Road and rail transport

The most important task facing Poland is the construction of new motorways and the restructuring of Polish State Railways (PKP). The government wants the speed up road building so that about 100-150 kilometers of highway can be completed a year. We will prepare the building projects for specific chunks of highway such that work will start simultaneously in several places. If we can ensure the appropriate financing mechanism, then as early as 2004 we could start talk of building 200 kilometers of highway a year. We also see the railways as a strategic area for the Polish economy. We will systemically raise their standard so that they become an equal link of the European rail network.
The Ministry of Infrastructure is implementing a highway- and other road-building program in Poland in the period 2002-2005, focusing on the detailed ways of achieving the aims outlined in the road building area as part of the government’s “’Enterprise – Development – Work II’ program. By the end of 2005 about 550 km of highway is expected to be completed, about 200 km of express roads, 47 new by-passes and 500 km of road repairs done.
Poland’s railway network is served by the Polish State Railways (PKP), which for several years has been undergoing restructuring with the aim of modernizing infrastructure and rolling stock. The program is based on breaking the company up into smaller units, each of which should be profitable. The company Polskie Linie Kolejowe (PLK) will serve the railway network (tracks and infrastructure), CARGO deal with goods transportation and ‘Przewozy Pasazerskie’ passenger travel.
Aside from restructuring and preparing for privatization, the key aim for companies serving the country’s rail transport needs is raising the effectiveness of the most important rail routes and cross-border infrastructure. This will improve rail safety and enable an increase in the speed of passenger travel on the most important national rail routes to 160km/h and goods transportation to 120km/h. It is planned over the next several years to develop combined transportation that would enable a better use of the transport infrastructure and limit the heavy vehicle traffic on the roads.

source: www.poland.gov.pl