Białystok is, and has been for centuries, the main hub of transportation for the Podlaskie Voivodeship and the entire northeastern section of Poland. It is a major city on the European Union roadways (Via Baltica) and railways (Rail Baltica) to the Baltic Republics and Finland. It is also a main gateway of trade with Belarus due to its proximity to the border and its current and longstanding relationship with Hrodno, Belarus. Passenger trains do connect from Suwałki, Hrodno and Lithuania to Warsaw and the rest of the European passenger network. An extensive public transportation system is provided within the city by three bus services, but no tram or subway exists.
A civil airport, Białystok-Krywlany Airport, lies within the city limits, but does not provide regularly scheduled service.
Before World War II Białystok had a horse tram network. After the war, plans for the electrification of the lines proved too costly and the lines were pulled down. Since then buses have been the only means of public transportation. There are plans to develop a rapid city rail system in the near future, using the existing railways within the city limits, which will improve the reliability of public transport.[ citation needed ]
The National Roads (Polish : Droga krajowa) running through Białystok:
The expressways (Polish : Droga ekspresowa) near Białystok:
The Voivodeship roads (Polish : Droga wojewódzka) running through Białystok::
In Białystok Country (Polish : powiat białostocki) there are also Poviat roads (Polish : Droga powiatowa) which connect Białystok with other towns in the area: [1] [2] [lower-alpha 1]
Bialystok is the largest city in Poland that has only one form of public transit (bus). There is an extensive bus network that covers the entire city. Tickets can be bought using ticket machines mounted in the buses or in advance, they can be bought in newsagents, convenience stores, supermarkets and designated ticket retail points.
There are 30 city lines and 20 metropolitan lines served by 3 bus operators partially owned by the municipality - KPKM, KPK and KZK. [3] Each share approximately a third of the lines and the bus fleet.[ citation needed ]
One of the first means of urban transport were demobilized trucks owned by Miejski Zakład Komunikacyjny (MZK) in Białystok, which existed after Second World War and the establishment of the People's Republic of Poland. In 1954, this company was transformed into a Municipal Transport Company, MPK Bialystok, maintaining vehicles from Chausson, Star, Mavag, San, Autosan, ZIS and Jelcz in operation, and in the 1980s Ikarus was also the first articulated bus with the nidel 280.
A strike began on May 13, 1991. Employees demanded the resignation of the director, salary increases and discussions on the ownership transformations of the company. The legal patron Jerzy Korsak (then owner of the only private law office in Białystok, now a member of the Supreme Lawyer's Council) came to the strikers and convinced them that in order to dismiss the director, the company had to be dissolved. [4]
In February 2004, the functions of the Municipal Service Department were taken over by the Road and Transport Authority (ZDiT), and in June 2006 the Department of Urban Transport (WTM). In March 2007, the Urban Transport Department was merged with the Municipal Roads Department, resulting in the Department of Roads and Transport (DDT). Since the beginning of 2007, the name Białostocka Komunikacja Miejska has been used in relation to public transport in Białystok. Since 2010, the role of organizer of public transport has been the Authority of Bialystok Municipal Transport (BKM) (Polish : Zarząd Białostockiej Komunikacji Miejskiej).
On early 2016 there were calls from the city council to unite the 3 bus operators as it is costly for the city to own 3 different companies more or less with the same size who perform the same tasks. The mayor replied that this model works well and no further action was taken. [5]
Horse-drawn trams existed in the city for merely 20 years, between 1895 and 1915, but most of the infrastructure was damaged during the World War I. In the course of its operation the network consisted of 3 lines. The interwar period seen attempts to revive the system, but those never materialised. [6]
Currently, Białystok is one of the most populous cities in Poland without a tram network. [7] In 2019, the Sobieski Institute published a report outlining potential routes consisting of 25 kilometres (16 miles) of tracks. [8] City officials cited extensive bus network and high costs of implementing a tram system as the main factor preventing its implementation. [9]
The main railway station is Białystok railway station and passenger services are provided by two rail service providers:
Polregio provides service on the following routes: [11]
Białystok has also direct connections with other cities in northern Poland such as Gdańsk and Olsztyn.
PKS Nova operates coaches to most major cities in Poland.
Currently, the nearest airport to Białystok is a regional airport, Hrodna Airport in Hrodna, Belarus. Hrodna only provides domestic service within Belarus. The closest international airport to Białystok is Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport in Warsaw.
Białystok-Krywlany Airport lies within city limits. It is currently used only by Aeroklub Białostocki, [12] a sports and recreational flying association, and by private airplanes.
There were plans of construction a new regional airport, Białystok-Saniki Airport 27 km west-northwest of Białystok in the village of Saniki, Gmina Tykocin at 2010. [13]
Transport in Poland involves air, water, road and rail transportation. The country has a large network of municipal public transport, such as buses, trams and the metro. As a country located at the 'cross-roads' of Europe, Poland is a nation with a large and increasingly modern network of transport infrastructure.
Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area.
Białystok Voivodeship was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland from 1975 to 1998, when it was superseded by the Podlaskie Voivodeship. Its capital city was Białystok. It was formed in 1975 from part of the existing Białystok Voivodeship. The region was 10,055 km2 (3,882 sq mi), and its population in 1994, about 700 000 inhabitants. It was divided into 20 cities and 50 municipalities. It bordered with four Voivodeships: Suwałki, Łomża, Siedlce and Biała Podlaska and until 1991 with the Soviet Union, and later with Belarus.
