Rail transport in Poland

In 2011–2015 the Warsaw-Gdańsk-Gdynia railway line has undergone a major upgrading costing $3 billion, partly funded by the European 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 new Alstom Pendolino high-speed trains were put into service between Gdańsk, Warsaw and Kraków 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 a

As of 2008, foreign services include EuroCity and EuroNight trains between Western and Eastern Europe, most notably the EN Jan Kiepura direct sleeping cars between Russia and Amsterdam, Basel and Munich 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.

Links with adjacent countries

• Ukraine - through Starzhava - reopened 2023 ^[15]
• Ukraine - through Nyzhankovychi - reopened 2023 ^[15]

Voltage of

• Same gauge – 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in):
  • Czech Republic – same voltage
  • Germany – 3 kV DC/15 kV AC
  • Slovakia – same voltage
  • Sweden – by train ferry; proposed fixed links, one from Szczecin to Ystad via Bornholm Island, the other from Gdynia to Karlskrona, both with 15 kV AC and SE-C loading gauge (Voltage change 3 kV DC/15 kV AC on Polish side)^{[citation needed]}
• Break of gauge – 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)/1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in)
  • Belarus – 3 kV DC/25 kV AC, a short stretch of dual-gauge track terminates at Grodno
  • Lithuania – 3 kV DC/25 kV AC, as part of the construction of Rail Baltica a new standard-gauge diesel line from there to Kaunas was built in October 2015
  • Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) – not electrified – there are short stretches of dual gauge sections around border area
  • Ukraine – 3 kV DC/25 kV AC

Broad-gauge railways

The network is

Polish State Railways (PKP), a state-owned corporate group and part of the PKP 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:

• PKP PLK
  – owns and maintains infrastructure including lines and stations.
• PKP Intercity – provides long-distance connections on the most popular routes. Trains are divided into the categories: EuroNight (EN), EuroCity (EC), Express InterCity (EIC), Express InterCity Premium (EIP) – generally faster and more expensive, InterCity (IC) and (TLK) (interregional fast trains, slower than EN/EC/EIC but cheaper) and international fast trains.
• PKP Cargo – provides cargo rail transport.

Non-PKP operators

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:

• voivodeships, formerly part of PKP Group. Operates local passenger trains (under the REGIO brand) financed by local governments, low-cost long-distance trains (interREGIO) and short-distance international trains jointly with DB Regio (REGIOekspres). Passenger trains are rather slow, mostly electric multiple units and diesel railcars/railbuses. InterREGIO trains are of slightly lower standard than TLK trains (no first class and dining cars), but are usually a bit cheaper. In June 2016, Lithuanian Railways and Przewozy Regionalne started weekend passenger train service between Bialystok and Kaunas in Lithuania.^[17][18]
• Deutsche Bahn
  • DB Regio connects from the border stations at Gorzów, Kostrzyn, Szczecin with the DB network with local trains (the Polish parts of their routes are generally operated by Przewozy Regionalne).
  • Kuyavian-Pomeranian and Pomeranian
    regions
• Koleje Dolnośląskie – a regional operator on a few lines in Lower Silesia.
• Koleje Małopolskie – a regional operator in the region of Kraków.
• Koleje Mazowieckie – a regional operator on all lines in Masovian Voivodeship, including Warsaw
  .
• Koleje Śląskie – a regional operator in the Silesian Voivodeship
• Koleje Wielkopolskie – a regional operator on a few lines in Greater Poland Voivodeship.
• Łódzka Kolej Aglomeracyjna – a commuter railway operator in the Łódź Voivodeship.

Rapid transit

• PKP Szybka Kolej Miejska in the Tri-city area, part of the PKP Group
• Warszawska Kolej Dojazdowa
  , a suburban railway in Warsaw and Western suburbs
• Szybka Kolej Miejska, a suburban city-owned network in Warsaw
• Warsaw Metro, an underground metro system in Warsaw, currently undergoing a period of expansion.

Freight operators

Freight services are provided by a number of private and public rail operators. These include:

• DB Cargo Polska
• Freightliner
• PKP Cargo
• PKP LHS
• Lotos Kolej
• Orlen KolTrans
• CTL Logistics

Rail links to adjacent countries

• (
  break-of-gauge
  1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)/1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in)
• (
  break-of-gauge
  1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)/1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in)
• (
  break-of-gauge
  1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)/1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in)
• (
  break-of-gauge
  1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)/1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in) apart from LHS

See also

• History of rail transport in Poland
• Railway lines of Poland
• Railroad Guards (Poland)
• Transport in Poland

References

External links

• National railways infrastructure operator official website
• Passenger Portal – connections search, delays and disruptions Archived 2021-01-18 at the Wayback Machine
• National railway timetable
• Polish Rail TV

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