Chynów situation update

On the działka, at last my fence is being moved. I spent Thursday, Friday and Saturday in Jakubowizna, and though the weather was overcast and chilly, at least it was dry. I can absolutely commend underfloor heating (under a stone floor) as being an excellent solution. Heating two rooms, a 60-litre hot-water tank and cooking in oven, my electricity bill came to 13.32 a day (£2.66), with the house nice and warm.

I arrive by train to find that the pedestrian subway under the tracks at Chynów station is almost complete - all that's missing now is access to the street. Fortunately, it was dry enough to get there without getting ankle-deep in mud. Laying proper asphalt or paving will be weeks, months, I guess.

Below: the level crossing at Jakubowizna, 95% ready three weeks ago, remains 95% ready. The new gates and lights are yet to be installed and activated; the missing pedestrian paving is still missing. The southbound trains are at last using the 'down' line and the new 'down' platform at Chynów station.

Saturday's walk takes me to Nowe Grobice and back to Chynów. The very last of the apples are being harvested, a light smog is in the air - fog plus smoke from numerous agricultural bonfires. Old apple trees and excessive foliage is being cut down. Below: looking towards Chynów from Nowe Grobice.

Below: approaching the DK50 at Nowe Grobice, across from Sułkowice. The guy with the bike is scavenging for scrap cable. As the building works progress, lots of old steel and copper cabling comes to light. The ground is littered with rusty old cables, all of which constitutes a trip hazard. Good that someone can clear it up and make a bit of money for doing so.

Below: looking towards Chynów station, on the west side of the tracks. Work is continuing with trackside drainage, a culvert is being shored up with concrete elements. This work is taking ages, but needs to be done properly in an age of droughts and flash-floods. PKP PLK, Poland's rail-track operator, is rightly concerned about podmycie torów. [Another case where an English translation is inadequate 'the underwashing of tracks'] - Erosion of the base of the embankment by rainwaters, leading to localised subsidence, a bumpy ride - and lower speed limits having to be imposed. Having spent much money on rebuilding the tracks from Warsaw to Warka, PKP PLK is investing in the future, to ensure the investment won't get degraded by the downpours of the future in a climate-changed world.

Below: bonus shot from Dawidy Bankowe this evening, photo taken from a mountain of soil between ul. Starynkiewicza and the S7 extension, showing the new bridge that will span the expressway linking Jeziorki to Dawidy Bankowe and Zamienie.

This time last year:

Winding down, moving in, keeping on

This time two years ago:
Socialist-realist Tychy

This time five years ago:
Face to face with the UK retailing scene

This time six years ago:
Bricktorian Birmingham

This time eight years ago:
Welcome to Lemmingrad

This time ten years ago:
Dream highway

This time 12 years ago:
The Days are Marching

This time 13 years ago:
First snow, 2007