Bielsk Podlaski is a town in eastern Poland, within Bielsk County in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 24,883.
Brańsk is a town in eastern Poland. It is situated within Podlaskie Voivodeship (province).
The Public Transport Authority is a local government body organising public transport in Warsaw and surrounding metropolitan area. Services managed by the Authority are corporately branded as Warszawski Transport Publiczny. These include: bus and tram networks, two metro lines, szybka kolej miejska trains and park-and-ride car parks.
Szybka Kolej Miejska is a mixed rapid transit and commuter rail system in the Warsaw metropolitan area, operated by the city owned company Szybka Kolej Miejska Sp. z o.o. under the management of Public Transport Authority in Warsaw on shared, general railway lines managed by the PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe.
Belostok Oblast was an administrative-territorial unit (oblast) of the Russian Empire with its capital in Belostok (Białystok).
The Polish railways network consists of around 18,510 kilometres (11,500 mi) of track as of 2019, of which 11,998 km (7,455 mi) is electrified. The national electrification system runs at 3 kV DC.
Gmina Brańsk is a rural gmina in Bielsk County, Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is located in north-eastern Poland.
Podlaskie Voivodeship is a voivodeship (province) in northeastern Poland. The name of the province refers to the historical region of Podlachia, and part of its territory corresponds to this region. The capital and largest city is Białystok.
Kuźnica is a village in Sokółka County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland, close to the border with Belarus. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Kuźnica. It lies approximately 16 kilometres (10 mi) north-east of Sokółka and 54 km (34 mi) north-east of the regional capital Białystok.
Warsaw has seen major infrastructural changes over the past few years amidst increased foreign investment and economic growth. The city has a much improved infrastructure with new roads, flyovers, bridges, etc. Public transport in Warsaw is ubiquitous, serving the city with buses, tramways, urban railway and Metro.
Saint Petersburg–Warsaw Railway is a 1,333 km (828 mi) long railway, built in the 19th century by the Russian Empire to connect Russia with Central Europe. At the time the entire railway was within the Russian Empire: Warsaw was under a Russian partition of Poland. Due to territorial changes, the line now lies within five countries and crosses the eastern border of the European Union three times. Therefore, no passenger trains follow the entire route. Passenger trains between Saint Petersburg and Warsaw used to travel through Brest instead and a new line called Rail Baltica is under development to improve the direct connection between Poland and Lithuania.
Białystok has a wide variety of media outlets serving the city and surrounding region. There are two locally published daily newspapers, Gazeta Współczesna and Kurier Poranny. In addition two national papers have local bureaus. There are a number of national and locally produced television and radio channels available both over-the-air from the nearby RTCN Białystok (Krynice) Mast, the seventh highest structure in Poland, in addition to transmitter sites within the city. There is also a cable television system available within the city. The city has two campus radio stations; Radiosupeł at the Medical University of Białystok and Radio Akadera at the Białystok Technical University.
Białystok is, and has been for centuries, the main hub of transportation for the Podlaskie Voivodeship and the entire northeastern section of Poland. It is a major city on the European Union roadways and railways to the Baltic Republics and Finland. It is also a main gateway of trade with Belarus due to its proximity to the border and its current and longstanding relationship with Hrodno, Belarus. Passenger trains do connect from Suvalki, Hrodno and Lithuania to Warsaw and the rest of the European passenger network. An extensive public transportation system is provided within the city by three bus services, but no tram or subway exists.
Warszawa Zachodnia station, in English Warsaw West, is a railway and long-distance bus station in Warsaw, Poland on the border of Ochota and Wola districts. The railway station is the westernmost terminus of the Warsaw Cross-City Line. It serves trains from PKP Intercity, Polregio, Koleje Mazowieckie, Szybka Kolej Miejska and Warszawska Kolej Dojazdowa as well as international trains passing through Warsaw. It is one of the busiest railway stations in Poland, with over 800 daily trains.
The Belarusian–Polish border is the state border between the Republic of Poland and the Republic of Belarus. It has a total length of 398.6 km (247.7 mi), 418 km (260 mi) or 416 km (258 mi). It starts from the triple junction of the borders with Lithuania in the north and stretches to the triple junction borders with Ukraine to the south. It is also part of the EU border with Belarus. The border runs along the administrative borders of two Voivodships Podlaskie and Lubelskie in the Polish side and Grodno and Brest Vobłasć in the Belarusian side. In the Polish side, the 246.93 km (153.44 mi) section is under the protection of the Podlaski Border Guard Regional Unit, while the 171.31 km (106.45 mi) section is in the operation area of the Bug Border Guard Regional Unit. Border rivers are Czarna Hańcza, Wołkuszanka, Świsłocz, Narew, and Bug.
National road 19 is part of the Polish national road network. The highway connects the north-eastern and southern regions of Poland, running from Kuźnica at the Belarus border to Barwinek at the Slovak border, traversing through the Podlaskie, Masovian, Lublin and Podkarpackie voivodeships. National road 19 is part of European highway E371.
Pabianice station is a railway station located in the town of Pabianice, Łódź Voivodeship, Poland. According to PKP it has the status of a regional station. It serves mainly regional traffic between Łódź and Sieradz, although it is also a stopping point for PKP Intercity services between Warsaw and Wrocław.