Train travel between some of the largest cities in Poland takes longer than it did before World War II. No one needs to be convinced that Polish roads, the railway network, or airport terminals still require huge investment outlays. However, the latest research report by PBS DGA, commissioned by On Board Public Relations, provides answers as to which areas of transport infrastructure in Poland require the most urgent changes.
According to research conducted by PBS DGA, 75% of Poles consider investment in road infrastructure a priority over the next 10 years. Interestingly, Poles do not prioritize the construction of motorways, which receive so much attention in public discourse. Almost every third Pole (30.9%) is more in favor of modernizing the local road network, which they use on a daily basis. Furthermore, 24.4% of respondents opted for investing in city bypasses, which directly affect the quality of local traffic in cities.
– The positive public opinion regarding local roads and bypasses stems primarily from the fact that most Poles live outside large cities and do not use motorways and expressways on a daily basis. High-speed roads do not serve the function of carrying local traffic, but rather interregional or even (in the case of motorways) international traffic – comments Urszula Nelken, Press Spokesperson for the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways.
In second place after road infrastructure, with 17% of respondents’ indications, is the railway as the most important element of transport infrastructure requiring modernization. This result is quite surprising, mainly due to the problems passengers faced last winter and delays resulting from the state of railway infrastructure. Additionally, as the research shows, for respondents from smaller towns, the importance of rail decreases in favor of road infrastructure. This may be a consequence of the railways abandoning unprofitable local connections and the increasing number of cars in villages and smaller towns.
– Infrastructure must develop evenly, taking into account all areas of transport. Moreover, one must take into account a long-term perspective, not just current needs. An example, unfortunately a negative one, from the last 20 years is the almost complete liquidation of inland water transport, as a result of which the transport of a significant portion of cargo began to take place not by rail, but precisely by road – explains Maciej Gruca, Operations Director at Fresh Logistics, Raben Group.
During the study, respondents identified four main areas of investment in railway infrastructure: connections between major cities (31.8%), local connections (29.9%), rapid urban rail (18.3%), and the expansion and modernization of railway stations (16.7%). The high position of rapid urban rail in the ranking may be a surprise. Interestingly, rapid urban rail practically does not exist in Poland outside of Warsaw and the Tri-City, and partially within the Upper Silesian metropolitan area. It is therefore clearly visible what huge potential this form of transport holds within metropolitan areas.
Aviation infrastructure, which has the greatest development potential and is projected to see significant and systematic growth in its users, is the most important area requiring investment for only 4.4% of Poles. Taking demographic data into account, almost one in ten residents of the Central region (7.8%) would like to invest in aviation infrastructure first, but only one in a hundred in the Eastern region (0.8%). Meanwhile, the phenomenon of regional airports increasing their lead over Warsaw’s Okęcie airport is becoming increasingly noticeable. Last year, the capital’s airport handled 8.6 million passengers, while regional airports handled almost 12 million. In the coming years, the development of local air connections will be favored by the insufficient number of motorways and expressways and the lack of fast rail connections between major cities separated by large distances.