Warsaw Wileńska
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Praga Północ, Warsaw, Masovian Poland |
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Coordinates | 52°15′19″N 21°02′15″E / 52.2553°N 21.0375°ECoordinates: 52°15′19″N 21°02′15″E / 52.2553°N 21.0375°E | ||||||||||
Owned by | Polskie Koleje Państwowe S.A. | ||||||||||
Line(s) | Route 21 (Warszawa Wileńska - Zielonka) |
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Platforms | 2 | ||||||||||
Tracks | 3 | ||||||||||
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Opened | 1927-28 (rebuilt 1948,2000) |
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Electrified | 13 April 1952 | ||||||||||
Previous names | St.Petersburg Train Station (Polish: Dworzec Petersburski) |
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Warsaw Wileńska (Polish: Warszawa Wileńska) is an important railway station in Warsaw, Poland. Located in the eastern borough of Praga Północ, it was built in the 19th century as the westernmost and final terminus of a Russian gauge Warsaw – Saint Petersburg Railway. Currently it serves mostly local and suburban trains run by Koleje Mazowieckie.
The Petersburg Train Station (Polish: Dworzec Petersburski) was built in 1863 as the final terminus of a new railroad linking Warsaw with Vilnius and St. Petersburg. The building itself was designed by Narcyz Zborzewski. As the line used Russian gauge while another major railway line operating in Warsaw at the time (namely the Warsaw–Vienna Railway) used Standard gauge, the two could not have been connected. To allow passengers travelling from Vienna to St. Petersburg easier access to both terminals a horse-drawn tramway line was opened soon after the railway line's completion, thus giving birth to Warsaw's tramway network. The original train station had been blown up by withdrawing Russian troops in 1915 during World War I.
After the end of hostilities and the Polish-Bolshevik War parts of the Warsaw–Saint Petersburg Railway between Warsaw and Vilna were converted to standard gauge while passenger traffic between Warsaw and then-Soviet Leningrad practically ceased. Because of that the name of the station was changed to the one used currently. The position initially occupied by the 19th century train station which was demolished during the war was occupied by the new office building headquarters of Polish State Railways, constructed between 1927 and 1928. At the same time a new provisional Warszawa Wileńska station was constructed across the street, slightly to the south from the original location.