On Monday 24 May, the 7-track shunting and parking yard outside the gates of the Baltic Container Terminal was placed in full operation. The usable track lengths vary from 610m to 780m, which makes it possible to receive full train sets of the maximum length permitted in Poland, without the need for splitting.
The external layout of the BCT trackyard (the so-called GPK area) and the internal layout (behind the railway gate, within the BCT area) has been equipped with the automatic traffic control system (srk). A signalling centre began operating in the locomotive depot building, manned by signalmen employed by ZMPG, who move the railway switches and control traffic on the tracks. The signalling centre staff works 24/7 on all days of the week, including Sundays and holidays. The installation of automatic drives on the railway switches, has replaced the manually operable switches, making it much faster and easier to bring the railcars in to be serviced at the BCT.
The commissioning of the new external track layout is part of the project “Extension of rail access to the western part of the Port - reconstruction and electrification”, carried out by the Port of Gdynia Authority. As a result, the grade of the entire BCT track has been upgraded to the highest class, allowing the axle load limit to be increased from 20 to 22.5 tonnes. In addition, a seventh track was added to the pre-existing 6-track system. Thus the trackyard as a whole has gained more capacity, which will improve and streamline the service provided to the BCT by the freight rail carriers.
The final element of this project is the commissioning of electric traction, which will enable the freight rail electric locomotives to enter the BCT loading trackyard (up to the rail crane). This will eliminate the need for a time-consuming and costly process of changing locomotives at the Gdynia Port station for the freight railway carriers, and will be a milestone in improving the efficiency of the entire intermodal transport chain (shortening the total train travel time by up to 8 hours). The launch of the electric traction depends on the progress of modernisation works at Gdynia Port station, carried out by Polskie Linie Kolejowe (Polish Railways). It is currently scheduled for the end of 2023.
