Six Consortia shortlisted for Poland’s First High-Speed Rail (Warsaw-Lodz Line)

Centralny Port Komunikacyjny (CPK) has confirmed that six consortia comprising 17 companies have been shortlisted to participate in a competitive dialogue for the design and construction of the first high-speed rail section in Poland, a 13 km stretch of track between Kotowice in the Mazovia region and the planned new CPK airport.

The announcement marks the first-ever construction procurement for a high-speed rail line in Central and Eastern Europe. The section forms a key part of the planned Warsaw-Lodz high-speed line, with the contract signing targeted for the fourth quarter of 2027. The line is designed for operational speeds of up to 350 km/h.

Warsaw-Lodz High-Speed Rail — Project Background

The Kotowice-Airport section is the opening construction contract of CPK’s Y-shaped high-speed rail network, which will ultimately connect Warsaw, Lodz, Poznan, and Wroclaw. The Warsaw-Lodz section is the most advanced part of the programme and is scheduled to open in 2032, coinciding with the launch of the new CPK airport. By 2035, passengers are expected to reach Poznan and Wroclaw via the full Y-line network.

The project is being delivered by Centralny Port Komunikacyjny, renamed Port Polska in December 2025, as part of the strategic Port Polska investment programme. The 13 km Kotowice-Airport section forms part of Railway Line No. 85 and introduces a new traction power standard to Poland, with the high-speed lines using 25 kV AC rather than the 3 kV DC system currently in operation nationwide. Geometric and technical parameters including gradients, curve radii, and switches are all designed to support 350 km/h operation.

The Six Shortlisted Consortia

The following six consortia submitted applications and are eligible to advance to the competitive dialogue stage:

Budimex — Poland’s largest construction company and a subsidiary of Ferrovial of Spain, bidding independently.
Consortium of ZUE, Duna Polska and POLAQUA — three Polish rail and civil infrastructure specialists, with ZUE leading as one of Poland’s most active railway construction companies.
Consortium of TORPOL, MIRBUD and KOBYLARNIA — three independent Polish construction companies with established rail and civil infrastructure track records.
Consortium of Trakcja and PORR — Trakcja is a Polish rail infrastructure company now controlled by PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe, Poland’s state-owned rail infrastructure manager and part of the PKP Group. Its partner PORR is an independent Austrian construction group founded in 1869 and listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange, with strong Central and Eastern European delivery experience.
Consortium of Mostostal Warszawa, NDI, NDI SOPOT and INTERCOR — Mostostal Warszawa is a Polish subsidiary of ACS Group of Spain, one of the world’s largest construction groups. NDI, NDI SOPOT, and INTERCOR are independent Polish construction and infrastructure companies.
Consortium of Gulermak, Track Tec Construction, UNIBEP and Pomorskie Przedsiebiorstwo Mechaniczno-Torowe — Gulermak is a Turkish rail and metro specialist founded in 1958 and listed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange, with a track record spanning more than 260 km of underground tunnels and 120 metro stations across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. It leads a consortium of Polish rail contractors.

CPK will now evaluate all applications. According to the procurement assumptions, all six consortia may advance to the competitive dialogue stage. The primary selection criterion is experience in completed construction works, including projects carried out in Poland. Polish language proficiency of key personnel was also a selection criterion. The final bid evaluation criteria will be price and the extension of the warranty period.

Maciej Lasek, Government Plenipotentiary for Centralny Port Komunikacyjny, said:

“This is the first procedure for the construction of a High-Speed Rail line not only in Poland, but in the whole of Central and Eastern Europe. The course of this procedure so far aligns with the objective of supporting the development of Polish companies and local jobs. In future railway tenders, we also expect a strong participation of domestic firms, which will provide a significant boost to the Polish economy.”

Scope of Works and Procurement Details

The selected contractor will be responsible for both the detailed design and construction of the 13 km Kotowice-Airport section of Railway Line No. 85. Key confirmed details:

Scope: Design and construction of 13 km of high-speed track, Railway Line No. 85, Kotowice to CPK Airport
Design speed: Up to 350 km/h
Traction standard: 25 kV AC (new to Polish rail network)
Procurement method: Competitive dialogue
Consortia shortlisted: Six, comprising 17 companies
Contract signing target: Q4 2027
Warsaw-Lodz section opening: 2032
Full Y-line operational: 2035

Piotr Rachwalski, Member of the Management Board of Centralny Port Komunikacyjny, said:

“In the coming months, as part of the Port Polska investment, we intend to launch further procedures for the construction of the High-Speed Rail section between Warsaw and Lodz. In total, we are planning five more sections which, together with the Kotowice-airport hub segment, will amount to approximately 120 km of new track designed for speeds of up to 350 km/h.”

Warsaw-Lodz Pipeline — Upcoming Procurement

CPK has confirmed the following additional sections of the Warsaw-Lodz line are planned for tender in the coming months:

18 km from Warszawa West to Kotowice
15 km from the airport to the Bolimowski junction
12 km within the Bolimowski junction
37 km from the Bolimowski junction to Brzeziny
11 km from Brzeziny to Lodz

Two further procedures will cover rail traffic control systems, telecommunications, and the traction power network for the entire Warsaw-Lodz line. CPK has already submitted all 12 applications for location decisions required for the railway line, with the first decision received for the section near Warszawa West in November 2025.

Procurement and Delivery Context

The competitive dialogue model adopted by CPK is well-suited to a project of this technical complexity. Poland has no existing high-speed rail infrastructure of this specification, which means there is no domestic benchmark for design parameters, construction methodology, or programme sequencing on a 350 km/h-capable line with a new traction standard. Working through those uncertainties with shortlisted contractors before locking in a final contract scope and price reduces the risk of costly variations, delays disputes and extension of time claims once construction begins.

The Q4 2027 contract award target means construction will not begin until 2028 at the earliest, leaving a delivery window of approximately four years to the 2032 opening. That is a tight programme for a technically complex greenfield high-speed rail section demanding close management of interface risk across civil, systems, traction, and signalling packages. Where schedule pressure builds across those interfaces, the commercial effects can move quickly, touching broader construction claims across the supply chain.

Central and Eastern European Rail Market Outlook

The CPK shortlisting marks a pivotal moment for the Central and Eastern European rail construction market. The field of six consortia spanning Spanish, Austrian, Turkish, and Polish contractors demonstrates that international tier-one rail contractors are treating Poland’s high-speed programme as a serious long-term delivery opportunity, not simply a precursor to larger work.

CPK’s explicit emphasis on Polish company participation and local job creation also signals that this programme will be structured to develop domestic capability alongside international expertise, with direct implications for how future sections are tendered and awarded.

With five further Warsaw-Lodz sections and two systems packages to be tendered in the coming months, the Kotowice-Airport contract functions as much as a market entry point as a standalone award. For contractors already active in European rail, an early competitive dialogue position carries strategic value well beyond the 13 km scope on the table today.

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