Szybka Kolej Miejska (Warsaw)
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| Ltd. | |
| Industry | Rail transport |
| Founded | February 5, 2004 |
| Headquarters | Warsaw, Poland |
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Area served
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Warsaw metropolitan area |
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Key people
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Leszek Walczak CEO |
| Owner | City of Warsaw |
| Website | www |
Szybka Kolej Miejska (English: Fast City Rail) is a rail operator providing services in the Warsaw metropolitan area using the national rail network while constituting a part of the city's integrated public transport system organized by the Warsaw Transport Authority.
The Warsaw SKM in its present form was initially proposed in 2002, stipulating to use the existing infrastructure of the Warsaw Railway Junction, especially the cross city line with its over 2 km long tunnel running under the city center and conveniently located underground station, as a cheap substitute for a badly needed second metro line.
In order to implement this the Mayor of Warsaw Lech Kaczyński established in 2004 the municipally owned company Szybka Kolej Miejska Sp. z o.o. The company was originally incorporated as a joint venture between the City of Warsaw with 50% shares and the companies Metro Warszawskie Sp. z o.o. with 49% shares and Tramwaje Warszawskie Sp. z. o.o. with 1% shares, both owned entirely by the city and responsible respectively for the Metro and Tram system. As such the company was notably completely independent from the national rail operator PKP Group, unlike Koleje Mazowieckie established by the Masovian Voivodship at around the same time.
The newly formed company was equipped with six Newag 14WE EMUs which were extensive modernizations of the PKP class EN57 EMUs, with a modern looking body but retaining the old mechanical components.
A year and a half after being established the SKM initiated its operation with its first trains, opening a line from Warszawa Zachodnia along the cross city line to Warszawa Wschodnia and along the Vistula river to Warszawa Falenica. The new service failed to deliver on its promise to serve as a viable replacement due to the poor state of the rail infrastructure. Passengers within the city center preferred the more accessible trams system and few people wanted to use the trains in the south eastern districts of the city. Additionally while the integrated fare system of the Warsaw Transit Authority offered a large convenience the modern look and relative cleanness of the rolling stock sharply contrasted with the standard found in the Polish railroad, during rush hours most of slots on the tracks were taken up by regional traffic and the new EMUs suffered from the same technical problems as the ones they were based on.
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Wikipedia