Baletowa reopens as rail works move slowly on

The crossing by W-wa Dawidy station was meant to have reopened on Friday 3 June. In the end, it opened four days later, on Tuesday 7 June. By chance, I happened to be there when the barriers were taken down and cars could safely and legally cross. Below: seconds after the last barrier was removed, looking east along ul. Baletowa.

Below: this photo was taken some 90 seconds earlier. You can see the last barrier still straddling one lane. Drivers managed somehow. Note the neat, modern concrete panels on the tracks; so much better than the old level crossing. I hope that barriers and warning lights/bells will be installed. This is a very busy road and there are no warning signals, let alone barriers.

Below: What's this? An asphalt surface for ul. Hołubcowa, one of the most notorious dirt tracks that has a street name, a road that can bog down four-wheel drive vehicles? Or just a short stretch by the junction near the level crossing? We shall see.

Below: Saturday 4 June. The deadline for reopening Baletowa has come and gone, and there's still a lot of work to do. I can report that the track team was there on Sunday too, working until 4pm.

Below: while the modernisation is going ahead, the train schedules are different. The 17:05 RE8 service from W-wa Śródmieście to Skarzysko-Kamienna does not stop (for some reason) at either W-wa Aleje Jerozolimskie or W-wa Okęcie, but does stop at W-wa Dawidy and W-wa Jeziorki. This push-pull double decker is packed solid with passengers, despite having five carriages.

Below: the new double deckers don't have the opening windows that the elderly EN57 stock does. On Tuesday I was on one of these and could pop the camera out of the window to snap the situation between W-wa Okęcie and W-wa Dawidy. There are still several stretches where the new 'down' track is not yet laid - a long way from ready. Here's one such stretch, by the railway bridge over the S2 expressway. The new tracks have to be connected with the tracks on the bridge, which was opened in as recently as 2013.

And this is the southern end (as of today) of the new 'down' line that passes W-wa Dawidy (below); still a long way to go to get to W-wa Jeziorki, let alone Piaseczno or Czachówek. And when all that's done - there's the 'up' line to build.

Below: section by section, the new 'down' line extends down towards W-wa Jeziorki.

Below: risk management? Staff training? Health and safety at work? Accidents will happen, but only if you let them. Eight-wheeler dumper truck that toppled over south of W-wa Okęcie station.

And at Okęcie station, two months have passed since the completion of the passenger footbridge - it's still closed, presumably awaiting the signature of a piece of paper saying its safe. Meanwhile passengers wishing to use the station have to negotiate an obstacle course across working railway tracks.

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