Ballast Mountain coming down

From the train to town these past few days I've noticed increased activity around the ballast mountain. It looks like it's coming down - a great shame, as that six metres of height afforded great views when all around as far as the eye can see is a flat plain. Demand for ballast and other materials used for road and rail construction is high, as EU funded infrastructure projects are in full swing across Poland now.

After work today I came to take a look. From the trackside path, coming down from ul. Baletowa, little change, the familiar profile is still there.

But from the south side, the scale of the demolition is evident, below. To the left of the ballast mountain in the far distance, a house along ul. Baletowa. Before too long, construction of the the S7 extension will get under way in the fields between where I'm standing and Dawidy in the background.

The sky is visibly pregnant with rain; the wind is howling and within minutes the storm began. It only lasted a few minutes, skirting Jeziorki from south-west to north-east, but it was intense while it lasted. Having crossed the track, I made my way along ul. Kórnicka and onto Trombity; I had the impression that the air was full of twigs and small branches torn off trees. Fortunately nothing much larger. Below: this branch came down just ahead of me; five seconds earlier it was still an integral part of a tree.

Soon the storm was over, by the time I was home, the sun was out again. Such is the nature of summer storms in Poland.

UPDATE: 2 July - I returned to climb the ballast mountain, maybe for the last time, maybe not - here's the reverse angle from the top.