Polish State Railways
 |
|
| Industry | Rail transport |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1 January 2001 First founded 1918-26 |
| Headquarters | Warsaw, Poland |
|
Key people
|
Dr Jakub Karnowski Chairman/CEO |
| Products | Rail transport, Cargo transport, Services |
| Revenue |
 9,800,000,000 PLN (2008) |
| Owner | Republic of Poland (100%) |
|
Number of employees
|
85,000 in PKP group (2013) |
| Subsidiaries |
PKP Intercity PKP Cargo Tricity SKM Others |
| Website | www.pkp.pl |
Polskie Koleje Państwowe SA (PKP SA, English: Polish State Railways, Inc.) is the dominant railway operator in Poland. The company was founded when the former Polskie Koleje Państwowe state-owned operator was divided into several units based on the requirements laid down by the European Union. PKP SA is the dominant company in PKP Group collective that resulted from the split, and maintains in 100% share control, being fully responsible for management of all of the other PKP Group component companies. The group's organisations are dependent upon PKP SA, but proposals for privatisation have been made.
In Poland there are 23,429 kilometres (14,558 mi) of railway tracks managed by PKP SA and owned by the state.
The pricing system currently employed by PKP is highly regressive. On international routes such as, for example, the Berlin-Warszawa Express and the IC-Nightbus Warsaw – Vilnius, a global pricing system is in use which requires one to buy two separate tickets (one in each direction) in place of a single consolidated return ticket. The long-distance and local trains' pricing systems are separated from each other in entirety and thus tickets issued by local train operators cannot be used on long-distance services, with the opposite also true. International tickets, however, are valid on all services upon which one is required to travel on order to reach the final destination stated on the ticket (unless a specific routing is stipulated in the conditions terms of use).
PKP's current plans to develop high-speed rail in Poland call for a "Y" line that will connect Warsaw–Łódź–Kalisz, and then split into two branches, one to Wrocław and another to Poznań. The geometric layout of the line will be designed to permit speeds of 360 km/h. Construction is planned to begin around 2014 and finish in 2019. In April 2010, the tender for a feasibility study was awarded to a consortium led by Spanish company Ingenieria IDOM. The feasibility study has been granted €80 million in subsidy from the European Union. The total cost of the line including construction and train sets has been estimated at €6.9 billion and is planned to be financed partially by EU subsidies. In September 2010, Alstom was revealed to have been the sole bidder on a tender for high-speed trainsets. Alstom will supply 20 New Pendolino trains to PKP Intercity; they will be capable of running international services to Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic using existing infrastructure rather than the still planned "Y". The contract for Alstom to then supply and maintain these trains for PKP Intercity was signed on 30 May 2011. As part of the deal, Alstom will construct a new rolling stock maintenance facility in Warsaw.
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Wikipedia