Transport in Poland

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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.

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The country's most important waterway is the Vistula river. The largest seaports are the Port of Gdańsk, the Port of Gdynia and the Port of Szczecin. Air travel is generally used for international travel, with many flights originating at Warsaw Chopin Airport. Railways connect all of Poland's major cities and the state-owned Polish State Railways (PKP) corporation, through its subsidiaries, runs a great number of domestic and international services of varying speed and comfort. In addition to this, five out of sixteen Polish voivodeships have their own regional rail service providers.

Rail transport

Railways in Poland Poland rail map.svg
Railways in Poland
Wroclaw Glowny railway station, the busiest train station in Poland. Wroclaw Dworzec Glowny.jpg
Wrocław Główny railway station, the busiest train station in Poland.
A PKP Intercity ED250 Pendolino at Wroclaw Main Station. Polish Pendolino front 2.JPG
A PKP Intercity ED250 Pendolino at Wrocław Main Station.
Gdansk Main Station, one of Poland's most important railway terminals Gdansk Glowny, Blick von Marienkirche.jpg
Gdańsk Main Station, one of Poland's most important railway terminals
A Polish locomotive takes over haulage duty from a Deutsche Bahn unit at Rzepin on a Berlin-Warsaw Express train Bwe loco change rzepin.jpg
A Polish locomotive takes over haulage duty from a Deutsche Bahn unit at Rzepin on a Berlin-Warsaw Express train

Poland is served by an extensive network of railways. In most cities the main railway station is located near a city centre and is well connected to the local transportation system. The infrastructure is operated by PKP Group. The rail network is very dense in western and northern Poland, while eastern part of the country is less developed. The capital city, Warsaw, has the country's only rapid transit system: the Warsaw Metro.

The only high-speed rail line (though by most definitions, real high-speed rail only includes speeds over 200 km/h) in central-eastern Europe is the Central Rail Line (Poland), Centralna Magistrala Kolejowa (CMK). It has a length of 223 km (139 mi), and was built in 1971–1977; it links Warsaw with Kraków and Katowice. Most trains on the CMK operate at speeds up to 160 km/h (99 mph), but since December 2014 new Alstom Pendolino 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 new Pendolino ED250 train set a new Polish speed record of 293 km/h (182 mph). [2]

Other high-speed lines:

Projects The Warsaw–Łódź line is being upgraded to allow speed up to 160 km/h (in order to bind together the Warsaw–Łódź agglomeration).

Plans were made to construct a new high-speed line (350 km/h) from Warsaw to Poznań and Wrocław with forks in Łódź and Kalisz., [6] but the project was cancelled in November 2011 due to its high cost. [7]

The PKP Group is the fourth largest railway throughout Europe. Trains are run by its different subsidiaries.

Passenger transport operators

The following companies operate in Poland:

Narrow-gauge railways

There are hundreds of kilometres of 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in), 750 mm (2 ft 5+1⁄2 in), 785 mm (2 ft 6+29⁄32 in), and 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) narrow-gauge lines in Poland. These railways are mostly in decline, some survive as a museum or tourist railways.

Freight transport market

Broad-gauge railways

LHS links southern Poland with broad-gauge railways in Ukraine and other eastern countries Mapa LHS.png
LHS links southern Poland with broad-gauge railways in Ukraine and other eastern countries

Except for Linia Hutnicza Szerokotorowa, and a few very short stretches near border crossings, Poland uses the standard gauge for its railways. Therefore, Linia Hutnicza Szerokotorowa (known by its acronym LHS, English: Broad-gauge steelworks line) in Sławków is the longest broad-gauge railway line in Poland. The line runs on a single track for almost 400 km (250 mi) from the Polish-Ukrainian border, crossing it just east of Hrubieszów. It is the westernmost broad-gauge railway line in Europe that is connected to the broad-gauge rail system of the countries of the former Soviet Union.

Rail system

Total: 23,420 km (14,550 mi)

As of December 2002 narrow-gauge railways were no longer owned or operated by PKP. They were transferred to regional authorities or became independent companies.

Road transport

Map of planned motorway and expressway network in Poland. DocelowyUkladDrog.svg
Map of planned motorway and expressway network in Poland.
A2 near Poznan, opened in 2003 PL A2 Poznan Komorniki.JPG
A2 near Poznań, opened in 2003
Semi-trailer truck average daily traffic in 2015 Ruch tirow 2015.svg
Semi-trailer truck average daily traffic in 2015

Polish public roads are grouped into categories related to administrative division. Poland has 424,563 km (263,810 mi) of public roads, of which 120,563 km (74,910 mi) are unsurfaced (2021): [8]

In recent years, the network has been improving and government spending on road construction recently saw a huge increase, due to rapid development of the country and the inflow of European Union funds for infrastructure projects. [9]

Motorways and expressways

Polish motorways and expressways are part of national roads network. As of December 2021, there are 1,721 kilometres (1,070 mi) of motorways (autostrady, singular - autostrada) and 2,790 km (1,730 mi) of expressways (drogi ekspresowe, singular - droga ekspresowa). [10]

