Friday 27 November 2020

Frustration as Chynów station nears completion

To Jakubowizna today to let in a tree-cutting team from the electricity operator, PGE, and to have my windows measured for roller blinds. On arrival at Chynów station, I could see the usual flurry of work, but I was not expecting much progress over the nine days since my last visit. On my return to the station - WOW! There's a brand new footpath to the station from east side of the tracks; the lights are on in the pedestrian underpass... and there's no gate or barrier to stop anyone from going down into the tunnel, nor signs that it's not ready - so I stroll along the new path and down the stairs into the tunnel. It's just gone 3pm and there's not a soul about on the site.

Below: down I go, and here it is! Modernity and big-town sophistication! Pictograms speak of buses and taxis waiting to take you away! The arrow pointing to the exit left suggests that street is called ul. Kolejowa, which is also the name of the street that the other exit takes you to. Either chynow.e-mapa.net and Google Maps and Jakdojade are all wrong, or Jakubowizna will have a new street name soon. Up the stairs to Platform 2...


I climb the stairs to see that access to Platform 2 has not been granted - steel barriers are still in the way. 'ATTENTION! LACK OF PASSAGEWAY' With the lights of my train back to W-wa Jeziorki approaching, I decided to force the barriers open rather than to walk the 850 metres to get to the platform the official way. This is high-level olewactwo - taking the piss out of locals by leaving this object closed to passengers without giving information at the other entrance.


Below: view from Platform 2 of the eastern entrance to the station. It never formally had one before, just a path worn into the ballast and track-side soil by people taking a short-cut to Jakubowizna, so there is progress - just that it's taken so long to get here. I hope we won't have a situation like at W-wa Okęcie station where a new footbridge stayed unopened for over year because no one came to sign it off. At least there are ramps and not lifts, which break often.


On the działka, the team from PGE Obrót cleared a number of trees which were deemed a hazard to the medium-tension power lines running across my land. Anything less than two metres from the lines was deemed a risk and cut down or pruned, including five of my apple trees, which if left unchecked would grow (rather than fall onto) the lines.


Below: of particular concern is the aspen (osika in Polish), a tree which the foreman explained to me grew tall and thin and was kruche (brittle), prone to snapping. The aspen in the adjoining forest gets cut down. A good job done, and given that I reported it on Monday and they came on Friday, good work. A downside was that power to the immediate neighbourhood was cut for about an hour and 20 minutes - not good news for those working (or studying) from home. Still, that's better than an enforced power-cut in the middle of a gale.


The foreman said that there are plans to re-lay this particular line underground, but I've been hearing this for the past three years. Uncertainty about this is a bit of a problem as I consider how to develop the plot.

This time two years ago:
London in verticals

This time three years ago:
Roadblock and railfreight

This time four years ago:
Sunny morning, Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens

This time five years ago:
Brentham Garden Suburb

This time six years ago:
Ahead of the opening of the second line of the Warsaw Metro 

This time seven years ago:
Keep an eye on Ukraine...

This time eight years ago:
Płock by day, Płock by night 

This time nine years ago:
Warning ahead of railway timetable change

This time 12 years ago:
Some thoughts on recycling

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