Fabryczna station

Construction on the Łódź-Koluszki railway line began on September 1st, 1865 during the period when the area was part of Congress Poland. Alexander II granted authorization for the construction in July of that year. The new line connected Łódź to the Warsaw-Vienna railway, which had been completed in 1848. The railway was built simultaneously from both ends, Łódź and Koluszki.

The single-gauge railway was intended primarily for freight transport, particularly for coal and raw materials used in machinery production. It was hastily launched on November 19th, 1865 and initially served only this purpose. According to decisions made by the city authorities, two station tracks ended abruptly at Dzika street (now Sienkiewicza street), where coal was loaded. The first passenger-goods trains began running on June 1st, 1866 and passengers likely used a temporary barrack located between Widzewska St. (now Kilinskiego St.) and Dzika street, but this cannot be confirmed. The DZFL board's report for 1866 states that the station building in Łódź, as well as other buildings on the line, were completed and put into service in December of that year. However, previous studies suggest that the station was not built until 1868 or later. The construction of this railway marked the beginning of the creation of the Łódź Circle Line.

The railway tracks were extended almost to Sienkiewicz Street. In 1868, a new station was built under the design of the Warsaw-based architect Adolf Schimmelpfennig. The two-storey building, typical of industrial architecture of railway stations of that period, was constructed. Additionally, several brick buildings were erected alongside the station including a warehouse, a steam engine, a pressure tower, a ramp, a landing, a one-story house and a wooden shed for wagons. A plan of the city of Rudolf Micinski, made in 1869 and dated 1873, shows the track layout: a single-track branch leaving the main track at the height of Targowa Street and ending before Dzika Street (now Sienkiewicza Street) and another branch leaving the main track at Wodna Street and ending before Widzewska street (now Kilinskiego Street), leading to the engine house, the station and the square next to it. The new station is marked on the plan, and the plan also shows two small warehouses (one of them is a salt warehouse, another, third warehouse was established in 1871 or 1872 to separate arrivals and sentries) in the place of the existing pre-race car park at Kilinskiego St. Also, the plan showed the building of the water station and probably a small engine resemble two machines, but they were not marked leading to a non-runway. A small building, probably residential, is on the set at the exit of Targowa Street. In 1874, the building of the engine house was extended to create two additional positions, and the station was begun to be expanded with a fourth class waiting room.

The modernization of the Łódź-Warsaw railway line includes the construction of a new underground station just north of the former Łódź Fabryczna station. A ramp leading to a new tunnel begins immediately after Łódź Widzew station, and the tunnel starts near the site of Łódź Niciarniana station. Initially, it was planned to change the name of the station to Łódź-Central or Central, but according to the latest plans, the station name will not change as it is too well associated with the current station.

The station was initially intended to service new high-speed trains that were to run on a new high-speed line, the 'Y' line, intended to link Warsaw via Łódź and Kalisz to Wrocław and Poznań. Due to the estimated cost of 10 billion Euro, the high-speed line was put on hold by Sławomir Nowak, the Ministry of Transport, Construction and Marine Economy at the time of the decision.

Moving Łódź Fabryczna underground releases land for development near the city center. A modern transport interchange is envisaged between PKP trains, MPK Łódź trams, buses, and PKS coaches. The railway line is to be extended in a new cross-city twin-track tunnel to Łódź Kalisz railway station.

In November 2010, PKP PLK announced a list of five consortia that had been invited by the railway infrastructure manager to tender to build the underground station. The work was planned to be completed in 2014.

However, in 2013, the estimated cost of the project was given as ranging from 1.7 to 1.9 billion PLN and the completion date was unknown. Reconstruction works finished in December 2016, and the station has reopened. The main architect of the new station and multimodal hub is Ewelina Oskroba, an architect specializing in stations and transportation. The new station has been designed to be passenger-friendly, with the possibility to accommodate large numbers of travelers commuting between the train station, bus station, tramways, and public parking. Although the station is underground, it was designed from the beginning to have plenty of daylight. The station allows a fluid connection between the different sides of the city and does not create any barriers. One of the initial requests was to allow the construction of eight-story office buildings over the future station.