Rail Transport in Poland - Overview

Overview

Although the network is generally electrified, the vast majority of the track was laid by the Communist authorities from 1946 onwards or was, in a significant number of cases, laid before World War II by an assortment of different rail companies, when territory was part of different countries including, among others, the Deutsche Reichsbahn and Russian Imperial State Railways. Due to the average age of Poland's railway network and lack of maintenance, many sections of track are limited to speeds below 100 km/h (62 mph) even on trunk lines. No high-speed lines exists in Poland and some 500 km (310 mi) of track allow traveling at 160 km/h (99 mph), most notable being the Central Trunk Line (CMK) which links Warsaw to Katowice and Kraków, with some sections constructed to an alignment which would permit 200 km/h (120 mph) but not operated at that speed.

In 2008, the Polish government announced the construction of a dedicated high speed line based on the French TGV model and possibly using TGV style trainsets by 2020. The Y-shaped line would link Warsaw to Łódź, Poznań and Wrocław. This line would allow speeds of up to 320 km/h (200 mph). This project includes also an upgrade of Central Trunk Line to 250 km/h (160 mph) (or more) as this line features an LGV-like profile.

Polskie Koleje Państwowe, a state-owned corporate group, is the main provider of railway services. The PKP group holds an almost unrivaled monopoly over rail services in Poland as it is both supported and partly funded by the national 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, EuroCity, Express InterCity (which are generally faster and more expensive) and TLK (interregional fast trains, which are slower than EN/EC/EIC/Ex, but cheaper) and international fast trains.
  • PKP Cargo provides cargo rail transport.

As of 2008, foreign services operate on the Polish Railways network. These include EuroCity and EuroNight trains operating between Western and Eastern European destinations, most notably the EN Jan Kiepura direct sleeping cars which operate between Russia and Amsterdam, Basel and Munich via Warsaw, Poznan and Germany. These trains generally consist of varied coaches from different rail operators that are added to the train as it passes through their area of operation.