Transport in Poland

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This article is about transportation in Poland.

Contents

Railways

Image:EP-09.jpg Poland is served by an extensive network of railways. In most cities the main railway station located near a city's center and is well connected to the local transportation system. Infrastructure is operated by PKP PLK ( PKP-Polskie Linie Kolejowe : PKP-Polish Rail Lines ), part of state-run PKP Group.

The only high speed rail line in central-eastern Europe, Centralna Magistrala Kolejowa (Central Railway Route), links Warsaw with Kraków and Katowice. Trains on the CMK achieve speeds of up to 160km/h (some sections permit speeds of up to 200km/h, but rolling stock hasn't be adapted to handle higher speeds).

Other high speed lines:

  • Warsaw - Kutno - Poznań - (Berlin) (140, 160 km/h)
  • Warsaw - Siedlce - Terespol - (Minsk) (160, 120 km/h) - being upgraded to 160km / h
  • Warsaw - Puławy - Lublin (120, 140 km/h)
  • Opole - Wrocław (160km/h) and further upgraded via Legnica to Hamburg.

The Warsaw - Gdansk - Gdynia line is being upgraded to allow speeds up to 200km/h, and the Warsaw-Łódź line is being upgraded to allow speeds up to 160km/h (together with form Warsaw - Łódź agglomeration). There are long term plans to construct a new high speed line (300 km/h) from Warsaw to Poznan and Wroclaw with a fork in Kalisz. This line would have a "Y" shape.

The PKP Group is the fourth largest railway throughout Europe. Trains are run by:

Passenger transport market

Narrow gauge railways:

Image:EP Warszawa.jpg

Freight transport market

Rail System

Total: 23,420 km
standard gauge (1.435-m) : 21,639 km (11,626 km electrified; 8,978 km double track)
broad gauge (1.524-m) : 646 km
narrow gauge (various) : 1,135 km various gauges including 1.000-m, 0.785-m, 0.750-m, and 0.600-m (1998)
Image:EP 09.jpg As of December 2002 narrow gauge railways are no longer owned or operated by PKP. They were transferred to regional authorities.

Rail links with adjacent countries

Municipal transport

Image:SU167 Wezlowiec.jpg

Bus

Image:Dworzec.jpg

Tram

Image:Tramway warsaw.jpg
Over 30 cities with tramway systems:
Gdańsk | Katowice (Metropolian Katowice)| Kraków | Szczecin | Poznań | Wrocław | Warszawa | and other

Image:Combino Poznan RB.jpg See also: Poznan Fast Tram

Metro

City with metro system:


See: Warsaw Metro

Airports

Image:Polish airports 2005.png Image:Warsawairportaerial.jpg Main Article: List of airports in Poland

Main airports

John Paul II International Airport Kraków-Balice, handles 1,564,338 passengers (2005) and 3,255 tonnes of cargo (2005).

Number of airports in Poland - 123 (1999 est.)

Airports - with paved runways

Total: 85
over 3,047 m: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 30
1,524 to 2,437 m: 42
914 to 1,523 m: 7
under 914 m: 3 (1999 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways

Total: 38
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 13
under 914 m: 20 (1999 est.)

Heliports: 3 (1999 est.)

See: LOT Polish Airlines

Marine

Image:Gdynia kamienna marina.jpg

Waterways

3,812 km navigable rivers and canals (1996)

Ports and harbors

Merchant marine


Total: 57 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,120,165 GRT/1,799,569 DWT
ships by type: bulk 50, cargo 2, chemical tanker 2, roll-on/roll-off 1, short-sea passenger 2 (1999 est.)

Highways

Image:RondoGenMaczka2005.jpg Image:Obwodnica Bialobrzegow.jpg
Main Article: Roads and expressways in Poland


Total: 381,046 km
paved: 249,966 km (including 539 km of expressways)
unpaved: 131,080 km
(1998 est.)


Image:Znak D9.svg Highways in Poland:
A1 | A2 | A4 | A6 | A8 | A18

Pipelines

  • Crude oil and petroleum products 2,280 km;
  • Natural gas 17,000 km

(1996 est.)


See also

External links