Poland's capital, Warsaw, is working to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions as the city grows. Warsaw has a population of nearly 2 million citizens. Efforts to achieve the target of a 20 percent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2020 are focused on three key areas: energy, greening and public transport. As part of these initiatives the city is expanding its second metro line to lower road traffic. There are currently around 1.3 million vehicles in Warsaw, so encouraging people to take the metro rather than drive will help to improve air quality in the urban areas. World Car Free Day on September 22 is a reminder to Warsaw residents of this idea.
Two years ago, the 6.1 km central section of the second metro line, called M2, was commissioned eight meters under the Vistula river and serves over 140,000 passengers a day on working days. It is powered by seven underground substations supplied by ABB that are working dependably.
As a part of the new project for the M2 line extension, ABB will deliver six underground substations for Astaldi and Gulermak, a general contractors of the extension: four substations will provide both the traction network and metro stations with reliable power supplies while the remaining two substations will power metro stations and underground shopping centers.
The new extension will connect the western and north eastern parts of Warsaw and support a significant increase in passenger capacity. ABB has once again been contracted to supply critical power technologies to support the extended line.
ABB will deliver switchgear, traction rectifiers and dry type transformers. The MicroSCADA system that is already part of the central section of the second line, will also be installed on the extension, enabling real-time remote control of power equipment in the new substations. Both systems will be integrated to improve functionality and supervision for the operator along the entire expanded M2 line. MicroSCADA is a part of the ABB Ability™ portfolio of more than 180 digital solutions that help boost uptime, speed and yield. The system has set new standards for Warsaw metro's operations, providing added value to the operators at metro's central control room.
A significant part of the equipment supplies will be sourced from local manufacturing units in in Wrocław, Aleksandrów Łódzki and Przasnysz. The expansion of the second metro line is scheduled to be completed in 2019. Six new metro stations will be commissioned in the west and north east of Warsaw to support this expansion.
ABB is committed to sustainable mobility by promoting efficient public transport and has a track record of urban rail projects and metros in major cities around the world ranging from Delhi to Sao Paolo and Dubai to London.
