Łódzka Kolej Aglomeracyjna (Łódź Metropolitan Railway) is a commuter and regional rail service operating between the Polish city of Łódź and surrounding towns in the Łódź Voivodeship (province).
 | |
| Company type | Ltd. |
|---|---|
| Industry | Rail transport |
| Founded | 2010 |
| Headquarters | Łódź, Poland |
Area served | Łódź Voivodeship |
Key people | Maciej Sobieraj, CEO Andrzej Dzierbicki, Chairperson of the Board |
| Owner | Łódź Voivodeship |
| Website | www.lka.lodzkie.pl |
The company was founded in 2010. It is fully owned by the Łódź Voivodeship government.[1]
Services
edit
The Railway operates services to destinations between Łódź and the following towns and cities: Koluszki, Kutno, Łowicz, Sieradz, Skierniewice, Zgierz.
On weekends, services operate between Łódź and the Warszawa Wschodnia railway station in Warsaw.
The main termini stations of the network are Łódź Kaliska, Zgierz and Łódź Widzew. Services are operated on railway tracks owned by PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe, which are shared with other rail operators. The central sections of ŁKA form a circular line encircling the city of Łódź, running between Łódź Kaliska railway station and the Widzew railway station in the Łódź suburb of Widzew, the town of Zgierz, and concluding at Łódź Kaliska railway station. Although the system maps and timetables depict a circular line, in reality, there is no service that runs continually around the city. Instead, commuters must catch trains travelling to an outlying destination, and change at one of the three main stations to continue travelling around the circular line.
History
editThe company was established in May 2010 by the Łódź Voivodeship Government.
The Voivodeship undertook a major rail upgrade program worth €72m, 50% of which was funded by the European Union. The program involved upgrading rail tracks and existing railway stations, constructing new railway stations at a number of regional locations, and undertaking a major reconstruction of the existing station in Widzew. A new train maintenance depot was also constructed in Widzew. The program also involved improving bus connections, building park and ride facilities, ticket facilities, and purchasing a fleet of 20 new trains.[2]
The Railway commenced operation on June 15, 2014.[3]
The Voivodeship Government has indicated that it intends to purchase 14 more trains and extend services to Radom, Piotrków Trybunalski, Skierniewice, Bełchatów and Złoczew.[4]
On 11 December 2018, the company launched a new route between Skierniewice and Łowicz (extended to Kutno on 15 December 2019), and on 10 March 2019 it launched new routes from Łódź Fabryczna station to Piotrków Trybunalski, Radomsko and Tomaszów Mazowiecki.[5]
Rolling stock
editŁKA began operations with an order of 20 Stadler FLIRT two-car EMUs, which entered service starting in 2014 and were delivered through early 2015.[6] In September 2016, Stadler was named the preliminary winner of a contract to supply 14 three-car EMUs,[7] but after a legal challenge from Newag, the latter was in February 2017 awarded the contract for its Impuls II EMU,[8] the first of which entered service in December 2018.[9] Also, 10 of 20 FLIRT EMUs are scheduled to be elongated into three-car form.[10]
In February 2023, Pesa Bydgoszcz was named the winner of a contract to supply 4 three-car Regio160 EMUs, with an option for 20 more.[11][12]
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ŁKA Stadler FLIRT at Łódź Kaliska station -
ŁKA Newag Impuls II at Warszawa Centralna station -
Inside the ŁKA Widzew workshops
Lines
editŁÓDŹ CIRCULAR LINE (Purple)
editŁÓDŹ - KUTNO (Red)
edit| ŁÓDŹ - ZGIERZ - KUTNO | |
|
Selected trains run from ŁÓDŹ WIDZEW station as per Łódź Circular Line • ŁÓDŹ KALISKA • Łódź Żabieniec • Łódź Radogoszcz Zachód • ZGIERZ • Zgierz Jaracza • Zgierz Północ (Zgierz North) • Zgierz Kontrewers • Jedlicze k. Zgierza • Grotniki • Chociszew • Ozorków Nowe Miasto • OZORKÓW • Sierpów • ŁĘCZYCA • Gawrony • Witonia • KUTNO | |
