THE management of the Rail Baltica joint venture (RB Rail) and the Solidarity Transport Hub Poland (CPK) project have signed a cooperation agreement to formalise the partnership between the two parties. The agreement was signed during a meeting in Riga on June 21 to discuss and agree on the potential for further cooperation.
RB Rail and CPK have agreed to establish institutional and scientific collaboration in training, research and innovation. The companies will exchange knowledge by collaborating on topics of common interest, such as maintenance, safety and sustainability.
“To ensure full integration with the TEN-T network, efficient connections with Poland are unquestionably significant,” says RB Rail management board member and chief technical officer, Mr Marc-Philippe El Beze. “We are therefore particularly pleased to strengthen our collaboration with CPK, who not only in a way share similar challenges but more importantly [share the same] opportunities as those in the Rail Baltica project. Cooperation between both major projects is of strategic importance in joint efforts to strengthen European transport.”
CPK is a major interchange hub located between Warsaw and Łódź, which will integrate air, rail, and road transport. The development envisages the construction of the Solidarity Airport 37km west of Warsaw, which will be able to handle 40 million passengers a year in its first stage. The CPK project also includes almost 2000km of new railway lines, including 10 routes radiating across Poland from the airport hub.
These include cross-border connections, and preparatory works are already in progress for the section connecting Katowice in Poland with Ostrava in the Czech Republic. A connection from Lviv in Poland, to Kyiv in Ukraine is planned as well as the link to the Baltic States via Rail Baltica.
“Countries of the central and eastern European region may have a unique value proposition for the entire EU,” says CPK CEO, Mr Mikołaj Wild. “CPK is committed to doing its part in developing a common high-speed rail system for central and eastern Europe. We welcome close cooperation with Rail Baltica and I’m confident the agreement is a vital step towards cross-border integration, leading to greater connectivity and cohesion.”
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