Łódź–Kutno railway

The Łódź—Kutno railway is a railway line located in central Poland, in Łódź Voivodeship, connecting the city of Łódź with a railway station in Kutno via Zgierz, Ozorków and Łęczyca. The section between Łódź Widzew and Zgierz stations is a part of a railway ring around the city of Łódź.

Łódź–Kutno railway
A railway viaduct in Stoki (Widzew district) over the tram line between Pomorska and Telefoniczna streets in 2007
Overview
Native name	Linia kolejowa Łódź Widzew - Kutno
Status	In use
Owner	PKP PLK
Line number	16
Locale	Łódź Voivodeship, Poland
Termini	Łódź Widzew Kutno
Continues from	17  Łódź-Koluszki railway
Continues as	3  Warsaw-Kunowice railway (toward Konin)
Connecting lines	Łódź Widzew  17  Łódź-Koluszki railway  540  to Chojny  541  to Olechów Zgierz  15  Łódź-Bednary railway Kutno  3  Warsaw-Kunowice railway  18  to Piła  33  to Brodnica
Service
Type	Heavy rail
History
Opened	1923 (Zgierz - Kutno), 1931 (Łódź - Zgierz)
Technical
Line length	71.027 km (44.134 mi)
Number of tracks	1
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Electrification	Overhead wire, 3000 V DC
Operating speed	100 km/h (62 mph)
17  Łódź–Koluszki railway to Koluszki Łódź Widzew  17  to Łódź Fabryczna Łódź Stoki Łódź Uniwersity Łódź Marysin Radegast Łódź Warszawska Łódź Arturówek Łódź Radogoszcz Wschód  15  Łódź–Bednary railway to Łódź Żabieniec Zgierz  15  to Stryków Zgierz Jaracza Zgierz Północ Zgierz Kontrewers Grotniki Chociszew Ozorków Nowe Miasto Ozorków Sierpów Łęczyca Gawrony Witonia  3  Warsaw–Kunowice railway to Łowicz Kutno  33  Kutno–Brodnica railway to Płock  18  Kutno–Piła railway to Włocławek  3  to Konin

History

Construction of the railway was commenced by Polish State Railways in 1920. In 1923 the partially finished section between Zgierz and Łęczyca was opened, three years later a link to Kutno was finished. The section between Zgierz and Widzew stations was finished in 1931.

The railway was electrified within two stages: in 1969 (Łódź Widzew-Zgierz) and 1981 (Zgierz-Kutno).

Current condition

The railway line is currently used for both freight and passenger services. The section between Zgierz and Kutno is listed as the railway of national importance. However, due to being single-track, the capacity of the railway is vastly limited, especially with regional passenger services from Łódź to Kutno.

The railway line is mainly served by ŁKA regional trains from Łódź Kaliska station to Kutno and commuter trains from Łódź Fabryczna station to Zgierz. Also, PolRegio trains from Łódź to Toruń, as well as PKP Intercity trains between Gdynia and Katowice, use this railway.

Future

The railway is due to be refurbished, in order to allow a 20 kilometres per hour (12 mph) increase in operational speed. There are plans to either build up a second track on Zgierz-Kutno section, or create new railway connecting these two stations, which will run mostly intercity passenger services.