{"id":33092,"date":"2024-05-02T19:03:32","date_gmt":"2024-05-02T09:03:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=52245"},"modified":"2024-05-02T19:03:32","modified_gmt":"2024-05-02T09:03:32","slug":"twenty-years-of-eu-membership-what-has-it-brought-polish-rail-freight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=33092","title":{"rendered":"Twenty years of EU membership: What has it brought Polish rail freight?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Poland, alongside nine other countries, has been a member of the European Union for 20 years. EU membership brought with it many investments, which also benefited Polish rail infrastructure. The 166 billion Polish z\u0142oty (27 billion euros) in investments have transformed Polish railways, says national rail operator PKP.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>PKP reviewed the contribution of “huge funds” to the Polish rail network that the country received from the EU during its 20-year membership. “Poland made multi-billion z\u0142oty investments in railways that would not have been possible without EU support”, says the rail operator. \u201cAfter twenty years, the Polish railway is in a completely different place.”<\/p>\n

Poland received funding from various EU programmes, among which are the Infrastructure and Environment Operational Programme, the Eastern Poland Operation Programme, the Connecting Europe Facility and sixteen more regional investment programmes.<\/p>\n

Tangible results<\/h2>\n

\u201cThanks to financing from various EU programs, railway lines, stations and stops were modernised. New track sections and modern rail traffic control and safety systems were built\u201d, says PKP.\u00a0The EU investments, amounting to a total of 116 billion Polish z\u0142oty (nearly 27 billion euros), allowed for the construction of 17 thousand kilometres of railways in total. Moreover, Poland connected many new towns to the railway network. The funds also enabled improved infrastructure design that boosted safety.<\/p>\n

PKP points out that EU funds have helped to improve rail access to seaports in Gda\u0144sk, Gdynia, Szczecin and \u015awinouj\u015bcie, enhancing freight transportation efficiency. Border crossings have also been upgraded to work more efficiently.<\/p>\n

Lastly, important freight lines have been modernised throughout the past twenty years. PKP mentions the Chorz\u00f3w Batory – Tczew and the Wroc\u0142aw – Szczecin lines, as well as railway lines in Silesia, such as Toszek P\u00f3\u0142noc – Rudziniec Gliwicki – Stare Ko\u017ale and Chybie – \u017bory – Rybnik – N\u0119dza\/Turze. Earlier this year, PKP announced another billion euro investment<\/a> in Silesian rail infrastructure, of which 85 per cent will be financed by the EU.<\/p>\n

Also read:<\/strong><\/p>\n