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 Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, with its highly

developed economy In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and o ...

, is a nation with a large and increasingly modern network of transport infrastructure. The country's most important waterway is the

Vistula 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 ...

river. The largest seaports are the

Port of Gdańsk The Port of Gdańsk is a seaport located on the southern coast of Gdańsk Bay in the city of Gdańsk, extending along the Vistula estuary Martwa Wisła (Dead Vistula), Port Channel and Kashubia Canal. It is one of the largest seaports on the ...

, the

Port of Gdynia Port of Gdynia – the Polish seaport located on the western coast of Gdańsk Bay Baltic sea in Gdynia. Founded in 1926. In 2008 it was #2 in containers on the Baltic sea. The port adjoins Gdynia Naval Base with which it shares waterways but is a ...

and the

Port of Szczecin The Port of Szczecin (in Polish generally ''Port Szczecin'') is a Polish seaport and deep water harbour in Szczecin, Poland. It is located at the Oder and Regalica rivers in the Lower Oder Valley, off the Szczecin Lagoon. In the past, the port i ...

. Air travel is generally used for international travel, with many flights originating at

Warsaw Chopin Airport Warsaw Chopin Airport ( pl, Lotnisko Chopina w Warszawie, ) is an international airport in the Włochy district of Warsaw, Poland. It is Poland's busiest airport with 18.9 million passengers in 2019, thus handling approximately 40% of th ...

. Railways connect all of Poland's major cities and the state-owned

Polish State Railways (''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 ...

(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 A voivodeship is the area administered by a voivode (Governor) in several countries of central and eastern Europe. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times and the area of extent of voivodeship resembles that of a duchy in western medieval ...

have their own regional rail service providers.

Rail transport

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 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 ...

, has the country's only

rapid transit system Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...

: the

Warsaw Metro The Warsaw Metro ( pl, Metro Warszawskie) is a rapid transit underground system serving the Polish capital Warsaw. It currently consists of two lines, the north-south Line M1 which links central Warsaw with its densely populated northern and sout ...

. The only high-speed rail line (though by most definitions, real

high-speed rail High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail system that runs significantly faster than traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated tracks. While there is no single standard that applies worldwide, lines ...

only includes speeds over 200 km/h) in central-eastern Europe is the

Central Rail Line (Poland) Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

, ''Centralna Magistrala Kolejowa'' (CMK). It has a length of , and was built in 1971–1977; it links

with

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 ...

. Most trains on the CMK operate at speeds up to , but since December 2014 new

Alstom Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Avelia ...

Pendolino Pendolino (from Italian ''pendolo'' "pendulum", and ''-ino,'' a diminutive suffix) is an Italian family of tilting trains used in Italy, Spain, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Finland, Russia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, the UK, the US, ...

ED250 trains operate on a 90 km section of the CMK at , and improvements under way should raise the authorized speed to on most of the line. In test runs on the CMK in November 2013 a new

ED250 train set a new Polish speed record of . Other high-speed lines: *The Warsaw-Gdańsk-Gdynia railway route is undergoing a major upgrading costing $3 billion, partly funded by the

European Investment Bank The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the European Union's investment bank and is owned by the EU Member States. It is one of the largest supranational lenders in the world. The EIB finances and invests both through equity and debt solutions ...

, including track replacement, realignment of curves and relocation of sections of track to allow speeds up to , modernization of stations, and installation of the most modern

ETCS The European Train Control System (ETCS) is the signalling and control component of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS). It is a replacement for legacy train protection systems and designed to replace the many incompatible s ...

signalling system, which is to be completed in June 2015. In December 2014 new

ED250 high-speed trains were put into service between Gdańsk, Warsaw,

and

reducing the rail travel time from Gdańsk to Warsaw to 2 hours 58 minutes, to be reduced in late 2015 to 2 hours 37 minutes. * Warsaw–

Kutno Kutno is a city located in central Poland with 42,704 inhabitants (2021) and an area of . Situated in the Łódź Voivodeship since 1999, previously it was part of Płock Voivodeship (1975–1998) and it is now the capital of Kutno County. Dur ...

–

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 ...

–(Berlin) (160 km/h) * Warsaw–

Siedlce Siedlce [] ( yi, שעדליץ ) is a city in eastern Poland with 77,354 inhabitants (). Situated in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), previously the city was the capital of a separate Siedlce Voivodeship (1975–1998). The city is situated b ...

