"This is the new-look Warsaw West—rejuvenated, beautiful and finally wide open to the public," Infrastructure Minister Dariusz Klimczak said at a ceremony on Friday.
He said the government was investing in top-caliber rail infrastructure and upgrading stations to encourage more people to travel by train.
Klimczak noted that rail authorities this year launched a PLN 4 billion (EUR 950 million, USD 1.1 billion) tender to overhaul Warsaw’s Warszawa Wschodnia (East) station and, together with the city, introduced a joint ticket allowing passengers to use both long-distance trains and the capital’s mass transit system.
Regional Policy Minister Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz said the Warszawa Zachodnia project received substantial EU support, including PLN 1.5 billion (EUR 350 million, USD 410 million) for the station itself, PLN 500 million for surrounding tracks, and nearly PLN 1 billion for new underground tram infrastructure.
Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski called the project a model of cooperation between the central government and city authorities using EU funds.
"This is exactly how we are building a modern Warsaw focused on public transport—our shared priority," he said.
Piotr Wyborski, head of state rail infrastructure operator PKP PLK, said Warszawa Zachodnia handles more passenger trains than any other station in Poland—over 1,100 a day, meaning "one in every five passenger trains in the country stops here."
The station links the capital with destinations across the Mazovia region and major cities nationwide.
Wyborski said a recent upgrade of Warsaw’s Centralna (Central) station boosted capacity on the city’s main east-west rail corridor.
Next year, rail authorities plan to begin modernization work at Warszawa Wschodnia, continue upgrades on a commuter line to the suburb of Otwock, and start building a new underpass at the capital’s Warszawa Gdańska station, state news agency PAP reported.
Preparatory work is also underway to renovate the central cross-city line between Warszawa Wschodnia and Warszawa Zachodnia, along with feasibility studies to expand track capacity on lines radiating out of Warsaw, Wyborski said.
(tf/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP