(''PKP S.A.''; en, Polish State Railways, Inc.) is the dominant
railway operator in Poland.
The company was founded when the former state-owned enterprise was divided into several units based on the need for separation between infrastructure management and transport operations. PKP S.A. is the dominant company in
PKP Group
PKP Group ( pl, Grupa PKP) is a Polish corporate group founded in 2001 from the former state enterprise, Polish State Railways. The purpose of this change was to separate infrastructure management and transport operations.
It consists of the follo ...
collective that resulted from the split, and maintains in 100% share control, being fully responsible for the assets of all of the other PKP Group component companies. The group's organisations are dependent upon PKP S.A., but proposals for privatisation have been made.
PKP today
Pricing system
The pricing system currently employed by PKP is highly regressive. On international routes such as, for example, the Berlin-Warsaw Express and the IC-Nightbus
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
–
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...
, a global pricing system is in use which requires one to buy two separate tickets (one in each direction) in place of a single consolidated return ticket. The long-distance and local trains' pricing systems are separated from each other in entirety and thus tickets issued by local train operators cannot be used on long-distance services, with the opposite also true. International tickets, however, are valid on all services upon which one is required to travel on order to reach the final destination stated on the ticket (unless a specific routing is stipulated in the terms of the conditions of use).
Development of current services, infrastructure and high-speed rail
![Wrocław_Dworzec_Główny](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Wroc%C5%82aw_Dworzec_G%C5%82%C3%B3wny.jpg)
Since 2009 PKP's subdivision Polskie Linie Kolejowe ''(Polish Railway Lines)'' has been using the new 'Dworzec Polski' ''(Polish Station)'' brand. This branding and its corresponding PR campaign 'ROBI SIĘ!' ''(IT'S GETTING READY!)'' was developed in order to shed more light on station redevelopments all around the country. The ethos of the brand essentially requires that the station in question be completely transformed to meet the highest modern standards of comfort and technical service before being allowed to become a member of the 'Dworzec Polski' network. Currently, there are 77 stations taking part in the 'ROBI SIĘ!' programme, amongst which are included the main stations of
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
,
Katowice
Katowice ( , , ; szl, Katowicy; german: Kattowitz, yi, קאַטעוויץ, Kattevitz) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Upper Silesian metropolitan area. It is the 11th most popul ...
,
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
,
Wrocław
Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...
, and
Gdynia
Gdynia ( ; ; german: Gdingen (currently), (1939–1945); csb, Gdiniô, , , ) is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With a population of 243,918, it is the List of cities in Poland, 12th-largest city in Poland and ...
.
History
![Brassey Barry Kent](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Brassey_Barry_Kent.jpg)
Regaining independence on 11 November 1918 allowed Poland to reclaim the former Russian and Austrian sectors from military railways. The Railway Department in the Ministry of Communication was created and the Polish railways were officially named ''Polskie Koleje Państwowe''.
In December 1918, the
Greater Poland Uprising started. The rebels took over the former
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
n sector of railways. One year later, the
fights for Lwów were over and the former Austrian railway directorate was taken over by Poland. Taking over the railways from Prussians lasted until 1921.
After the victory over the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
in the
Polish-Bolshevik War (1920), a great deal of damage in railway structure was discovered on the route along which the communists were retreating. At the same time, the tense relations with
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
led the railways around
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...
and
Minsk
Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
to a partial disintegration and stagnation. The
Libau–Romny Railway
Libau–Romny Railway was a railway company that built a railway line in the Russian Empire in 1871–74 to connect Romny in Ukraine with the port in Libau (Liepāja) in present-day Latvia. To do so it passed through Minsk The objective of the r ...
was not recovered.
Polish railways administration finally took over the railways in
Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located ...
in 1922. That same year, a decision was made to divide railways in Poland into nine administrative districts.
An economic crisis in the 1930s forced the state to cut back its budget for railway investment. Profit decreased by 50% compared to 1929. The next year, over 23,000 PKP employees had been dismissed and protests and strikes causes authorities to try to find a solution. The end of the crisis and an increase in cargo transport and income came in 1937.
On 1 September 1939
the railwaymen of Szymankowo stopped a Germanarmoured train
An armoured train is a railway train protected with armour. Armoured trains usually include railway wagons armed with artillery, machine guns and autocannons. Some also had slits used to fire small arms from the inside of the train, a facili ...
before its arrival on the bridge over the
Vistula River
The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland.
The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...
and the Polish soldiers reattached the explosive charges disconnected by the German dive bombers and blew up the bridge. The railwaymen and some of their innocent family members were executed by the Germans the same day, 1 September 1939. After the
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
invasion of eastern Poland on 17 September 1939, most Polish rolling stock fell into Soviet hands.
![Gdańsk (DerHexer) 2010-07-12 016](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Gda%C5%84sk_%28DerHexer%29_2010-07-12_016.jpg)
The Polish railways in Silesia,
Greater Poland
Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; german: Großpolen, sv, Storpolen, la, Polonia Maior), is a Polish historical regions, historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed ...
and
Pomerania
Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...
were adopted by German railways
Deutsche Reichsbahn
The ''Deutsche Reichsbahn'', also known as the German National Railway, the German State Railway, German Reich Railway, and the German Imperial Railway, was the German national railway system created after the end of World War I from the regiona ...
on 25 September. The Polish railways in Generalgouvernement became Ostbahn.
Until the last moment before the German attack on the Soviet Union in 1941, cargo trains transported goods from the Soviet Union to Germany. The beginning of German attacks on the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941 resulted in the possession of railway and rolling stock by the
Ostbahn Ostbahn (german: Eastern Railway) may refer to:
* Austrian Eastern Railway (''Ostbahn''), a former railway company in the Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary
* Eastern Railway (Austria) (''Austrian Ostbahn''), a railway line in Austria, initially o ...
and the possession of PKP
rolling stock
The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can b ...
with
broad gauge
A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways.
Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...
track and reconstruction to standard gauge. The beginning of organized
sabotage
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...
by the
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
resistance movement on railways took place about the same time.
![WK14 Wrocław dyrekcja kolei (2) Travelarz](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/WK14_Wroc%C5%82aw_dyrekcja_kolei_%282%29_Travelarz.jpg)
In 1942, production of simple military-use DR ''Kriegslok'' BR52 (
PKP class Ty2)
steam locomotives
A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
began in Poznań and
Chrzanów
Chrzanów () is a town in southern Poland with 35,651 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship (since 1999) and is the seat of Chrzanów County.
History
History to 1809
It is impossible to establish ...
; the steam boilers for these
locomotives
A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, motor coach, railcar or power car; the u ...
were produced in
Sosnowiec
Sosnowiec is an industrial city county in the Dąbrowa Basin of southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, which is also part of the Silesian Metropolis municipal association.—— Located in the eastern part of the Upper Silesian Industria ...
.
The
Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occ ...
caused widespread damage of Warsaw rolling stock, network and electric traction; both bridges over the Vistula River and the tunnel on the
Warsaw Cross-City Line
Warsaw cross-city line ( pl, Linia Średnicowa w Warszawie) is a 7 km railway line crossing Central Warsaw in the east–west direction. Opened in 1933 and electrified in 1936, it initially had two tracks, with an additional two added in 196 ...
were destroyed.
At the beginning of 1945, the Ministry of Transport was created, as well as the Regional Directorate of National Railways. Many pre-war locomotives were sent to the Soviet Union. Poland received many German locomotives as a compensation for war losses. In June, the rail connection with
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
was opened, using a temporary railway station made of warehouses. On 15 September 1945, PKP took over management of all railway lines on new Polish territory from the Soviet Union. Most of these lines were either destroyed or inaccessible. The railways in the country were divided into ten districts.
![EIC 55 Berlin Poznan Gdynia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/EIC_55_Berlin_Poznan_Gdynia.JPG)
During the mid-to-late communist era, the state of the Polish railways deteriorated to a large extent. Once a large and profitable network, the systemic lack of funding and failure to acquire new rolling stock left PKP far behind the railway operators of Western Europe in terms of technical advances and passenger comfort. In addition to this, the poor state of many rail lines throughout the country led to ever-increasing journey times for passengers, and as a result left the railways far less able to compete with intercity bus and air services. During the entire communist period, only one major infrastructural project relating to the railways was completed. This, the
Central Trunk Line, was a prestige project completed in 1976, intended both for heavy coal transport and fast passenger services. This line for the first time allowed passengers to travel in comfort and at relatively high speed from
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
and
Katowice
Katowice ( , , ; szl, Katowicy; german: Kattowitz, yi, קאַטעוויץ, Kattevitz) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Upper Silesian metropolitan area. It is the 11th most popul ...
to Warsaw; however, high-speed services have never started, although test runs reached 250 km/h in 1994. Moreover, despite the successful completion of the section from southern to central Poland, the planned extension to
Gdańsk
Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...
and the country's Baltic ports was never realised, and this significantly curtailed both the usefulness and potential of the line.
Since Poland's return to the sovereignty in the early 1990s, the Polish State Railways have faced ever-increasing competition from private automotive transport and the country's rapidly expanding
network of motorways and express roads. However, ever-decreasing journey times, better schedules which allow for well-coordinated connections, the rise of private operators and large-scale investment in infrastructure as well as new rolling stock is slowly enticing people back onto the railways.
On 14 December 2014 PKP Intercity Pendolino trains began operating on the CMK line (224 km line from Kraków and Katowice to Warsaw) with trains reaching 200 km/h (124 mph) as a regularly scheduled operation. There is a plan by
PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe
PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe S.A. is the Polish railway infrastructure manager, responsible for maintenance of rail tracks, conducting the trains across the country, scheduling train timetables, and management of railway land.
The company was found ...
(infrastructure manager) to increase speed to 250 km/h on whole line soon.
In the day of 13 December 2020 the speed limit was raised to 200 km/h also on the line from Warsaw to seaport Gdynia by New Pendolino train.
Corporate Subdivisions
PKP Intercity
![Polish Pendolino front 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Polish_Pendolino_front_2.JPG)
PKP Intercity is a semi-independent division of PKP that operates long-distance passenger trains in Poland. It was founded in 2001 when, in preparation for separation between infrastructure management and transport operations, the Polish State Railways were reorganized into a number of independent operating companies under the unified direction of the
PKP Group
PKP Group ( pl, Grupa PKP) is a Polish corporate group founded in 2001 from the former state enterprise, Polish State Railways. The purpose of this change was to separate infrastructure management and transport operations.
It consists of the follo ...
.
PKP Intercity operates all InterCity trains in Poland as well as most of the country's
EuroCity
EuroCity, abbreviated as EC, is a cross-border train category within the European inter-city rail network. In contrast to trains allocated to the lower-level "IC" (InterCity) category, EC trains are international services that meet 20 criteri ...
services throughout Europe. Although competition is rising in the long-distance rail travel market in Poland, PKP Intercity still holds a de facto monopoly in the industry, as its current market share represents almost 100% of the segment.
PKP Intercity's trains currently (2015) operate under the following brands:
*Express InterCity Premium (EIP) - Pendolino high-speed trains
*EuroCity (EC): International trains which operate major routes and require a reservation
*Express InterCity (EIC) - introduced in 2009, as a result, the train category EX was phased out
*InterCity (IC) - Intercity trains
*Twoje Linie Kolejowe (TLK) - Low cost, intercity trains
*InterCityBus (ICBUS)- Intercity coach services
PKP Cargo
![Praha-Bubeneč, polský vlak](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Praha-Bubene%C4%8D%2C_polsk%C3%BD_vlak.jpg)
PKP Cargo (), founded in 2001 so as to satisfy a European Court ruling on the required restructuring of the Polish State Railways prior to joining the EU, is the PKP group company responsible for freight transport operations. It is currently the largest railway cargo carrier in Poland, and second-largest in the European Union.
The company was founded after dividing Polskie Koleje Państwowe (all-national rail operator) into several dozens of companies to meet European Union Standards.
PKP Cargo is owned by the PKP S.A. (50% + 1 share) and private investors.
PKP Szybka Kolej Miejska
It is a railway transportation service that originally functioned in Poland's
Tricity area (
Gdynia
Gdynia ( ; ; german: Gdingen (currently), (1939–1945); csb, Gdiniô, , , ) is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With a population of 243,918, it is the List of cities in Poland, 12th-largest city in Poland and ...
,
Sopot
Sopot is a seaside resort city in Pomerelia on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000. It is located in Pomeranian Voivodeship, and has the status of the county, being the smallest ci ...
and
Gdańsk
Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...
). The system has since grown to cover a longer route, reaching towns like
Słupsk
Słupsk (; , ; formerly german: Stolp, ; also known by several alternative names) is a city with powiat rights located on the Słupia River in the Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland, in the historical region of Pomerania or more specific ...
,
Lębork
Lębork (; csb, Lãbòrg; formerly german: Lauenburg in Pommern) is a town of 37,000 people on the Łeba River, Łeba and Okalica rivers in the Gdańsk Pomerania region in northern Poland. It is the capital of Lębork County in Pomeranian Voivode ...
and
Wejherowo
Wejherowo ( csb, Wejrowò; german: Neustadt in Westpreußen, formerly Weyhersfrey) is a city in Gdańsk Pomerania, northern Poland, with 48,735 inhabitants (2021). It has been the capital of Wejherowo County in Pomeranian Voivodeship since 19 ...
.
It is serviced by
electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a numbe ...
cars at a frequency of 6 minutes to half an hour between trains (depending on the time of day). It is comparable to subway service or light rail in other European cities. The Tricity area is uniquely suited for this mode of transport, as it's shaped in a relatively narrow north–south corridor between the
Gdańsk Bay
Gdańsk Bay or the Gulf of Gdańsk ( pl, Zatoka Gdańska; csb, Gduńskô Hôwinga; russian: Гданьская бухта, Gdan'skaja bukhta, and german: Danziger Bucht) is a southeastern bay of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the adjacent por ...
and the
Tricity Landscape Park
Tricity Landscape Park (''Trójmiejski Park Krajobrazowy'') is a protected area in northern Poland ( Polish Landscape Park), established in 1979, and covering the area of .
The Park lies within the Pomeranian Voivodeship, in Wejherowo County (Gmi ...
.
PKP Linia Hutnicza Szerokotorowa
PKP LHS is a company of the
PKP Group
PKP Group ( pl, Grupa PKP) is a Polish corporate group founded in 2001 from the former state enterprise, Polish State Railways. The purpose of this change was to separate infrastructure management and transport operations.
It consists of the follo ...
responsible for infrastructure operation and freight transport on the
Broad Gauge Metallurgy Line
Broad Gauge Metallurgy Line ( pl, links=no, Linia Hutnicza Szerokotorowa, LHS) is the longest broad gauge railway line in Poland.
Except for this line and a few very short stretches near border crossings, Poland uses standard gauge. The singl ...
. The line runs for about 400 km from the
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
-
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
border in Izow-Hrubieszów to Sławków Południowy (near
Katowice
Katowice ( , , ; szl, Katowicy; german: Kattowitz, yi, קאַטעוויץ, Kattevitz) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Upper Silesian metropolitan area. It is the 11th most popul ...
).
The line was opened in 1979 and was used to import iron ore from the USSR, as well as to export coal and sulphur from Poland.
After the fall of communism and the economic changes of 1989 traffic on the line has much diminished. At present various schemes are being tried to increase its profitability.
This line runs as a single-track line for almost 400 km, from the Polish-
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
border crossing just east of
Hrubieszów
Hrubieszów (; uk, Грубешів, Hrubeshiv; yi, הרוביעשאָוו, Hrubyeshov) is a town in southeastern Poland, with a population of around 18,212 (2016). It is the capital of Hrubieszów County within the Lublin Voivodeship.
