Warszawa Zachodnia takes shape underground

Changing trains at Warszawa Zachodnia (Warsaw West) railway station this week, I was in for a pleasant surprise. No longer must passengers making the connection to Peron 9 (platform 9) trudge (or sprint) a kilometre or so on a zigzag route along the length of Platform 8, down steps, over tracks, between corrugated metal fences and under more tracks; we are now sent underground to experience what will be the new subterranean parts of the station.

Reminder: part of the modernisation of what was once Poland's Worst Station is the construction under the railway lines of a new tram tunnel. This cuts north-south, one day it will conduct trams from Wilanów to Wola. [The brand-new tramline to Wilanów opened yesterday; I will have to go there and have a look at some stage.]

Trams don't serve as yet Zachodnia station; a new line will lead them from ul. Grójecka along the wonderfully named ulica Bitwy Warszawskiej tysiąc dziewięćset dwudziestego roku (can anyone name a London thoroughfare consisting of 18 syllables?), then dive under Al. Jerozolimskie and the plethora of railway tracks to resurface on the other side then bifurcating (one line heading north-west to Wola, the other north-east towards the tram depot on ul. Młynarska. This new tram infrastructure is expected to be ready in April 2026. And with that, the modernisation of Warszawa Zachodnia will be complete. More than five years after work started.

In the meanwhile, changing trains at Zachodnia can now be done through a series of underground spaces and passages to the north of the main station. Below: the path to Platform 9 now leads from the bottom of the footbridge, across what will be the taxi drop-off lane to the steps leading down into liminal spaces where reality bends back upon itself...

Below: ... but where do we go from here? There's too much confusion. Into the Zone. All is silent and still. Digital timetable indicators stare blankly; many passages are blocked off. Familiar destinations (ul. Tunelowa) are now accessible via new and unfamiliar paths. Which way now?

Below: one day, this concourse will be thronged with passengers from Kraków, Katowice, Wrocław, Poznań and Gdańsk, Berlin, Prague and Budapest, changing from the trains up there for trams down here to all points in Warsaw. But today, post-futuristic scenes like this have been opened up to the public, speaking of transition. Tomorrow as perceived from the far future.

Below: somewhere between the main body of the station (Platforms 1-8) and Platform 9. Otherworldly. We, the human lab(yrinth) rats. No one around; the next train from Platform 9 does not depart for another 20 minutes.

Below: emerging at Platform 9. Still much work to be done here, despite the recent modernisation which saw a canopy over the platform, but no electronic display boards or other amenities. The escalators down to the new tunnel are not yet in service. And at the other end of the platform, the pedestrian crossing to the footbridge and to the Expo XXI centre has still to be re-opened.

Passing through Zachodnia, as I do frequently, the changes appear slow week to week, but over the years, as can been seen on this blog, progress is visible and when complete, with all the lifts and escalators and indicators working, the improvement will be massive. Click on the label 'W-wa Zachodnia' to the left to see just how much this station has changed since the first decade of this century.

This time time three years ago:
Two years without my father

This time four years ago:
Death of my father

This time six years ago
Recent Jeziorki update

This time seven years ago:
Autumn in Jeziorki

This time eight years ago:
A driving ban for developers and architects

This time nine years ago:
Do you keep coming back, or do you seek the new?

This time ten years ago:
In praise of Retro design

This time 11 years ago:
First snowfall in Warsaw 

This time 12 years ago:
Of cycles, economic and human 

This time 13 years ago:
Why didn't I read this before? Grapes of Wrath

This time 14 years ago:
Małopolska from the train