks are already adjusted and profiled. Next week, we are finishing tamping and adjusting the tracks from Lechicka to Szymanowskiego. During the reconstruction, we decided to use a ballast scraper, as well as railway wagons for ballasting, which enabled us to complete part of the work faster. Thanks to the good mobilisation of the team and the efficient cooperation with the Public Transport Authority in Poznań, the trams will go out on the tracks almost three weeks before the contractual date,” adds the representative of NDI Energy.

The renovation of the PFT route after 25 years of intensive use was necessary. Due to co-financing, the works were divided into two sections: the works from Roosevelta Street to the Słowiańska stop were carried out by PORR SA, while the works from Słowiańska Street to Szymanowskiego Street (the renovation of this section was supported with funds from Government Fund “Polish Deal” in the amount of PLN 25.5 million) were carried out by the consortium of NDI Energy sp. z o. o. and NDI SA.
The Poznań Fast Tram will again be… fast
The large scale of the project is evidenced by the numbers – more than 11,000 tram railway sleepers with resilient sleeper supports installed, 800 tonnes of rails, and around 27,000 tonnes of crushed stone were used to construct the 7.45 km track structure. For reasons of cost efficiency and ecology, as much as 20,000 tonnes of crushed stone is material collected from the route during the renovation, which was cleaned and reused. The new route is not only about higher comfort and safety. Once the work is completed, the Poznań Fast Tram will again be… fast. It will be possible to travel the route safely at speeds of up to 70 kilometres per hour on selected sections, which is the speed originally intended. By using modern technology, noise will also be reduced.
The part of the renovated PFT route between Teatralny bridge and the Słowiańska stop was opened earlier than expected, i.e., already on 24 December 2022. Since then, trams have been running again between the city centre and the Słowiańska stop. From 13 May, they will travel the entire route to the loop on the Sobieskiego estate. Details regarding the lines that will return to the PFT and the new transportation system in preparation, effective from 13 May, will soon be presented. Although trams will return to the PFT as early as 13 May, this does not mean that the work is completely finished. With the aim of putting this route, which is vital for local residents, into service as soon as possible, there are still plans to carry out works around the track, finishing and cleaning up after the resumption of tram traffic. These should be completed in June.
Current situation on the construction site
For many weeks now, it has become increasingly apparent to everyone that the renovation works on the PFT route are very advanced. The laying and installation of rails and railway sleepers on the entire section of the route has been completed. Between the Słowiańska and Lechicka/Poznań Plaza stops, the tracks were adjusted and profiled using a tamping machine. Rail grinding is currently underway. The trackage on the section from the Lechicka to Szymanowskiego stops, where specialised railway wagons were used to fill in with crushed stone, is also partially tamped. The use of such technology for the tram route modernisation was crucial and enabled this stage of the works to be completed faster.
Sections of slab surface, totalling 400 metres of single track, have also already been constructed in front of all five stops. Such a track is mounted to a concrete substructure so that overlay turnouts can be installed in the future (if necessary).
Installation of platform edges is underway at the stops – at the Aleje Solidarności and Lechicka/Poznań Plaza stops, platform slabs are laid, adjustment and finishing work remains to be done. Slabs are also currently being installed at the Kurpińskiego and Szymanowskiego stops (on the side of track 1).
As many as 80,000 passengers on the PFT route before its renovation
Before the start (1 August 2022) of the renovation works, trams were running on the PFT route making 830 courses in a single day, transporting around 80,000 passengers on the PFT section alone. This accounted for 29 per cent of the total number of tram passengers in Poznań (those using tram lines on the PFT route accounted for as much as 1/5 of all people transported). During afternoon transportation peaks, the route was served by as much as 30 per cent of MPK Poznań’s rolling stock, which ran courses on all tram lines during this time.