–

Terespol Terespol (; be, Тэрэ́спаль, Teréspaĺ) is a town in eastern Poland on the border with Belarus. It lies on the border river Bug, directly opposite the city of Brest, Belarus, making it a border town. It has 5,794 inhabitants as of ...

–(

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 ...

) (160, 120 km/h) – being upgraded to 160 km/h * Warsaw–

Puławy Puławy (, also written Pulawy) is a city in eastern Poland, in Lesser Poland's Lublin Voivodeship, at the confluence of the Vistula and Kurówka Rivers. Puławy is the capital of Puławy County. The city's 2019 population was estimated at 47,417 ...

–

Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of t ...

(120, 140 km/h) *

Opole Opole (; german: Oppeln ; szl, Ôpole) ; * Silesian: ** Silesian PLS alphabet: ''Ôpole'' ** Steuer's Silesian alphabet: ''Uopole'' * Silesian German: ''Uppeln'' * Czech: ''Opolí'' * Latin: ''Oppelia'', ''Oppolia'', ''Opulia'' is a city loc ...

–

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 ...

(160 km/h) and further upgraded via

Legnica Legnica (Polish: ; german: Liegnitz, szl, Lignica, cz, Lehnice, la, Lignitium) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River (left tributary of the Oder) and the Czarna Woda (Kaczawa), Czarna Woda ...

to Berlin and

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

''Projects'' The Warsaw–

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...

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

and

Kalisz (The oldest city of Poland) , image_skyline = , image_caption = ''Top:'' Town Hall, Former "Calisia" Piano Factory''Middle:'' Courthouse, "Gołębnik" tenement''Bottom:'' Aerial view of the Kalisz Old Town , image_flag = POL Kalisz flag.svg ...

., but the project was cancelled in November 2011 due to its high cost. 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 ...

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

Passenger transport operators

The following companies operate in Poland: *

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 ...

– qualified passengers trains (express, intercity, eurocity, hotel and TLK) *

Przewozy Regionalne Polregio (formerly ''Przewozy Regionalne'') is a train operator in Poland, responsible for local and interregional passenger transportation. Each day it runs approximately 3,000 regional trains. In 2002 it carried 215 million passengers. The ...

– regional passengers trains (normal and fast train) *

Koleje Śląskie Koleje Śląskie (Polish for Silesian Railways; KŚ) is a regional rail operator in the Silesian Voivodeship of Poland. The company was founded in 2010 and is fully owned by the local government. It started servicing in October 2011. Lines ...

- regional trains in

Silesian Voivodeship Silesian Voivodeship, or Silesia Province ( pl, województwo śląskie ) is a voivodeship, or province, in southern Poland, centered on the historic region known as Upper Silesia ('), with Katowice serving as its capital. Despite the Silesian ...

Koleje Mazowieckie Masovian Railways, in Polish Koleje Mazowieckie, is a regional rail operator in the Masovian Voivodeship of Poland. History The company was founded in 2004 as a joint venture of the Masovian Voivodeship, with 51% shares, and the, then governmen ...

– local trains in

Mazovia Mazovia or Masovia ( pl, Mazowsze) is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland. It spans the North European Plain, roughly between Łódź and Białystok, with Warsaw being the unofficial capital and largest city. Throughout the centurie ...

centered on Warsaw *

Szybka Kolej Miejska (Tricity) PKP Szybka Kolej Miejska w Trójmieście Sp. z o.o. (); approximate English translation Tricity Rapid Transit Rail Ltd., usually abbreviated SKM, is a public rapid transit system in Poland's Tricity, Poland, Tricity area (Gdańsk, Sopot and Gdyni ...

– fast urban railway serving the Tricity area of Gdańsk, Gdynia and Sopot *

Szybka Kolej Miejska (Warsaw) Szybka Kolej Miejska (SKM), approximate English translation Warsaw Rapid Urban Rail, is a rapid transit and commuter rail system in the Warsaw metropolitan area, established on the existing national rail network within the city, constituting a ...

– suburban railway in

agglomeration *

Warszawska Kolej Dojazdowa Warsaw Commuter Railway ( pl, Warszawska Kolej Dojazdowa, WKD) is a light rail commuter line in Poland's capital city of Warsaw. The line, together with its two branches, links Warsaw with the municipalities of Michałowice, Pruszków, Brwinów ...

