The heyday of rail transport dates back to the 1980s. In Poland, the railway played a very important role, carrying the largest volume of passengers as well as goods, which was primarily due to the low level of development of other modes of transport. Economic changes in Poland led, on the one hand, to the liquidation of many factories and industrial plants and a significant reduction in the mining industry, and on the other hand, to the dynamic development of road transport, which resulted in a drastic decline in the demand for rail services. Gradual changes in the structure of cargo generated by industry, from bulk to general and highly processed goods, as well as similar trends in international trade, did not entail adaptive measures for the Polish rail transport system, ranging from rolling stock facilities and IT systems to point infrastructure.
The 21st century is the undisputed dominance of road transport (due to its accessibility, speed, and flexibility), while rail transport no longer plays a decisive role. The difficult situation of rail transport in Poland, as well as in Europe, was further exacerbated by the economic crisis in 2008 and 2009, which had an impact not only on the decline in cargo offered for transport by regular customers (mines, steelworks) but also on customers moving away from rail in search of cheaper road transport solutions, especially for smaller shipments. It must be admitted that the basic features of traditional rail transport solutions are increasingly failing to meet modern quality requirements, especially in freight transport.
Heavy exploitation during the years of prosperity, combined with investment neglect related to the modernization of rail infrastructure, has resulted in the railway currently paying a high price in terms of declining service quality and customer numbers. The length of utilized railway lines is decreasing, and those that still function are not in the best condition, as the railway lacks funds (as a contribution) to start projects with EU subsidies. Due to the specificity of railway projects, the supply of services and the number of contractors are relatively small, and the prices offered are high, which limits the possibilities for modernizing lines in terms of time and finance. Despite the financial difficulties of PLK SA, modernization works are underway on most sections of key transport corridors using aid funds from the European Union.
The length of railway lines in Poland is approximately 23,000 km, of which traffic has been suspended on about 3,000 km, and regarding about 1,500 km of lines, decisions have been made to liquidate them or consent has been given to transfer them to local government units. Thus, less than 19,000 km of lines remain in operation. Further reduction of their length is being considered. Studies by the Ministry of Infrastructure have indicated a figure of 17,000 or even 15,000 km. From a technical point of view, only 37% of lines are in good condition and do not currently require repair work, 38% require repairs or the introduction of speed restrictions, and about 30% are lines whose technical condition is so poor that serious speed restrictions are introduced to maintain safety. The consequence of the current technical state of rail infrastructure is a continuous reduction in train speeds, and thus a significant decrease in the quality of the transport offer.
A similar situation can be observed at points of direct contact with the customer, such as railway stations (so-called general loading tracks) or sidings. The number of places with the possibility of dispatching and loading is decreasing every year, which, in the absence of alternative options for using rail transport, will cause a further outflow of customers. This type of infrastructure should be modernized, which will raise the level of services provided to the quality requirements of modern customers. It is advisable that the liquidation of this infrastructure be associated with the creation of infrastructure that will ensure customer service, for example, centers for concentrating loading operations and logistics services, where transport services will be provided by rail and, as a supplement, by road transport. Combining these two modes of transport will allow for the utilization of their best features and reduce the negative impact of transport on the natural environment.
In recent years, we have observed a dynamic development of containerization, which is associated with an increase in the trade of highly processed goods, for the safety of which the customer sets increasingly higher quality requirements (speed of transport, door-to-door transport, just-in-time, etc.). Analyzing the intermodal transport market, we can conclude that its development is significantly influenced by the state of existing terminals. Most of them were created as a result of adapting infrastructure for other purposes. Since competition from road transport in these shipments is very high, efforts should be made to ensure that intermodal transport is carried out in compact trains 600 m long, which is important for the freight rate. A number of terminals do not meet the standards defined for this type of facility in the European Union. A substantial part of them in Poland is located on lines covered by the European Agreement on Important International Combined Transport Lines and Related Installations (AGCT). These terminals are located near the following cities: Gdańsk, Gdynia, Gliwice, Kraków, Łódź, Poznań, Pruszków, Sosnowiec, Szczecin, Świnoujście, Warsaw, Wrocław. The container terminal in Małaszewicze and the container transshipment point in Żurawica also play an important role in the eastern direction. Assessing the existing terminal infrastructure in terms of quantity, one could say that the situation is not very good (the terminal density index, expressed as one terminal per 1,000 km of railway lines, is only 0.5 in Poland, while in other countries it is at the level of 1.4 – 2 (Italy, Germany); taking into account its condition, equipment, and uneven distribution, the situation does not look optimistic.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 6/2010.