Kraków - ul Limanowskiego

The tram track on Limanowskiego Street in Kraków has undergone modernization. The existing track, constructed using the so-called Hungarian slab technology, is being replaced with a modern system of CONTRACK prefabricated track slabs. This project demonstrates that the proven concept behind Hungarian slab track can be retained while being significantly improved.

The existing track on Limanowskiego Street was constructed using the classic Hungarian slab arrangement. The track cross-section consisted of three separate prefabricated slabs, resulting in a total of 171 elements along the section being modernized. In addition, due to the curved alignment of the track, approximately 42 m² of cast-in-place concrete was used in the track centre. This was a way of adapting standard prefabricated elements to the route geometry in locations where conventional solutions did not allow for the complete prefabrication of the pavement.

With the CONTRACK system, the same section will be constructed using just 36 prefabricated slabs. The key change is the use of slabs with an integrated track centre. As a result, instead of three independent elements across the track cross-section, there are only two CONTRACK slabs. Such a significant reduction in the number of prefabricated elements primarily means far fewer joints and connections. Each connection is a potential location for unevenness and relative movement between elements. Reducing their number therefore helps minimize the risk of slab rocking, improve the stability of the entire structure and create a more uniform pavement surface. Fewer elements also mean a simpler structural arrangement and fewer locations requiring particular attention during track operation.

CONTRACK does not abandon the concept of Hungarian slab track – it develops it and adapts it to modern design and prefabrication capabilities. The slabs retain the characteristic 18 cm thickness of this type of structure, while their geometry and structural design have been optimized. Increasing the dimensions of the prefabricated elements, including to allow the track centre to be integrated into the slabs, required the use of prestressing technology. This made it possible to manufacture larger elements while maintaining the relatively small slab thickness and ensuring the structural parameters required for tramway track construction.

As a result, the solution retains the greatest advantage of classic Hungarian slab track – a high degree of prefabrication – while eliminating some of the limitations resulting from the large number of smaller elements.

Prefabricated superelevation – a solution for a demanding curve

The project on Limanowskiego Street is particularly challenging due to the fact that the track being modernized is located on a curve. This is where another important advantage of CONTRACK technology over traditional Hungarian slabs becomes apparent. The CONTRACK prefabricated elements were designed and manufactured with the track superelevation already incorporated into the geometry of the slab itself. This means that the prefabricated element is not simply a flat slab adapted to site conditions, but an element individually prepared for the specific geometry of the track.

This represents an important innovation compared with the old system. The existing solution on Limanowskiego Street illustrates it particularly well: the unusual curve geometry had to be supplemented with cast-in-place concrete in the track centre. CONTRACK makes it possible to transfer a significantly greater part of this work from the construction site to the controlled conditions of the prefabrication plant.

Hungarian slab track in a modern form

The modernization of Limanowskiego Street demonstrates the evolution of prefabricated tramway pavement technology. The 171 existing slabs and the section of cast-in-place track centre are being replaced by 36 large, prestressed CONTRACK prefabricated elements, which integrate the track centre and are adapted to the curve geometry and required superelevation. Fewer elements, fewer joints, reduced risk of slab rocking, an integrated track centre, a prestressed structure and the ability to prefabricate slabs with superelevation – together, all these solutions form a new generation of the technology.

CONTRACK demonstrates how an innovative approach to design and prefabrication can further develop existing solutions and adapt them to increasingly demanding infrastructure projects.