Znak D9.svg Motorways in Poland, 1,721 km (1,070 mi) (2021):
A1 | A2 | A4 | A6 | A8 | A18

PL road sign D-7.svg Expressways in Poland, 2,790 km (1,730 mi) (2021):
S1 | S2 | S3 | S5 | S6 | S7 | S8 | S10 | S11 | S12 | S14 | S16 | S17 | S19 | S22 | S51 | S52 | S61 | S74 | S79 | S86

Air transport

Location of main airports in Poland, with number of passengers served in 2016 Poland airports 2016.svg
Location of main airports in Poland, with number of passengers served in 2016
Terminal 2 of the Warsaw Chopin Airport Warsaw Airport.jpg
Terminal 2 of the Warsaw Chopin Airport
Wroclaw Airport - interior of the terminal T2 Terminal T2 we Wroclawiu - landside.jpg
Wrocław Airport - interior of the terminal T2
New terminal at Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport Gdansk-Lotnisko-Terminal2 5.JPG
New terminal at Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport

The most important airport in Poland is Warsaw 'Frederic Chopin' International Airport. Warsaw's airport is the main international hub for LOT Polish Airlines.

In addition to Warsaw Chopin, Wrocław, Gdańsk, Katowice, Kraków and Poznań all have international airports.

In preparation for the Euro 2012 football championships jointly hosted by Poland and Ukraine, a number of airports around the country were renovated and redeveloped. This included the building of new terminals with an increased number of jetways and stands at both Wrocław Airport and Lech Wałęsa Airport in Gdańsk.

Airports

The Polish airline market was until 2004 a closed market, with bilateral agreements between countries served from the national hub – Warsaw. The regional airports were mostly serving as spokes, and were controlled by PPL, the state-owned airport authority. However, in the 1990s it was decided to deregulate the airport market and abolish the dominant position of PPL. Nearly all local airports (apart from Zielona Góra airport) became separate companies, with local governments involved in their management, which led to the partial decentralisation. Soon after opening of Polish sky for competition, flights "avoiding" the Warsaw hub became more common.

There are twelve passenger airports in operation, and there is also an airport Heringsdorf in German village Garz, 7 kilometers from Polish seaside spa Świnoujście.

International airports

List of airports in Poland The following are the largest airports in Poland (In descending order for 2013):

Domestic:

Airports with paved runways: Total: 84 (2005)

Airports – with unpaved runways: Total: 39 (2005)

Heliports: 2 (2005)

Water transport

Ferries of Polish company Unity Line in the city of Szczecin MF Skania 1.jpg
Ferries of Polish company Unity Line in the city of Szczecin
Gdynia's main municipal marina Gdynia kamienna marina.jpg
Gdynia's main municipal marina

The country's most important waterway is the river Vistula. The largest seaports are the Port of Szczecin and Port of Gdańsk.

Marine transport in Poland has two main sub-groups, riverine and seaborne. On the Baltic Sea coast, a number of large seaports exist to serve the international freight and passenger trade; these are typically deep water ports and are able to serve very large ships, including the ro-ro ferries of Unity Line, Polferries and Stena Line which operate the Poland – Scandinavia passenger lines.

Riverine services operate on almost all major Polish rivers and canals (such as the Danube–Oder and Elbląg canals) as well as on domestic coastal routes.

Waterways

Poland has 3,997 km (2,480 mi) of navigable rivers and canals (as of 2009).

Ports and harbors

Merchant marine

Total: 57 ships (1,000 GT or over) totaling 1,120,165 GT/1,799,569 tonnes deadweight (DWT)

Ships by type: bulk 50, cargo 2, chemical tanker 2, roll-on/roll-off 1, short-sea passenger 2 (1999 est.)

Municipal transport

City bus in Warsaw, manufactured by Polish company Solaris Solaris Urbino 10 1006.jpg
City bus in Warsaw, manufactured by Polish company Solaris

Bus

PL road sign D-15.svg

Most Polish towns and cities have well-developed municipal bus services. Typically, a city possesses its own local bus service, however, in some cases they have private competitors operating on certain lines upon the agreement with local authorities.

Until the 1990s, interurban connections were operated by a single, state-owned company PKS. Since then, it has been broken into a number of independent national and municipal enterprises. In addition, several private operators emerged. There are two classes of service distinguished by vehicle length:

While they often use the same bus stops, they tend to use different stations.

Tram

PL road sign D-17.svg
Bombardier tram in Krakow Bombardier NGT6 -2027.jpeg
Bombardier tram in Kraków

Bigger cities run dense tram networks, which are the primary mean of public transport. Currently, there are 15 systems serving over 30 cities including Bydgoszcz, Gdańsk, Katowice, Kraków, Łódź, Poznań, Szczecin, Warsaw and Wrocław, with the total track length varying from 200 km (120 mi) (Silesian Interurbans) to less than 10 km (6 mi) (Tramways in Grudziądz). A new network has been constructed in Olsztyn in 2015. See the list of town tramway systems in Poland

Since the 1990s, a number of cities attempts to upgrade certain parts of their networks to the light rail standard (called szybkie tramwaje, En. fast trams). The most notable investments are Poznań Fast Tram and Kraków Fast Tram with the underground 1.5 km (0.9 mi) premetro section. [11]

Trolleybus

PL road sign D-16.svg Trolleybuses can be found in three cities: Gdynia (with some lines reaching Sopot), Lublin and Tychy.