– suburban railway in Warsaw agglomeration *

Arriva RP Arriva Poland Sp. z o. o. is a Polish private rail carrier providing services in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Kuyavian-Pomeranian, Masovian Voivodeship, Masovian, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Pomeranian and Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Warmia ...

(owned by

Deutsche Bahn The (; abbreviated as DB or DB AG) is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder. describes itself as the se ...

) – part of the local train traffic in

Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, also known as Cuiavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship or simply Kujawsko-Pomorskie, or Kujawy-Pomerania Province ( pl, województwo kujawsko-pomorskie ) is one of the 16 voivodeships (provinces) into which Poland is divide ...

Koleje Dolnośląskie Koleje Dolnośląskie (Polish for ''Lower Silesian Railways''; KD) is a regional rail operator in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship of Poland. The company was founded on 28 December 2007 by a decision of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship Sejmik and i ...

– part of the local train traffic in

Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesian Voivodeship, or Lower Silesia Province, in southwestern Poland, is one of the 16 voivodeships (provinces) into which Poland is divided. The voivodeship was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Wrocław, Legnica, Wałbrz ...

Koleje Wielkopolskie Koleje Wielkopolskie (Polish for Greater Poland Railways; KW) is a regional rail operator in the Greater Poland Voivodeship of Poland. The company was founded on 29 September 2009 and is fully owned by the local government. Koleje Wielkopolskie be ...

– part of the local train traffic in

Greater Poland Voivodeship Greater Poland Voivodeship ( pl, Województwo wielkopolskie; ), also known as Wielkopolska Voivodeship, Wielkopolska Province, or Greater Poland Province, is a voivodeship, or province, in west-central Poland. It was created on 1 January 1999 o ...

* Łódzka Kolej Aglomeracyjna - commuter railway operator in

Łódź Voivodeship Łódź Voivodeship (also known as Lodz Province, or by its Polish name ''Województwo łódzkie'' ) is a province-voivodeship in central Poland. It was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Łódź Voivodeship (1975–1999) and the Sieradz ...

Narrow-gauge railways

There are hundreds of kilometres of , , , and narrow-gauge lines in

. These railways are mostly in decline, some survive as a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...

railways.

Freight transport market

PKP Cargo PKP Cargo () is a logistics operator and a part of the PKP Group in Poland. It is the largest railway freight carrier in Poland and second largest in the European Union. PKP Cargo is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The company's largest share ...

PKP LHS PKP Linia Hutnicza Szerokotorowa sp. z o.o. is a company in the PKP Group which manages and operates the (''Broad Gauge Metallurgy Line''), which runs for from the Ukrainian border in Izow-Hrubieszów to Sławków Południowy (near Katowice) ...

– Metallurgic broad-gauge line * PTK Holding SA – The railway transportation holding in

Zabrze Zabrze (; German: 1915–1945: ''Hindenburg O.S.'', full form: ''Hindenburg in Oberschlesien'', Silesian: ''Zŏbrze'', yi, זאַבזשע, Zabzhe) is an industrial city in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. The west district of the Sil ...

*Przedsiębiorstwo Transportu Kolejowego i Gospodarki Kamieniem Rybnik – The Railway Transport and Stone Management Company in

Rybnik Rybnik (Polish pronunciation: ; szl, Rybńik) is a city in southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, around 38 km (24 mi) southwest of Katowice, the region's capital, and around 19 km (11 miles) from the Czech border. It is on ...

CTL Logistics CTL Logistics is a Polish rail JSC company operating mainly in freight transport. It consist of several dependent companies responsible for different areas of railway business. It is the biggest private railway company in Poland. Share in local ...

* PCC Rail Szczakowa – Rail Szczakowa website – part of the German concern PCC AG *Kopalnia Piasku Kotlarnia – The Kotlarnia sand mine *Kopalnia Piasku Kuźnica Warężyńska – The Kuźnica Warężyńska sand mine * Orlen KolTrans *

Lotos Kolej Lotos Kolej sp. z o.o. is a Polish rail company operating as a part of Grupa Lotos JSC. Lotos Kolej is responsible for transporting Lotos Group products and delivering petrol for Rafineria Gdańska. The company precedesor, ''Zakład Transportu K ...

*Nadwiślanski Zakład Transportu Kolejowego- Vistula Rail Transport Company]

Broad-gauge railways

Except for Broad Gauge Metallurgy Line, Linia Hutnicza Szerokotorowa, and a few very short stretches near

border crossings ''Border Crossings'' is a live, all-request, music-oriented radio show that is broadcast worldwide by the US government-operated Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the State media, state-owned news network and International br ...

, Poland uses the

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...

for its railways. Therefore,

Linia Hutnicza Szerokotorowa 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 single- ...

(known by its acronym ''LHS'', English: ''Broad-gauge steelworks line'') in

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 ...

is the longest

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 ...

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 ...

in Poland. The line runs on a single track for almost 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 it 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 ...

. 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 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 ...

Rail system

Total: *standard gauge : ( electrified; double track) *broad gauge : *narrow gauge (various) : various gauges including , , , and (1998) 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.

Rail links with adjacent countries

* Same gauge: **

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

Break-of-gauge With railways, a break of gauge occurs where a line of one track gauge (the distance between the rails, or between the wheels of trains designed to run on those rails) meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock generally cannot ...

– / **

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 ...

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

(

Kaliningrad Oblast Kaliningrad Oblast (russian: Калинингра́дская о́бласть, translit=Kaliningradskaya oblast') is the westernmost federal subject of Russia. It is a semi-exclave situated on the Baltic Sea. The largest city and administr ...

) **

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

Road transport

Polish public roads are grouped into categories related to

administrative division Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

. Poland has of public roads, of which are unsurfaced (2021): * National roads (Technical classes A, S, GP and exceptionally G): , unsurfaced *

Voivodeship road According to classes and categories of public roads in Poland, a voivodeship road ( pl, droga wojewódzka) is a category of roads one step below national roads in importance. The roads are numbered from 100 to 993. Total length of voivodeship r ...

s (Classes G, Z and exceptionally GP): , unsurfaced * Powiat roads (Classes G, Z and exceptionally L): , unsurfaced * Gmina roads (Classes L, D and exceptionally Z): , unsurfaced 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 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 ...

funds for infrastructure projects.

Motorways and expressways

Polish motorways and expressways are part of national roads network. As of December 2021, there are of

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...

s (''autostrady'', singular - ''autostrada'') and of

expressways Expressway may refer to: *Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane markings, etc., for high-speed traffic. *Limited-access road, a lower grade of highway or arterial road. *Expressway, the fictional slide ...

(''drogi ekspresowe'', singular - ''droga ekspresowa''). Znak D9

Motorways in Poland, (2021):
A1 , A2 , A4 , A6 , A8 ,

A18 A18 or A-18 is a three-character acronym that may refer to: * A18 road (disambiguation), in several countries * A-18 Shrike, a Curtiss Model 76A twin radial engine monoplane service test aircraft of the mid-1930s * Aero A.18, a Czech fighter aircra ...

Expressways in Poland, (2021):
S1 , S2 , S3 , S5 , S6 , S7 , S8 , S10 , S11 , S12 , S14 , S16 , S17 , S19 , S22 , S51 , S52 , S61 , S74 , S79 , S86

Air transport

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

LOT Polish Airlines LOT Polish Airlines, legally incorporated as Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT S.A. (, ''flight''), is the flag carrier of Poland. Established in 1928, LOT was a founding member of IATA and remains one of the world's oldest airlines in operation. Wit ...

. In addition to Warsaw Chopin,

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

all have international airports. In preparation for the

Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...

football championships jointly hosted by Poland and

, 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 Copernicus Airport in Wrocław 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 This is a list of airports in Poland, sorted by location, IATA and ICAO airport codes, passenger traffic and runway surface. Airports with commercial passenger service Source: Defunct passenger airports Airports that served commercial passenger ...

The following are the largest airports in Poland (In descending order for 2013): * Warsaw Frederic Chopin International Airport *

Kraków John Paul II International Airport Kraków John Paul II International Airport ( pl, Kraków Airport im. Jana Pawła II since 4 September 2007; earlier in pl, Międzynarodowy Port Lotniczy im. Jana Pawła II Kraków–Balice) is an international airport located near Kraków, in t ...

* Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa International Airport *

Katowice International Airport Katowice Wojciech Korfanty Airport ( pl, Katowice Airport im. Wojciecha Korfantego) is an international airport, located in Pyrzowice, north of Katowice, Poland. The airport has the 4th-biggest annual passenger flow in Poland. Katowice Air ...

* Wrocław Mikołaj Kopernik International Airport * Poznań International Airport * Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport *

Łódź Władysław Reymont Airport Lodz Airport Central Poland , formerly known as ''Łódź-Lublinek Airport'', is a regional airport in central Poland, located approximately southwest of Łódź city center. Łódź ranked 8th among Polish airports in 2013 in passenger numbers ...

* Szczecin-Goleniów "Solidarność" Airport * Warsaw Modlin *

Bydgoszcz Ignacy Jan Paderewski Airport Bydgoszcz Ignacy Jan Paderewski Airport ( pl, Port lotniczy im. Ignacego Jana Paderewskiego Bydgoszcz-Szwederowo) is a Polish regional airport in the city of Bydgoszcz, Poland. It lies only from the city centre and around 50 km from the cit ...

Lublin Airport Lublin Airport (''Port Lotniczy Lublin'') is an airport in Poland serving Lublin and the surrounding region. The site is located about 10 km (6.2 miles) east of central Lublin, adjacent to the town of Świdnik. The airport has a 2520 ...

Radom Airport Warsaw Radom Airport , also known as Radom-Sadków Airport is a civil and military airport in central Poland, located approximately east of Radom city center and from Warsaw. The name "Sadków" comes from the suburb of Radom in which the airport ...

Olsztyn-Mazury Regional Airport Olsztyn-Mazury Airport ( pl, Port lotniczy Olsztyn-Mazury) is an international passenger airport in the North-East of Poland, branded as the gateway to the Masurian Lake District. It is located near Szymany, some 10 km from the centre of ...

Domestic: * Zielona Góra-Babimost Airport Airports with paved runways: Total: 84 (2005) * over 3,047 m: 4 * 2,438 to 3,047 m: 29 * 1,524 to 2,437 m: 41 * 914 to 1,523 m: 7 * under 914 m: 3 Airports – with unpaved runways: Total: 39 (2005) * 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 * 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 * 914 to 1,523 m: 13 * under 914 m: 21 Heliports: 2 (2005)

Water transport

The country's most important waterway is the river

. The largest seaports are the

and

. Marine transport in Poland has two main sub-groups, riverine and seaborne. On the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

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 Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or usin ...

ferries of

Unity Line Unity Line is a Polish company that operates RoRo and train ferry services between Świnoujście in Poland and the Swedish ports of Ystad and Trelleborg. Routes Unity Line operates two routes across the Baltic Sea. *Świnoujście - Ystad *Świn ...

Polferries Polferries is the largest Polish ferry operator. The Polish Baltic Shipping Company was established on 31 January 1976 as a state-owned shipping company. Under the operating name ''Polferries'', the company runs ferry routes across the Baltic Sea ...

and

Stena Line Stena Line is a Swedish shipping line company and one of the largest ferry operators in the world. It services Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Sweden. Stena Line is a major unit of Ste ...

which operate the

–

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

passenger lines. Riverine services operate on almost all major Polish rivers and canals (such as the Danube–Oder and

Elbląg canal Elbląg Canal (; pl, Kanał Elbląski ; german: Oberländischer Kanal) is a canal in Poland, in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in length, which runs southward from Lake Drużno (connected by the river Elbląg to the Vistula Lagoon), to the river ...

s) as well as on domestic coastal routes.

Waterways

Poland has of navigable rivers and canals (as of 2009).

Ports and harbors

'' (

: Gdańsk —

Nynäshamn Nynäshamn is a locality and the seat of Nynäshamn Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 13,510 inhabitants in 2010. While interest in the area as a potentially useful port grew from the mid 19th Century, it was only with the opening of the ...

Ystad Ystad (; older da, Ysted) is a town and the seat of Ystad Municipality, in Scania County, Sweden. Ystad had 18,350 inhabitants in 2010. The settlement dates from the 11th century and has become a busy ferryport, local administrative centre, and ...

)'' *

'' (

: Gdynia —

Karlskrona Karlskrona (, , ) is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with a population of 66,675 in 2018. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to Swed ...

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

'' and ''

Finnlines Finnlines Plc ( fi, Finnlines Oyj, sv, Finnlines Abp) is a shipping operator of ro-ro and passenger services in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. It is a subsidiary of the Grimaldi Group. Finnlines’ sea transports are concentrated in the Bal ...

: Gdynia —

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, c ...

)'' * Port of Szczecin-Świnoujście '' (

: Świnoujście —

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

Rønne Rønne ( sv, Rönne) is the largest town on the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. It has a population of 13,807 (1 January 2022). It was a municipality in its own right from 1970 until 2002, when Bornholm was a county (Danish: ''Bornh ...

'' and ''

: Świnoujście —

Trelleborg Trelleborg () is a town in Skåne County, Sweden, with 43,359 inhabitants as of December 31, 2015. It is the southernmost town in Sweden located some west from the southernmost point of Sweden and the Scandinavian peninsula. It is one of the mo ...

)'' *

Port of Police The Port of Police (in Polish generally ''Port Police'') is a Polish seaport and deep water harbour in Police, Poland located on the west bank of the Oder River, off the Szczecin Lagoon. It is the fourth-busiest port in the country. In 2006, ...

Port of Kołobrzeg The Port of Kołobrzeg (in Polish generally ''Port Kołobrzeg'') is a Polish seaport in Kołobrzeg, Poland at the Baltic Sea located at the Parsęta Parsęta (; german: Persante ) is a river in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship (''Zachodniopom ...

* Port of Ustka

Merchant marine

Total: 57 ships (1,000 GT or over) totaling 1,120,165 GT/ Ships by type: bulk 50, cargo 2, chemical tanker 2, roll-on/roll-off 1, short-sea passenger 2 (1999 est.) **

Municipal transport

Bus

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: * ''autobus'' — longer vehicles (12.0 m and more), * ''bus'' — shorter vehicles with smaller capacity, very popular on local connections, run by individual persons and smaller companies. While they often use the same bus stops, they tend to use different stations.

Tram

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 Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...

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 ...

and

, with the total track length varying from (

Silesian Interurbans Silesian Trams ( pl, Tramwaje Konurbacji Śląskiej) is one of the largest tram systems in the world and the largest and longest tram system in Poland, located entirely within the Silesian Voivodeship. Started as a part of the German Empire in 189 ...

) to less than ( Tramways in Grudziądz). A new network has been constructed in

Olsztyn Olsztyn ( , ; german: Allenstein ; Old Prussian: ''Alnāsteini'' * Latin: ''Allenstenium'', ''Holstin'') is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with county rights. ...

in 2015. See the

list of town tramway systems in Poland This is a list of town tramway systems in Poland. It includes all tram systems in Poland, past and present; cities with currently operating systems, and those systems themselves, are indicated in bold and blue background colored rows. Those tram ...

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 Poznań Fast Tram ( pl, Poznański Szybki Tramwaj, PST, informally: PeSTka, ''pestka'' – drupe, stone fruit) is a stretch of grade-separated tram/light rail line of the Trams in Poznań, tram system in Poznań, Poland. The tracks are set in ...

and

Kraków Fast Tram Kraków Fast Tram ( pl, Krakowski Szybki Tramwaj) is a light rail network being developed in Kraków. It consists of several modernized or purpose-built tram tracks with radio-controlled absolute priority on crossings, a long tunnel under Kr ...

with the underground

premetro A premetro is a tramway or light railway which includes segments built to rapid transit standards, generally as part of a process of conversion to a metro-standards railway usually by the construction of tunnels in the central city area. Hist ...

section.

Trolleybus

Trolleybuses can be found in three cities:

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 ...

(with some lines reaching

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 city ...

and

Tychy Tychy (Polish pronunciation: ; german: Tichau; szl, Tychy) is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, approximately south of Katowice. Situated on the southern edge of the Upper Silesian industrial district, the city boders Katowice to the north, ...

Rapid transit

The first

metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

line was opened in

in 1995. Part of the second line was opened in 2015. This is part of the country's rail transport infrastructure. There are no official plans to build metro in other cities due to the lack of funds, but there is an ongoing debate whether they should be built, especially in

. File:Warsaw 07-13 img37 Plac Wilsona metro.jpg, Plac Wilsona Station File:A21 Warsaw Metro.jpg, Stare Bielany station File:C10 Rondo ONZ - peron, Ogłoszenie wyników plebiscytu na głos linii M2, 2014-10-29.jpg, Rondo ONZ Station and the Siemens Inspiro stock train

Pipelines

* Crude oil and petroleum products * Natural gas (2006 est.)

References

External links

Online rail timetables

Online rail and bus timetable
Rail Map: Poland
(PDF) Most minor lines omitted
Road Map: Poland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Transport In Poland Transport in Poland,