In Łódź, in a tenement house at ul. On May 1, 23, the wall of the annex collapsed. In the same building, on Friday night, the floor of the ground floor apartment collapsed. No one was injured in Saturday’s disaster because the residents had already been evacuated. A TBM shield “Katarzyna” is working under the tenement house, which is drilling a cross-city tunnel in Łódź. There is a crisis team on site.
The PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe confirmed that part of the residential building at al. 1 Maja 23 in Łódź was “significantly damaged”.
“The causes of the incident are being investigated and further action is being planned. The contractor responsible for the works is in contact with all relevant services and with the residents, who have been transferred to the hotel during the period of the works. Tunnel drilling works are temporarily suspended” – wrote in a message sent to the PAP on Saturday by Anna Znajewska-Pawluk of the PKP PLK SA.
The administrators of the website “Motoryzowani Łódź” shared on the Internet the spectacular recording of the moment of the disaster.
Residents had already been moved to alternative accommodation due to technical problems. Polish Railways, which is currently drilling an underground tunnel in this part of Łódź, took on this risk. The three-story residential building began to crack overnight. That’s when firefighters first intervened.. However, the cracks in the walls turned out to be so large that today half of the building simply collapsed.
Fortunately, the area was fenced off and there was no one around at the time of the incident.
We informed you about the problems of residents of a tenement house in Łódź at ul. May 1, 23 yesterday.
“During the work of TBM Katarzyna on drilling a tunnel in Łódź under 1 Maja Street 23, in the annex next to the building it was found collapse of the floor of one of the rooms on the ground floor” – explained in the PKP PLK press release.
The incident site has been secured. There were no tenants in the building – they left early while the works were being carried out.
The investor in the construction of the tunnel recalled that even before the start of the works, the building at Al. 1 Maja was not in the best technical condition; it is a tenement from the beginning of the 20th century, without a basement and with solid foundations.
Tunnel that crosses the city will connect the Fabryczny railway station in Łódź with the stations Łódź Kaliska (direction Sieradz, Kalisz) and Żabieniec (direction Kutno, Łowicz). The aim is to reduce travel times for trains on the Warsaw – Poznań and Wrocław routes.
The 7.5-kilometer tunnel is divided into two parts. The double-track section from Łódź Fabryczna to Koziny is pierced by the larger of the two shields – “Katarzyna”. Four single-track tunnels to the west of the Koziny stop are dug by a smaller shield – “Faustyna”.
According to the latest schedule, construction is scheduled to be completed by June next year. Trains are expected to run near Łódź from December 2026.