TBM Jadwiga has completed the first railway tunnel on southern Poland's new Podłęże–Piekiełko route under construction for PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe.
Taking ten months to complete the 2,500t, 11m diameter Jadwiga tunnelled 3750m under Pisarzowa between the mountain villages of Męcina and Mordarka. It is Poland's longest railway tunnel and at its deepest point is 120m.
When the multi-billion project is complete, the line will shorten train journeys from Nowy Sącz to Limanowa, and eventually Kraków. In total the line will feature 20 tunnels, sixteen of which will be for trains, with four used for evacuation. The total length of the tunnels will exceed 31km.
This is the first bored railway tunnel for the Podłęże–Piekiełko project, which includes the building of bridges, viaducts, and other structures.
The TBM shield used in the project will be reused for other sections along the Kraków to Nowy Sącz route. Once serviced, contractors will transport them to the Szczyrzyc area, where they will start on other tunnelling work.
