'Rynek Kolejowy' (Railway Market, a main railway sector magazine from Poland) reports that a rigid catenary has been installed on track #1 of the rail tunnel in Tunel, with a temporary exploitation certificate. This is a first for Poland railways.

• Rigid catenary Rigid catenary
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The rigid catenary was deployed thanks to a three tier agreement between the Rail Lines Department of Krakow, the Railways Institute (Instytutem Kolejnictwa, IK) and the main contractor, spanish firm Electrén, S.A. Main subcontractor, Świętokrzyski Department (PKP Energetyka) is also providing maintenance services, reports Krzysztof Łańcucki, PKP PLK representative.

The temporary exploitation certificate was extended by UTK. The rigid catenary installation was tested in normal exploitation conditions at a speed of 110 km/h. Following the essay results, IK will perform an evaluation and release a final report. As a result of it, the rigid catenary should be certified for operation under 3 kV direct current, and a permanent exploitation certificate for PLK lines should be issued. It is also possible to consider the application of the same technique to narrow gauge lines, says Krzysztof Łańcucki.