Througho ...
to
Sławków
Sławków is a town in Zagłębie Dąbrowskie (part of historic province of Lesser Poland), near Katowice. It borders the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union – a metropolis with a population of around 2 million. Sławków is situated in the Sile ...
Południowy (near
Katowice
Katowice ( , , ; szl, Katowicy; german: Kattowitz, yi, קאַטעוויץ, Kattevitz) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Upper Silesian metropolitan area. It is the 11th most popul ...
). It is used only for freight traffic, mainly iron ore and coal. It is the westernmost broad gauge railway line in Europe that is connected to the broad gauge rail system of the countries which before 1991 constituted the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
.
Transfer of regional services to Przewozy Regionalne
![PKP CZASZYN1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/PKP_CZASZYN1.jpg)
Until December 22, 2008, Przewozy Regionalne was a wholly owned subsidiary of the
PKP Group
PKP Group ( pl, Grupa PKP) is a Polish corporate group founded in 2001 from the former state enterprise, Polish State Railways. The purpose of this change was to separate infrastructure management and transport operations.
It consists of the follo ...
; after that date, all of its shares have been transferred to Poland's 16
regional
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
governments.
Thus, the company is no longer part of the PKP Group and on interregional routes its InterRegio trains compete with
PKP Intercity
PKP Intercity is a company of PKP Group responsible for long-distance passenger transport. It runs about 350 trains daily, connecting mainly large agglomerations and smaller towns in Poland. The company also provides most international trains to ...
TLK trains. This was done in order to increase competition amongst operators on the Polish rail network. The company finally changed its name from ''PKP Przewozy Regionalne'' to ''Przewozy Regionalne'' on December 8, 2009.
Przewozy Regionalne now operates a large range of domestic rail services under the following brands: Regio (local passenger services which stop at all stations), RegioPlus (semi-fast local passenger services which stop at a lesser number of stops than Regio but for which tickets do not cost more), InterRegio (low-cost, fast inter-regional services with 2nd class only and which stop at medium and major stations only) and RegioEkspres (fast trains on international routes with both 1st and 2nd class).
For domestic routes, InterRegio and RegioEkspres trains share the same fare for 2nd class (meaning you can board an RE train with an IR ticket and vice versa). With the exception of the
Szczecin
Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...
-
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
and
Poznań
Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...
-Warsaw RegioEkspres trains, there is no reservation required in any of Przewozy Regionalne's trains.
Until December 1, 2008, the company also used to run over 300 interregional and international fast trains (), but per the government's decision, all its interregional and international fast train services were transferred back to its then-sister company,
PKP Intercity
PKP Intercity is a company of PKP Group responsible for long-distance passenger transport. It runs about 350 trains daily, connecting mainly large agglomerations and smaller towns in Poland. The company also provides most international trains to ...
S.A. and rebranded to 'Tanie Linie Kolejowe' ''(Cheap Railway Lines)'', this was then itself renamed in 2010 to 'Twoje Linie Kolejowe' ''(Your Railway Lines)''.
Przewozy Regionalne trains are currently operated under the following brands: 2015
*Regio
*InterRegio
*RegioExpress
*InterRegioBus - BUS
Power supply
Electric train traction of Polish State Railway started in 1936 in Warsaw area and is performed since the beginning with 3 kV DC. On January 1, 2011, 11481 kilometres were electrified by a total length of 19276 kilometres.
All used power is taken from the public grid and rectified in
substations. Most substations are fed with voltages between 15 and 30 kV. Where lines have heavy traffic and higher speed, the substations are fed from the 110 kV grid.
The
switchyard of substations fed from voltages below 30 kV is indoors, outdoor switchgear is used at 110 kV. The distance between substations is between 15 and 28 kilometres. For reliability of supply, substations are usually fed by at least two powerlines. Each substation normally feeds two segments of the overhead wire, which are separated by a switch. As is common with DC systems, the
negative pole is grounded.
Halfway between two substations, there is a switch, which can be used to connect the overhead wires together. At some lines, a three-phase AC line operated with 6 kV, 15 kV or 20 kV runs parallel to the
railway line
Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...
, either on the poles of the overhead wire or on separate poles. It is used for power supply of signals,
level crossing
A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, Trail, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an Overpass#Railway, overpass ...
equipment and other devices requiring
electric power
Electric power is the rate at which electrical energy is transferred by an electric circuit. The SI unit of power is the watt, one joule per second. Standard prefixes apply to watts as with other SI units: thousands, millions and billions o ...
used for the rail. This line can be also used for emergency power supply of substations.
Other PKP subsidiary companies
Polskie Linie Kolejowe
The
PKP Group
PKP Group ( pl, Grupa PKP) is a Polish corporate group founded in 2001 from the former state enterprise, Polish State Railways. The purpose of this change was to separate infrastructure management and transport operations.
It consists of the follo ...
company responsible for maintenance of rail tracks, conducting trains across the country, scheduling train timetables, and management of railway property, such as lines and stations.
PKP Energetyka
A company of
PKP Group
PKP Group ( pl, Grupa PKP) is a Polish corporate group founded in 2001 from the former state enterprise, Polish State Railways. The purpose of this change was to separate infrastructure management and transport operations.
It consists of the follo ...
, responsible for supplying
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
railroad operators with electric energy.
PKP Energetyka
PGE Energetyka Kolejowa S.A., until 2023 PKP Energetyka S.A. is the cross-country electricity distributor to the Polish railway network and other business customers. It also provides nationwide maintenance and emergency response services to the ra ...
was founded after dividing PKP into a group of several dozen independent companies to meet
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
Standards.
PKP Group has sold PKP Energetyka.
WARS S.A.
WARS is the PKP subsidiary responsible for the servicing of restaurant and sleeper cars on long-distance and international trains operated by
PKP Intercity
PKP Intercity is a company of PKP Group responsible for long-distance passenger transport. It runs about 350 trains daily, connecting mainly large agglomerations and smaller towns in Poland. The company also provides most international trains to ...
and their partners.
See also
*
History of rail transport in Poland The history of rail transport in Poland dates back to the first half of the 19th century when railways were built under Kingdom of Prussia, Prussian, Russian Empire, Russian, and Austria-Hungary, Austrian rule. Of course, "divided Poland" in the 19t ...
*
List of railway companies
This is an incomplete list of the world's railway operating companies listed alphabetically by continent and country. This list includes companies operating both now and in the past.
In some countries, the railway operating bodies are not compani ...
* List of
Railway lines of Poland Every railway line in Poland has its own number, with the lowest numbers attached to the most important and most strategic routes.
Line number 1 links Warsaw Centralna with Katowice Central Station, while line number 999, the last one on the list ...
*
PKP classification system
PKP classification system (Polish locomotive designation) is a system of assigning letters and numbers to series and individual locomotives used by the PKP - Polish national railroad operator.
The system was introduced for the steam stock by the ...
*
PKP Group
PKP Group ( pl, Grupa PKP) is a Polish corporate group founded in 2001 from the former state enterprise, Polish State Railways. The purpose of this change was to separate infrastructure management and transport operations.
It consists of the follo ...
*
Polish State Railroads in summer 1939
*
Przemyślanin
Przemyślanin is an overnight train (18 hrs needed to complete the route at an average speed of 56 km/h) operated by PKP Intercity, a division of the Polish State Railways, which runs across whole Poland, from southeastern station of Przemyśl G ...
*
Rail transport in Poland
The Polish railways network consists of around of track as of 2019, of which is electrified. National electrification system is 3 kV DC.
Poland is a member of the International Union of Railways (UIC), its UIC Country Code is 51.
Rail ...
*
Transportation in Poland
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, with its highly ...
References
External links
Online timetablePKP- Polish State Railways
{{Authority control
Railway companies of Poland
PKP Group companies
Polish brands
Polish companies established in 2001
Railway companies established in 2001
Government-owned railway companies