Rapid transit

Warsaw Metro logo.svg

The first metro line was opened in Warsaw in 1995. [12] Part of the second line was opened in 2015. This is part of the country's rail transport infrastructure. There is an ongoing debate whether a new metro or premetro should be built in Kraków. The current President of Kraków, Aleksander Miszalski, supports the idea and has declared that first works will commence in 2028. [13]

Pipelines

(2006 est.)

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kraków Główny railway station</span> Railway station in Kraków, Poland

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rail transport in Poland</span>

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.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sochaczew railway station</span> Railway station in Sochaczew, Poland

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Railway electrification in Poland</span>

Railway electrification in Poland is the process aimed at increasing the efficiency of railways and improving the railway services offered by supplying Polish railways with electricity and implementing electric rolling stock, which replaces rolling stock with other drives, mainly conventional diesel traction. By the end of the 1970s, thanks to massive electrification and the introduction of a large amount of electric rolling stock into service, it allowed to replace a large number of steam locomotives and older diesel rolling stock. Despite the abandonment of works in the 90s, currently PKP and other entities managing the railway infrastructure, such as PKM or DSDiK, are working on the implementation or are already implementing the electrification of their lines. Currently, the electrification of railways in Poland is aimed at improving rail transport by increasing competitiveness and attractiveness and replacing diesel traction of national importance and saving fuel on regional lines and railways mains such as line 31 from Siedlce to Siemianówka, line 137 from Kędzierzyn-Koźle to Legnica and line 203 from Tczew to Kostrzyn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PKP class ED250</span> High-speed electric multiple unit from the Pendolino family

Alstom EMU250 is a seven-car standard gauge high-speed electric multiple unit from the Pendolino family, manufactured by Alstom at the factory in Savigliano, Italy, as the Alstom ETR 610 model, commissioned by PKP Intercity. A total of 20 units were produced, and since 14 December 2014, they have been operating Express InterCity Premium trains on routes connecting Warsaw with Bielsko-Biała, Gdynia, Gliwice, Jelenia Góra, Katowice, Kołobrzeg, Kraków, Rzeszów, and Wrocław.

References

  1. ↑ "Poznaliśmy najpopularniejsze stacje kolejowe w Polsce. Wrocław Główny z rekordem". www.portalsamorzadowy.pl (in Polish). 25 June 2024. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  2. ↑ 'Bariera 300 km/h nie padła. Na koniec testów 293 km/h,' Rynek Kolejowy, 2013 11 24, http://www.rynek-kolejowy.pl/49466/bariera_300_km_h_nie_padla_na_koniec_testow_293_km_h.htm
  3. ↑ 'Polish Pendolino launches 200 km/h operation,' Railway Gazette International, 15 December 2014, http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/passenger/single-view/view/polish-pendolino-launches-200-kmh-operation.html
  4. ↑ 'Pendolino z Trójmiasta do Warszawy,' http://www.trojmiasto.pl/wiadomosci/Pendolino-z-Trojmiasta-do-Warszawy-Wiecej-pytan-niz-odpowiedzi-n71010.html
  5. ↑ ';Jeszcze szybciej z Warszawy do Gdańska,' Kurier Kolejowy 9 01 2015 http://www.kurierkolejowy.eu/aktualnosci/22716/Jeszcze-szybciej-z-Warszawy-do-Gdanska.html
  6. ↑ In brief: High Speed Rail will invade Poland by 2020 Archived 1 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine , Transport Expertise Association, Matthieu Desiderio, 11 June 2008.
  7. ↑ 'Polish High Sped Rail Project Cancelled,' Railway Gazette International, 8 December 2011, http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/infrastructure/single-view/view/polish-high-speed-rail-project-cancelled.html
  8. ↑ "Rodzaje dróg w Polsce - Ministerstwo Infrastruktury - Portal Gov.pl". Ministerstwo Infrastruktury (in Polish). Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  9. ↑ "Adisa Banjanovic, Improving Poland's transport infrastructure".
  10. ↑ "Generalna Dyrekcja Dróg Krajowych i Autostrad - Generalna Dyrekcja Dróg Krajowych i Autostrad - Portal Gov.pl".
  11. ↑ "Trams in Poland". Poland Travel Planner. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  12. ↑ "History of the Warsaw Metro". mirprometro.info. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  13. ↑ "Metro w Krakowie. Miszalski deklaruje: „prace ruszą w 2028 roku"". kr24.pl (in Polish). 28 June 2024. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
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