Kraków mulls metro proposal

The research was led by a former rector of AGH, Professor Antoni Tajduś, as well as Professor Marek Cała, and sought to find the most viable way to build a metro system for Kraków, Poland’s second largest city with a population of over 750,000.

It was pointed out by the study that cities of comparable or smaller populations such as Lausanne and Toulouse have functioning ‘premetro’ systems.

Kraków also receives up to 10 million tourists a year and it is estimated that between 1.5 to 2 million people travel around the city each day.

The study envisages the ‘premetro’s’ first line as a light railway with an underground tunnel and 2-3 underground stops near the city centre. It would link Nowa Huta in the east with Bronowice in the west, with a total of 19 stops including the main railway station and the city centre.

The proposed first line is estimated to cost some PLN 7-9 billion (EUR 1.7-2.2 billion), less than the PLN 8-12 billion originally planned for by the city authorities. This would be financed by public-private partnerships including foreign firms.

A second and third line could be built at a later date and are expected to cost a total of PLN 7-10 billion (EUR 1.7–2.4 billion), to be funded by the EU.

Although some have criticised the metro proposals for being too expensive in May 2014, 55 percent of Kraków residents who voted in a referendum approved of the construction going ahead. (sl/jb)

Source: Gazeta Wyborcza