Q: What is rail transport going to be like during the Euro 2012 football championship?

A: In the time that is left until the event short railway sections can be built. These will be airport links between central Warsaw and Okęcie airport (Frederic Chopin Airport) and between Krakow and Balice airport. Both projects will be financed as part of the Infrastructure and Environment Programme. Another link between the city of Wrocław and Strachowice airport will be financed from Regional Operational Programme resources.
Modernisation of railway lines 200-300 kilometres in length (or as in the case of the Warsaw to Gdynia line which is 350 kilometres long) takes 8-10 years of preparations. The strategic Masterplan for railways until 2030 was adopted by the cabinet in December 2008. It is very important for us and for the economy, because it provides stability within a certain vision.
It needs to be clearly said that multibillion zloty investments cannot be implemented solely with a two-week event in mind. Rail infrastructure is built for forty to fifty years. Euro 2012 caused a change of priorities. Unfortunately, we will not be able to make up for existing delays.
When it comes to line E65 (Warsaw-Gdansk/Gdynia) sections that currently affect travel time the most (Warsaw-Działdowo and Malbork-Tczew-Gdańsk) will be completed in time. We reckon that if trains run over the modernised sections at 160 kilometres per hour, travel time will be cut to 3 hours 40 minutes, maybe even 3.5 hours. Travelling at 200 kilometres an hour requires the introduction of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS). That is why we want to first introduce it on those sections where reaching such travel speeds is possible.
The modernisation of the line will enable local governments to solve their own local problems. Railways will need to build over 100 flyovers out of their own resources (it does not always stem form the need to increase train speeds). They need to be maintained for a period of five years afterwards to be later transferred to those who manage the roads. The construction is going to cost us PLN2 billion, while the entire investment project will cost about PLN10 billion.
Warsaw is connected with the south of Poland by means of the Central Trunk Line (CMK). Ultimately it will be adjusted for trains running at 200 kilometres an hour, but this would cost about PLN1.9 billion, which the state budget would need to cover. For the time being, at a cost of PLN1.05 billion we intend to modernise the Olszamowice-Zawiercie section and partly the Grodzisk Mazowiecki - Idzikowice section. This will significantly cut travel time. The CKM branch leading toward Kraków (the Starzyny –Szczekociny – Kozłów section) will also be modernised. The modernisation of the Kraków – Tunel section is drawing to a close, as well as an upgrade of the Tunel station.
By 2012 travel time between Warsaw and Katowice will be cut to 2 hours 10 minutes, while between Warsaw and Kraków to 2 hours 15 minutes. Following the complete modernisation of CMK around 2012 travel time will be cut even further to 2 and 2 hours 5 minutes respectively.
New technologies are used in the modernisation of CMK flyovers, which enables trains to pass the construction site at a speed of 100 kilometres an hour. Systems that automatically warn workers of incoming trains to prevent accidents that are applied in the West will be introduced. Fortunately, there have been few accidents so far.
Following another modernisation project, travel time between Warsaw and Łódź will be cut by several minutes. Noise barriers and tunnels for passing animals will be built.

Q: Why is the central budget to provide the means for the modernisation of CMK?

A: Because it is not covered by projects financed by the European Union.

Q: Was this an oversight?

A: No, it wasn’t. We are simply unable to modernise the entire rail network out of EU funds. Difficult choices need to be made, all the more so that within the near future the number of projects included on the Infrastructure and Environment Operational Programme is likely to be reduced.
In the next few years EU funding will be increasingly replaced by local funding. Owing to the first funds assigned for the 2004-2006 period the Opole – Wrocław – Legnica and Skierniewice – Koluszki – Łódź Widzew sections were modernised. The latter made traveling to and from Łódź much easier. At that time we were learning how to make use of what is a very difficult form of funding: from planning to feasibility studies and revenue projections to assessing efficiency. The EU co-finances projects that bring concrete results: for example by encouraging more people to switch from cars to trains as a form of transport. We will not be able, however, to obtain funding for track repairs.
That is why projects submitted for financing within the Infrastructure and Environment Operational Programme are combined with national projects. One example is the Warsaw – Radom line where trains speeds of 160 kilometres an hour can be reached. That is why it is being modernised. Now, cutting travel time on the Radom –Skarżysko Kamienna – Kielce section by 10 minutes would cost PLN 1.8 billion. We have thus decided that we are going to replace existing track and sleepers, which would enable travel speeds of 120 kilometres an hour. We are not getting involved in general railway infrastructure overhauls, contrary to demands by several communes.
In terms of Euro 2012, the Rzeszów – Medyka section is important. But we withdrew its planned modernisation from the Infrastructure and Environment Operational Programme. It is a section leading up to the Ukrainian border, which is mainly used by goods trains. It would have shortened travel time by 20 minutes at a cost of PLN3.5 billion, but – due to the difference in rail track width between Poland and Ukraine – it is necessary to change train undercarriage. The expense would have been financially unjustified. Nevertheless, we are launching an overhaul which will enable trains to reach speeds of 120 kilometres an hour. Incidentally, customs procedures at the border take 3 hours. More intensive work will be conducted on the 250 kilometre long Katowice – Kraków – Rzeszów section, where rails and sleepers will be replaced. This project will involve 8 major tenders.

Q: Crossing the Polish-Ukrainian border by rail can be facilitated through replacing the existing undercarriage with a more flexible system, whereby instead of changing the undercarriage on individual trains each time they cross the border, a fixed undercarriage is used which can automatically adjust to the changes in track width.

A: A direct train link between the Polish city of Wrocław and the Ukrainian city of Lviv has been in operation along these lines since the spring of 2009. A track width switching station also exists in Dorohusk, which trains from Warsaw to Kyiv trains could use. There is another one on the Polish-Lithuanian border. But due to low passenger and goods traffic there, since 2006 that particular link has been discontinued.

Q: What about the Berlin – Warsaw line?

A: It would be good if, after 18 years, its modernisation could be completed, because it is an example of how not to implement an investment project. The modernisation of the 76 kilometre Wrocław – Opole section, which is to be completed this year, has lasted all of ten years, whereas the 64 kilometre Skierniewice – Koluszki – Łódź Widzew section was modernised within just two years. That is why we have decided to divide lines into longer sections and commission contractors to conduct a comprehensive overhaul.
Back to line E20. Due to the limited resources available, it was decided at one time to only modernise those sections that are in the worst shape, and to leave stations as they are. However, the Infrastructure and Environment Operational programme list does include a project entitled “Line E20 – remaining work.” This covers the modernisation of the Sochaczew – Swarzędz section, while the section from Swarzędz to Poznań has already been modernised. There were plans to adapt the line for use by 200 kilometre per hour trains, which would require curved sections to be streamlined. This would entail land purchases. But since the Polish government has adopted a programme of building high speed train lines, it does not make sense to increase train speeds on the E20 line alone. Next year we are to complete tender documentation. In 2012 work will be launched on stations on the Łowicz – Kutno section. Some stations are to be overhauled. A number of flyovers are to be built, including in Łowicz. When the modernisation is completed, travel time between Warsaw and Poznań will be two and a half hours, and maybe even less.
For Intercity trains, Warsaw’s connections with Gdańsk, Poznań, Katowice and Kraków are crucial. We have decided to cut travel time there to two and a half hours and to cut it even further in the future.

Q: Another important train link is between Warsaw and Wrocław…

A: To modernise the line from the point where CMK branches out toward Koniecpol, Czestochowa and Opole would cost PLN 475 million. We are thinking of operating more trains from Warsaw to Wrocław via Katowice. This year we are launching the overhaul of the Opole – Strzelce Opolskie – Gliwice section, which was once part of a pre-WWII Bytom-Berlin line. It will take three hours to get from Warsaw to Gliwice, then another 50 minutes to cover the modernised section where trains could run at a speed of 120 kilometres an hour, and on from Opole to Wrocław at 160 kilometres an hour, the whole trip will take 4.5 hours.
A meaningful improvement not just of the Warsaw to Wrocław line, but of Poland’s rail transport system as a whole, will be provided by a completely new “Y” system – called after the shape of future high speed lines linking Warsaw with Poznań, Łódź and Wrocław. This investment project is crucial for the future of the rail network in Poland, because it will significantly cut travel time not just between the cities on the Y lines, but also between cities outside the Y system. For example, it will take far shorter to get from Rzeszów to Poznań and from Szczecin to Lublin.
An initial feasibility study was conducted by the Railway Scientific-Technical Centre in Warsaw. In 2009 negotiations were launched with contractors. In April we should be able to sign a contract with a company which will select the route. In 2011 it should be accepted by the cabinet, which will make it possible for designing work to start and to launch land purchases.

