Łódź–Bednary railway

The Łódź–Bednary railway is a railway line located in Łódź Voivodeship, Poland, connecting the city of Łódź with the village of Bednary, located on Warsaw-Kunowice railway. It is commonly described as Łódź-Łowicz railway, because the passenger traffic on the railway is guided toward the main station in the town of Łowicz. The section from Zgierz to Łódź is a crucial part of a railway ring around the city.

Łódź–Bednary railway
A railway line in Nowe Grudze, in the background: the oil pipeline from Koluszki to Płock.
Overview
Status	In use
Owner	PKP PLK
Line number	15
Locale	Łódź Voivodeship, Poland
Termini	Bednary (Łowicz County) Łódź Kaliska
Continues from	3  Warsaw–Kunowice railway (from Warsaw)
Continues as	14  Łódź–Forst railway  25  Łódź–Dębica railway
Connecting lines	Łowicz Przedmieście:  531  to  11  Skierniewice–Łowicz railway  532  to Łowicz Główny Zgierz:  16  Łódź–Kutno railway
Service
Type	Heavy rail
History
Opened	1902
Technical
Track length	68.285 km (42.430 mi)
Number of tracks	1 (Bednary-Zgierz) 2 (Zgierz-Łódź)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Electrification	Overhead wire, 3000 V DC
Operating speed	120 km/h (75 mph)
Route map  3  Warsaw–Kunowice railway to Warsaw Bednary Mysłaków Arkadia Junction  11  Skierniewice–Łowicz railway to Skierniewice Łowicz Przedmieście Łowicz Główny  3  to Kutno Grudze Domaniewice Domaniewice Centrum Kamień Łowicki Głowno Bratoszewice Stryków Swędów Glinnik Glinnik Wieś Smardzew  16  Łódź–Kutno railway to Łęczyca Zgierz  16  to Łódź Widzew Łódź Radogoszcz Zachód Łódź Żabieniec Łódź Kaliska  14  Łódź–Forst railway to Pabianice PKP Intercity depot (under construction) Łódź Kaliska Towarowa  25  to Łódź Chojny

The railway line was opened in 1902 as the part of broad gauge Warsaw-Kalisz railway. During World War I it was rebuilt into standard gauge. Electrification of the line took place in 1965.[1]

In the years 2007 the railway line was closed down due to poor condition of the tracks. Refurbishment took place between March and September 2011. Traffic was restored on 1 October 2011.[2]

In the year 2013 the line received new stopping points, due to creation of Łódź Commuter Railway. Since 2015 ŁKA serves passenger traffic on the entire length of railway line. Previous operator, PolRegio, only serves a section between Zgierz and Łódź Kaliska stations.[3]

On 30 November 2018 PKP PLK and ZRK DOM signed an agreement to refurbish the railway line on the section between Łódź Kaliska and Zgierz stations, in order to increase the operational speed of the section from 80 to 120 km/h[4]