CPK seeks over 63 million euros in EU grants for high-speed rail

Three applications under the Connecting Europe Facility

The Centralny Port Komunikacyjny (CPK), a company wholly owned by the State Treasury, has submitted three applications to the European Commission for EU co-financing of tasks in the Port Polska programme, with a combined value of over 63 million euros. The applications fall under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF 2 Reflow) for 2021-2027, which supports transport infrastructure in Europe and lists rail investment among its priorities. The instrument has 1.1 billion euros to distribute, and the competition result is planned for March 2027. According to CPK, the applications were approved by the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy. CPK describes this as the last opportunity to obtain CEF Transport funding within the current 2021-2027 EU framework.

The three projects

The largest request is 30 million euros for the Łódź Fabryczna - Łódź Retkinia section of the high-speed rail tunnel, for a project running from 28 September 2026 to 30 September 2028. It covers construction of underground chamber no. 5 (stage I) and boring of high-speed tunnel sections I and II. The second application seeks 3.23 million euros for pre-project documentation for cross-border connections, for work from 1 November 2026 to 30 October 2029, including demand analyses on three corridors. The third seeks 30 million euros for the physical start of double-track high-speed line no. 85 between Warsaw and Łódź Niciarniana, with archaeological excavations along the route and earthworks in sections ZP2 and ZP3, for the period from 12 October 2026 to 31 December 2030. Co-financing can cover up to 85% of costs for Cohesion Fund countries and up to 50% elsewhere, and projects run by a single member state are capped at 30 million euros each.

Funding shortfall and the current schedule

The company's investment programme planned to bring 1.4 billion zł of EU money for rail investments in 2024-2026, but CPK has obtained 264.3 million zł so far. In total, the company has received 600 million zł in EU funding since it began operating. CPK did not receive any EU money for rail allocated at national level in 2024-2026, and all of it came directly from Brussels. Reporting on the programme points to significant financing gaps that could affect the timetable and lead to changes in the investment programme. The ministry and CPK maintain that the final opening dates for the airport and the high-speed line remain unchanged. Details requested from the ministry had not been disclosed at the time of publication.

According to the current schedule, construction of the new port is to begin in 2026 and the facility is to open in 2032. A high-speed section of about 130 km between Łódź and Warsaw is to be completed by the end of 2032, with fragments from Łódź to Poznań and Wrocław due by 2035. Trains on these sections are to run at up to 320 km/h. CPK is also preparing an application to the FEnIKS programme for a 70 million zł grant to supply the new airport over the long term. The company says combined CEF and FEnIKS applications being prepared could exceed 350 million zł, and that it is taking part in work on the EU financial framework for 2028-2034.

What the company says

In its statement, the company said it is actively pursuing EU funding for the next stages of the investment.

Port Polska is actively seeking EU financing for the next stages of the investment.

The company's statement also said that it has successfully settled four projects under the CEF instrument and is preparing further application documents.