Firstly, the new 'up' platform (Peron 2) has been built to the north of ul. Krasickiego, not to the south, as on the original plan. It looks as though a 'down' platform (Peron 1) will be built parallel to it (you can see the first concrete element in place in the bottom right of the photo below).
Crossing ul. Krasickiego, I walk to the old platform, which is still functioning as the 'down' platform, serving southbound passengers from the eastern track. Now the puzzle, which has been referred to here before. Note the short, unconnected, stretch of rail crossing Krasickiego, stopping at the old platform's edge (below).
Looking at the detailed plan of the station modernisation, below, (click to enlarge, north to the left), it seems there's been a major change made since the plan was drawn up in May 2007. The new 'up' platform, which was meant to be to the south of Krasickiego, is now to the north. Look closely at the horizontal orange lines - they represent the original track alignment here. Now look at the horizontal red lines - they represent the planned alignment - the coal-train line has already been re-aligned (the summer closure of Krasickiego); the unconnected track crossing the road in the photo above corresponds to the westernmost of the three red lines.
But how will the track align after the new 'down' platform is finally built? Will the old alignment of the 'down' line remain unchanged? In which case, what will that unconnected stretch be doing? A mistake? Or will the new 'down' platform curve round to the east, parallel to the 'up' platform? We will wait and see.
In the meanwhile, on the walk between W-wa Jeziorki and W-wa Iwiczna, I see that much of the two ballast mountains between the tracks and ul. Gogolińska has remained in place. All the ballast has been laid; will someone come and remove this? I hope not. I hope that soil and grass will cover these heaps, and a local landmark will emerge, vantage points a few precious metres above these flat Mazovian fields. The caravan serves as a base for the security guard(s) here to look after construction material strung out between the two stations.
Same goes for my ballast mountain between W-wa Jeziorki and W-wa Dawidy (below). The finishing works on the two stations are continuing (including the level crossing keeper's hut at W-wa Dawidy), but the line itself is 100% ready. The ballast mountain should be left, as it affords views which are notably absent in this landscape. As Bill Bryson wrote about his native Iowa, "if you stand on two telephone directories in Iowa, you have A View."
Below: and here it is - The View. Not a particularly good day today, what with the low cloud and remnants of Thursday's smog, but worth getting up on those tetonas (Spanish) to look down over Dawidy Bankowe, Dawidy, Jeziorki - and Warsaw on the horizon.
May these two ballast mountains claim their rightful place in the landscape of Jeziorki.
Incidentally - for the record - this weekend was abysmal for Warsaw-bound travellers on Koleje Mazowieckie on the Radom line. Yesterday, a Radom-Warsaw train was delayed for 45 minutes because of problems with the overhead power lines at Dobieszyn. Today was far worse - an accident at a level crossing south of Grabów nad Pilicą resulted in delays of 2hrs 20 minutes.
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2 comments:
It looks as if the track currently serving the old platform will be slewed to join the short section embedded in the new level crossing, after which a second new platform will be built opposite the one already constructed. That would make sense because, amongst other things, the electrification structures won't need to be moved (though of course the conductor wire will need to be relocated on the booms). Judging by the photos, the realigned track will have a better geometry, without that short, sharp curve near to the level crossing. It's easier to align the track first and then build the associated platform with height and offset matched to the as-built rails. That way the builders have an adjacent point of reference rather than an abstract survey grid to work to.
@whp - this is fascinating. I can't wait to see what happens next - will the old island platform be torn down? Then the 'down' track relaid? And finally the new 'down platform built opposite the new 'up' platform? I'll be checking immediately after Christmas...
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