Rail transport in Poland

The Polish railways network currentlywhen|date=August 2008 consists of around convert|19599|km of track, of which the vast majority is electrified using a 3kV DC overhead line system.

Although the network is generally electrified and well maintained 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. The average age of Poland's railway network is now so great that many sections of track are limited to speeds of convert|100|km/h|abbr=on or less and although 'high-speed lines' do exist they rarely exceed an average speed limit of convert|160|km/h|abbr=on; the exception to this rule being the Central Rail line which runs from Warsaw to Katowice and allows speeds of up to around convert|220|km/h|abbr=on (soon to be upgraded to convert|260|km/h|abbr=on|disp=slash).

The Polish government currentlywhen|date=August 2008 have plans in the pipeline to build a dedicated high speed line based upon the French TGV model and possibly even to use French-built TGV style trains by 2014, which, beginning in Warsaw would follow a route taking it on to Poznan via Lodz with a fork there allowing trains to divert south-westerly to Wroclaw. This line would, like the French TGV lines, allow speeds of up to convert|320|km/h|abbr=on, although it remains to be seen as to whether any of this will become a reality.

Polskie Koleje Panstwowe, a majority state owned company, is the main provider of railway service. 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 two main PKP companies:
**PKP Intercity - provides long-distance trains on the most popular routes. Those trains, are divided into categories: EuroNight, EuroCity, InterCity, Express, TLK and international night trains. The main difference between those categories is in price, because the quality of service is unpredictable, also the travelling speeds are almost identical
**PKP Przewozy Regionalne - Categories "Osobowy" ("passenger") and "Pospieszny" ("fast") Regional services which link less important cities and towns with each other and in some cases also large population hubs. Can be both long or short distance services and usually have long trip durations.

Currentlywhen|date=August 2008 many foreign services operate on the Polish Railways network; many of these are, as previously stated, Eurocity or Euronight trains operating between Western and Eastern European destinations, most notably the EN Jan Kiepura direct sleeping cars which operate between Russia and Western European cities via Warsaw. These trains generally consist of many varied units from different rail operators which are added to the train as it passes through their area of operation. They can, due to this, have rather a multinational look about them.

Non-PKP regional services

* Koleje Mazowieckie is a regional operator on all lines in Masovian Voivodeship, including Warsaw
* Arriva PCC is a regional operator on non-electrified lines in Kujawsko-Pomorskie region since December 2006
* SKPL is a small company providing service on some narrow-gauge lines

Rapid Transit

Rail transport has many uses in Poland and although this is generally kept within the long/short distance passenger and freight category it is also used in the form or rapid transit in some areas. This includes:
* SKM in the Tri-city area of Northern Poland
* Warszawska Kolej Dojazdowa A suburban railway in the capital Warsaw
* SKM Warszawa a suburban, city-owned line
* Warsaw Metro An underground metro system in operation in Warsaw which is currently undergoing a period of rapid expansion and modernisation.

See also

* History of rail transport in Poland

References