ŁÓDŹ - SIERADZ (Orange)
edit| ŁÓDŹ - PABIANICE - ŁASK - ZDUŃSKA WOLA - SIERADZ | |
|
Selected trains run from ŁÓDŹ WIDZEW station as per Łódź Circular Line • ŁÓDŹ KALISKA • Łódź Lublinek • PABIANICE • Chechło • Dobroń • Kolumna • ŁASK • Borszewice • ZDUŃSKA WOLA • Męcka Wola • Sieradz Męka • Sieradz Warta • SIERADZ | |
ŁÓDŹ - ŁOWICZ (Blue)
edit| ŁÓDŹ - STRYKÓW - GŁOWNO - ŁOWICZ | |
|
Selected trains run from ŁÓDŹ WIDZEW station as per Łódź Circular Line • ŁÓDŹ KALISKA • Łódź Żabieniec • Łódź Radogoszcz Zachód • ZGIERZ • Smardzew • Glinnik Wieś (Glinnik Village) • Glinnik • Swędów • STRYKÓW • Bratoszewice • GŁOWNO • Kamień Łowicki • Domaniewice Centrum • Domaniewice • Grudze • Łowicz Przedmieście • ŁOWICZ GŁÓWNY (Łowicz Main Station) | |
ŁÓDŹ – KOLUSZKI - SKIERNIEWICE - WARSZAWA (Green)
edit| ŁÓDŹ – KOLUSZKI - SKIERNIEWICE - WARSZAWA | |
|
ŁÓDŹ FABRYCZNA • Łódź Niciarniana • ŁÓDŹ WIDZEW • Łódź Andrzejów • Bedoń • Justynów • Gałkówek • Żakowice • KOLUSZKI • Wągry • Rogów • Przyłęk Duży • Krosnowa • Lipce Reymontowskie • Płyćwia • Maków • Dąbrowice Skierniewickie • SKIERNIEWICE • WARSZAWA ZACHODNIA • WARSZAWA CENTRALNA • WARSZAWA WSCHODNIA | |
SKIERNIEWICE - KUTNO LINE (Dark Blue)
edit| SKIERNIEWICE - KUTNO | |
|
SKIERNIEWICE • Mokra • Sierakowice Skierniewickie • Bełchów • Bobrowniki • ŁOWICZ GŁÓWNY • Niedźwiada Łowicka • Jackowice • Zosinów • Żychlin • Złotniki Kutnowskie • Sklęczki • KUTNO | |
ŁÓDŹ – KOLUSZKI - PIOTRKÓW TRYBUNALSKI - RADOMSKO (Yellow)
edit| ŁÓDŹ – KOLUSZKI - PIOTRKÓW TRYBUNALSKI - RADOMSKO | |
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ŁÓDŹ FABRYCZNA • Łódź Niciarniana • ŁÓDŹ WIDZEW • Łódź Andrzejów • Bedoń • Justynów • Gałkówek • Żakowice • KOLUSZKI • Chrusty Nowe • Rokiciny • Łaznów • Wolbórka • Baby • Moszczenica • Jarosty • PIOTRKÓW TRYBUNALSKI • Milejów • Rozprza • Luciążanka • Wilkoszewice • Gorzkowice • Gorzędów • Kamieńsk • Gomunice • Dobryszyce k/Radomska • RADOMSKO | |
ŁÓDŹ – TOMASZÓW MAZOWIECKI (Pink)
edit| ŁÓDŹ – TOMASZÓW MAZOWIECKI | |
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ŁÓDŹ FABRYCZNA • Łódź Niciarniana • ŁÓDŹ WIDZEW • Łódź Andrzejów • Bedoń • Justynów • Gałkówek • Żakowice Południowe • Słotwiny • Mikołajów • Wykno • Zaosie • Skrzynki • TOMASZÓW MAZOWIECKI | |
Tickets
editThis section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (July 2015) |
References
edit- ^ "Dane Spółki – Łódzka Kolej Aglomeracyjna".
- ^ "Europe".
- ^ UITP webpage: http://www.ceec.uitp.org/łka-new-rsr-operator-poland accessed 18 July 2015 Archived 2014-07-09 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Portal Kolejowy NaKolei.pl - Wiadomości: Transport, Rynek kolejowy, Pociągi".
- ^ "ŁKA z dofinansowaniem rozbudowy Flirtów i nowymi trasami". www.rynek-kolejowy.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2019-03-12.
- ^ "Stadler awarded Łódź EMU contract". Railway Gazette International. 13 December 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
- ^ "Stadler to supply more Flirts for Łódź". Railway Gazette International. 26 September 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
- ^ "Newag signs Łódź EMU contract". Railway Gazette International. 28 February 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
- ^ "First Newag Impuls II EMU nears completion". Railway Gazette International. 16 April 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
- ^ "ŁKA z dofinansowaniem rozbudowy Flirtów i nowymi trasami". www.rynek-kolejowy.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2019-03-12.
- ^ https://kolejowyportal.pl/pesa-z-umowa-na-dostawe-czterech-pojazdow-regio160-dla-lka/
- ^ https://www.rynek-kolejowy.pl/wiadomosci/pesa-z-umowa-na-nowe-ezt-dla-lka-111978.html
External links
edit- Łódzka Kolej Aglomeracyjna Home Page (Polish) http://lka.lodzkie.pl/
- UITP.org http://www.ceec.uitp.org/łka-new-rsr-operator-poland