 | This article needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(June 2023) |
| Rail transport in Poland | |
|---|---|
 New Pendolino train inKraków | |
| Operation | |
| National railway | PKP Group |
| Infrastructure company | PKP PLK |
| Major operators | passenger:cargo: |
| Statistics | |
| Ridership | 310 million (2018)[1] |
| Passenger km | 2.0833×1010 |
| Freight | 121,258 milliontkm |
| System length | |
| Total | 18,680 km (11,610 mi) |
| Electrified | 12,149 km (7,549 mi) |
| High-speed | 0 km (0 mi) |
| Track gauge | |
| Main | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)standard gauge |
| High-speed | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) |
| Electrification | |
| Main | 3 kV DC |
| Features | |
| No. stations | 2,652 |
| Part of a series on |
| Rail transport |
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ThePolish railways network consists of around 18,807 kilometres (11,686 mi) of track as of 2023,[2]: 7 of which 12,149 km (7,549 mi) is electrified.[2]: 13 The national electrification system runs at 3 kV DC.
Poland is a member of theInternational Union of Railways (UIC), itsUIC Country Code is 51.
Rail services are operated by a range of public and private rail operators. The state-ownedPKP Group operates the majority of rail services. In addition to PKP owned companies, there are a number of private cargo operators, as well as a number of independent passenger operators, with the latter owned predominantly byVoivodeship provincial governments.
The vast majority of the network was built beforeWorld War II by various railway companies, including by the GermanDeutsche Reichsbahn and by theRussian Imperial State Railways, and a minor component was built from 1946 onwards by the Communist authorities of thePolish People's Republic. During theinvasion of Poland at the beginning ofWorld War II the Polish railway network was crippled by theLuftwaffebombing campaign.[3] Due to the average age of the network and lack of maintenance, many sections are limited to speeds below 160 km/h (99 mph) even on trunk lines. 2,813 km (1,748 mi) allow 160 km/h (99 mph) or more.[4]
Since Poland's entry into theEuropean Union in 2004, major financing has been made available by European financing institutions to improve both the Polish rail network and the rolling stock fleet. Up to June 2014, theEuropean Investment Bank had provided loans totalling €1.9 billion for rail modernization projects in Poland.[5][6] An additional €578 million had been provided through December 2013 to modernize 70% ofPKP Intercity rolling stock.[7] The €665 million purchase of 20AlstomPendolino high-speed trains delivered in 2014 was financed in part by €342 million from the European Investment Bank.[8]
Poland currently has nohigh-speed lines operated at speeds above 200 km/h (124 mph). TheCentral Rail Line,centralna magistrala kolejowa, 'CMK', which linksWarsaw toKatowice andKraków, was designed with an alignment to permit 250 km/h (155 mph), but for over 30 years after its construction Poland possessed no rolling stock capable of speeds above 160 km/h (99 mph). Since 2008, the CMK has been upgraded to allow higher speeds, including installation ofEuropean Train Control System Level 1 which provides theCab signalling required by high speed trains. Most trains on the CMK still operate at speeds up to 160 km/h (99 mph), but since 14 December 2014 newAlstomPendolino ED250 trains operate on a 90 km section of the CMK at 200 km/h (124 mph), and improvements under way should raise the authorized speed to 200 km/h (124 mph) on most of the line. In test runs on the CMK in November 2013 a newPendolino ED250 train set a new Polish speed record of 293 km/h (182 mph).[9]
In 2011–2015, theWarsaw-Gdańsk-Gdynia railway line has undergone a major upgrading costing $3 billion, partly funded by theEuropean Investment Bank, including track replacement, realignment of curves and relocation of sections of track to allow speeds up to 200 km/h (124 mph), modernization of stations, and installation of the most modern ETCS Level 2 signalling system, which is to be completed in June 2015. In December 2014 newAlstomPendolino high-speed trains were put into service betweenGdańsk,Warsaw andKraków reducing the rail travel time from Gdańsk to Warsaw to 2 hours 58 minutes,[10][11] to be reduced in late 2015 to 2 hours 37 minutes.[12]
In 2008, the government announced the construction of adedicated high speed line based on the FrenchTGV model and possibly using TGV style trainsets, by 2020. The Y-shaped line would linkWarsaw toŁódź,Poznań andWrocław at speeds of up to 320 km/h (199 mph). The plans included an upgrade of theCentral Rail Line to 250 km/h (155 mph) or more, as this line has anLGV-like profile. In December 2011 plans to build the high speed 'Y' line were postponed until 2030, due to the high cost.[13][14]
As of 2008, foreign services includeEuroCity andEuroNight trains between Western and Eastern Europe, most notably the EN Jan Kiepura direct sleeping cars betweenAmsterdam,Basel andMunich via Warsaw, Poznan and Germany. They generally consist of coaches from different rail operators that are added to the train as it passes through their area of operation.
Voltage ofelectrification systems may differ. The Polish voltage is 3 kV DC.
Czech Republic – same voltage
Germany – 3 kV DC/15 kV AC
Slovakia – same voltage
Sweden – bytrain ferry; proposed fixed links, one fromSzczecin toYstad viaBornholm Island, the other from Gdynia toKarlskrona, both with 15 kV AC and SE-C loading gauge (Voltage change 3 kV DC/15 kV AC on Polish side)[citation needed]
Belarus – 3 kV DC/25 kV AC, a short stretch ofdual-gauge track terminates atGrodno
Lithuania – 3 kV DC/25 kV AC, as part of the construction ofRail Baltica a new standard-gauge diesel line from there toKaunas was built in October 2015
Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) – not electrified – there are short stretches ofdual gauge sections around the border area
Ukraine – 3 kV DC/25 kV AC
The network isstandard gauge except for theLinia Hutnicza Szerokotorowa (literally meaning "Broad Gauge Metallurgy Line", but typically known by its abbreviationLHS) and a few short stretches nearborder crossings. The LHS toSławków is the longest broad-gauge line, single track, almost 400 km (250 mi) long, from theUkrainian border just east ofHrubieszów. It is the westernmost broad gauge line connected to the system of theformer Soviet Union.
Since the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, there are proposed to build more broad-gauge lines in and around Poland.[16] Linia Hutnicza Szerokotorowa westward extension from Slawkow via Gliwice, Gorlitz, Jena, Paderborn and Oberhausen to Amsterdam and Rotterdam, and branch to Hamburg, and new broad-gauge link from Ukrainian border via Chelm, Lublin, Bialystok and Suwalki to Mockai (Lithuania) and branch to Gdansk Port.
Polish State Railways (PKP), a state-ownedcorporate group and part of thePKP Group conglomerate, is the main provider of railway services, holding an almost complete monopoly on long-distance passenger services. It is both supported and partly funded by the government.
There are three main PKP companies:
While PKP is the largest rail operator in Poland, there are several independent operators of passenger and cargo railway services. Independent Cargo operators are predominantly privately owned. Passenger operators are predominantly owned by Voivodeship governments. These include:
Freight services are provided by a number of private and public rail operators. These include:
