Minister announces revival of rail in Poland

The Ministry of Infrastructure wants to start a new era in the history of rail transport in Poland. After years and years of limited funding, closing rail connections and old and untrusty infrastructure that unfortunately marked the state of train transport in the country, things appear to be improving and the numbers of passengers are starting to go up. The government decided to make a move towards promoting this form of public transport in Poland.

We see a revival of Polish rail transport, said the Minister of Infrastructure Andrzej Bittel during the Rail Development Congress that took place this week. The numbers of passengers, cargo, modernised tracks, modern carriages, and refurbished stations are growing. But this is not the end. Government officials announced the onset of National Rail Programme and the so-called Rail Package and heavy investment into rail infrastructure. In the upcoming ten years, the state is going to invest as much as 100 billion PLN to make train journeys even more passenger-friendly.

The financing will mostly come from the European Union. The funds will help to renovate nine thousand kilometres of rail tracks and 200 train stations. Moreover, there are plans to open a completely new rail connection between Nowy Sącz and Kraków. The line will be 30 kilometres long, which means it will be the longest newly created rail line in 30 years. New rail tracks will also arrive in such towns as Myślenice or Jastrzębie Zdrój which today have no access to train transport at all. The government is currently working on a list of 100 towns where investment is most needed. Minister Adamczyk also expressed hopes of introducing a ban on closing existing rail lines into Polish legislation.

Polish National Rail is going to be turned into a holding. The company will be involved in the creation of Central Communication Port, a huge transport hub that the government wants to build in central Poland, 37 kilometres off Warsaw.