Q: Hopefully the land acquisition plans will not collide with Nature 2000 designated areas.

A: Initial estimates show that there will be few places where this could happen. Besides, several options will be possible. On the Y system, a new station could be built either somewhere in the Kalisz – Ostrów Wielkopolski area, or in the Sieradz –Zduńska Wola area. We could also do with a new station somewhere in the Łowicz area, because more regional trains reach speeds of 160 kilometres an hour and it would be good to use this line to a maximum extent, not just for high speed trains.
We expect trains to run on the first Y system lines around 2018. The Y system will be designed for 350 kilometre an hour trains, but how fast trains will actually go will depend on economic considerations. If increasing travel speed from 250 to 300 kilometres an hour cuts travel time by 10 minutes, but passenger traffic stays roughly the same, the operator may decide that it is not worth it. It is likely, though, that trains from Warsaw to Berlin and Vienna will run at maximum speeds.
The high speed train system will require many connections to be launched. It may turn out that in the Warsaw area, which is covered by the feasibility study, all trains cannot be accommodated.

Q: What can passengers count on in the future, apart from the Y system?

A: The Masterplan also includes a very important line, whose implementation seems to me to have been postponed unnecessarily: the link between Podłęże near Kraków with Piekiełko and Tymbark. If a new 50 kilometre line were built, and the existing line were modernised, this would cut travel time to Kraków from Muszyna, Krynica and the Slovak border, as well as from Zakopane. It would take just one hour and a half to get from Kraków to Zakopane. This investment project, however, is planned for beyond 2027, which I believe is too far away. The southern Małopolska region including the Carpathian foothills is very attractive for tourists, but it is not within easy reach. We do hope that this particular line is built sooner.

Q: What is the scope of PKP PLK SA operations?

A: We operate 19,000 kilometres of railway lines. Taking into account projects covered by the Infrastructure and Environment Operational Programme, most of which will be contracted this year, Regional Operational Programmes and our own investment plan until 2015, 3.6 thousand kilometers of railway lines are to be modernised. The rest need to be maintained. But the funds available for this purpose are insufficient. On a number of lines safety considerations lead us to reduce travel speeds.

Q: How many lines have been closed?

A: Operators often close rail links because of too low passenger traffic. However, passengers do not accept the fact that trains only run at 20-30 kilometre an hour, because the line is in bad technical shape. Such is the fate of the Kłodzko – Stronie Śląskie and Tarnobrzeg – Mielec – Dębica lines, which local governments are very keen to revitalise. This would cost around PLN180 million. I have suggested that a feasibility study should be commissioned to decide whether the potential number of passengers living in communities along the line justifies the cost. The future of 4-7 thousand of railway lines is thus hanging in the balance.

Q: What about railway stations?

A: PKP PLK is responsible for train services and access to trains: track, platforms and subways. Stations are the responsibility of PKP SA. This year a tender will be announced for the overhaul of the Warszawa Stadion station. This investment project will be financed out of the state budget. The means are available for the purpose. Parts of the Warszawa Wschodnia station will be overhauled at the same time, but we will not be able to modernise the whole station. Given the high intensity of rail traffic, it would be advisable to carry out work overnight, but the time needed to complete the project would be too long. The fastest modernisation work can be conducted on a line which is temporary put out of service. Such a solution will be used during the modernisation of the Poznań – Wągrowiec regional line.
I reckon that the 2007-2013 period is a crucial time for Poland. The availability of large amounts of EU funds will make it possible to reach a critical mass and to show that we can use these resources wisely. All the more so that Poland is possibly the only country in Europe to have neglected rail infrastructure to such an extent, although it is followed closely by Hungary.
It is too early to consider what happens in the 2014-2020 period. What is known is that there will be far less funding available. Some optimism is inspired by the fact that while for the 2007-2013 period most of the funding was earmarked for road infrastructure, in the next round the share should be fifty-fifty. And most road infrastructure projects will have been completed by then. Meanwhile, public expectations concerning rail infrastructure keep growing.