Railway station in Białystok open for travellers
Budimex has completed the renovation and upgrading of the PKP S.A. railway station in Białystok. The station reopened for travellers on 1 October 2020.
The scope of works included the restoration of the original appearance of the historic 19th century station and its reinforcement, and to ensure safe operation for another 100 years. The station has been equipped with a modern Building Management System (BMS) and 24 kW photovoltaic panels. The thermal insulation of the building has been significantly improved. The station also received new sanitary and monitoring installations. Barriers to people with reduced mobility (PRM) were also removed.
Budimex engaged about 100 subcontractors and suppliers for the construction work, most of them from the Podlasie region. The greatest challenge was the underground construction, part of which involved using watertight concrete technology. The demolition of a mezzanine of about 300 m2, located in the main hall of the historic station, also had to be done with great care. “We could not use heavy equipment due to its size and concerns over possible damage to the structures of the historic walls. The work was carried out in small stages, by cutting off individual elements along with their fragmentation and removal from the building. It required great precision and extreme caution,” says Piotr Doroszko, Budimex SA Contract Manager.
“This is 19th out of 200 stations to be upgraded by PKP SA in the near future. The station of Białystok is unique. It is a historic railway station, built in 1862. It is an exceptionally fine monument, which is why it had to be rebuilt with great care. Cooperation with the voivodeship provincial heritage conservator was of particular importance here, and the effects are apparent,” says Ireneusz Maślany, Board Member of PKP SA.
This historic building of the former St. Petersburg-Warsaw Railway line was added to the register of monuments in 1960. The building was erected in 1860 and is an example of the neo-baroque architectural style. The aim of the reconstruction was to create a high quality passenger service area, with clear and visually attractive information, fully adapted for use by people with reduced mobility.
Construction work on the premises of the PKP S.A. in Białystok began in November 2018. The overall area of the main railway station is 2,965 m2 and the cubature is 23,080 m3. The net value of the contract is PLN 36.6 million.
In the past, Budimex has been the general contractor for upgrading other famous historic railway stations, in Wrocław and Przemyśl. They were successfully rebuilt and upgraded by the largest Polish general contractor in 2010–2012. Budimex is now ranked in the top three the largest general contractors for railway line upgrading projects in Poland.
Apart from construction contracts, Budimex has launched many social initiatives in Białystok. The company planted over 200 trees in the city in 2019. It also funded the construction of the Puszczyk Primary Forest School in Osowicze. Then it built the Parent Zone at the University Clinical Children Hospital named after L. Zamenhof.
Upgrade technical specification:
Development area: 2,131 m2
Cubature: 23,080.00 m3
Building height: 13.05 m
Building length: 155.86 m
Building width: 17.2 m
Number of overground floors: 2
Number of underground floors: 1