Pomorska Kolej Metropolitalna

The Pomorska Kolej Metropolitalna (PKM, 'Pomeranian Metropolitan Railway'), is a railway in the Tricity area connecting Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport with Wrzeszcz. The line was officially opened by the Prime minister of Poland Ewa Kopacz on 30 August 2015 [1] and regular train services started on 1 September 2015.

The railway line was constructed on the right-of-way of a pre-war line from Stara Piła to Wrzeszcz. At its northern end, the line connects with the existing, not electrified line to Gdynia, via Gdańsk Osowa and Wielki Kack. An advantage of re-opening this connection is that no buildings have had to be torn down, as the right-of-way of the old line is undisturbed and has not been encroached on anywhere.[2]

The PKM line is 19.5 km long, and connects at both ends with the Szybka Kolej Miejska (Tricity) (SKM) rail line which is the principal transportation corridor in the Gdańsk-Sopot-Gdynia Tricity area. Whereas the SKM line runs close to the shore of the Baltic Sea, the PKM lies further inland.[3]

The Pomeranian Voivodeship describes the PKM as 'the greatest project (epokowa inwestycja) in the 12-year history of the Voivodeship,',[4] pointing out that never before in its history has the Pomeranian government undertaken a project costing over 700 million zł (over $200 million).

The PKM has eleven (11) stations along the 19.5 km route. The line is not electrified, but is operated by ten diesel-powered trainsets which were ordered from Pesa SA of Bydgoszcz costing 114 million zł ($34 million).[5][6]

The PKM signal system is the most modern European Train Control System Level 2, which uses no lineside signals but operates instead by wireless transmission of signals to an onboard computer on the train, with signal information displayed on a monitor to the driver.

The contract for construction of the PKM was signed on 7 May 2013.[7] Construction was scheduled to be completed by 30 June 2015.