Poland: EIB supports upgrade of most important railway line in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship with nearly PLN 2 billion

• The European Investment Bank (EIB) and PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe SA (PKP PLK) have signed a new loan agreement for €450 million to develop sustainable regional transport.
• The EIB financing will enable large-scale upgrades to 120 kilometres of southern Poland’s railway line 8.
• The investment will improve conditions for travellers and the transport of goods, while supporting action on climate and the environment.

The EIB has awarded nearly PLN 2 billion (€450 million) to PKP PLK to modernise 120 kilometres of one of the most important railway lines in southern Poland. The investment will support low-carbon transport and development in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, helping achieve important climate policy and EU cohesion objectives.

“Developing a modern transport network is one of the EIB’s key investment areas in Poland – with a total of more than €35 billion allocated since operations began on the Vistula River. Expanding rail connections is especially important here, as it improves mobility and regional development while helping fight climate change and protect the environment,” EIB Vice-President Teresa Czerwińska said. “The EIB and PKP PLK have a longstanding partnership working on sustainable railway networks. This latest agreement will improve passenger connection options and freight transport in southern Poland, and we look forward to seeing more from this cooperation soon.”

In 2024, the EIB Group devoted over €1.3 billion to investment in transport at the local, regional and national levels in Poland (more than 20% of the financing granted by the EU bank in the country last year). With upwards of 20 agreements concluded to date, EIB loans to PKP PLK currently exceed €4.6 billion in total. PKP Intercity is another EIB client, and the Bank’s latest railway investment in Poland involved upgrading the network’s power systems. Expected additional financing for new PKP Group projects amounts to a further €1.3 billion.

Among other things, works on the section Skarżysko-Kamienna – Kielce Główne – Kozłów will entail replacing platforms, tracks, overhead contact lines and traffic control systems, as well as building new overpasses and tunnels. This complete infrastructure overhaul on the region’s most important railway route will increase safety and capacity on the line, which plays an important role in the transport of goods in this part of Poland. Faster trains and better access to rail transport will have a positive impact on sustainable development in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship.

“We are continuing to strengthen the Polish economy through new multi-billion-dollar investments in railways. We actively draw on external sources of financing, as exemplified by today’s agreement with the EIB. Recently, PKP PLK launched tenders worth almost PLN 30 billion,” said Małgorzata Kuczewska-Łaska, Member of the Management Board and Director for Finance at PKP PLK.

Background information

The EIB is an EU body created to finance investments that pursue EU policy objectives. The Bank’s shareholders are the Member States. Its task is to provide long-term loans to serve eight core priorities.

The EIB works to create a stronger Europe and promote global prosperity by supporting investments in climate and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, social and territorial cohesion, agriculture, social infrastructure development and the capital markets union.

The EIB Group also includes the European Investment Fund, which focuses on financing small and medium-sized businesses. The EIB Group allocates nearly 60% of annual financing to projects that contribute directly to climate change mitigation and adaptation, and a healthier environment. Around half of EIB financing in the European Union goes to cohesion regions.

In 2024, the EIB Group signed new financing agreements totalling almost €89 billion for more than 900 high-impact projects, supporting economic competitiveness and security in the European Union. It allocated a record amount of over €100 billion for new investments in energy security. Last year, EIB Group financing in Poland reached €5.7 billion, with nearly 90% supporting social and territorial cohesion, and more than 40% supporting climate-friendly investments. The EIB Group has earmarked €2.5 billion for the sustainable development of cities and regions, including transport projects.

PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe SA is Poland’s national railway infrastructure manager. It is a strategic, state-owned company responsible for maintaining, upgrading and developing Poland’s railway network – the third longest in the European Union. To ensure that this part of the transport system operates safely and efficiently, maintenance and investment are performed to increase quality of travel and capacity on the railways.