1. general characteristics of infrastruc-

1. General characteristics of infrastruc-ture in PolandInfrastructure in the year 2008 was oneof the most rapidly developing sectorsof the Polish economy. In particular, airtransport, logistics, and tourism notedmany new investments, as well asattracted many new clients. As far as air transport is concerned,many new investments have beenplanned for the upcoming years. Newmunicipal airports are planned for citiessuch as Bia∏ystok and Koszalin, andregional airports in Lubelskie andÂwi´tokrzyskie provinces, which with thehelp of low-cost airlines should allow fur-ther development of passenger transport.The warehouse sector, on the other hand,has reached four times higher growththan the year before, and health tourismhas become popular all over Europe, lur-ing tourists even for one-day visits.

2. Transport infrastructurePoland is attracting more and more for-eign investors. One of the reasons isthat the country has well-establishedtransport networks which are constantlybeing developed and modernized.

• Cargo transport, passenger transportDespite the fact that the total number oftransported cargo and passengers hasslightly decreased as a result of thegrowing number of cars imported overthe past years, air transport now has ahigher profile (ranking relative to othermeans of transport).

• Profile of cargo shipment by means oftransport

Most cargo is shipped by road trans-port, with this segment accounting for79.2% of overall cargo transport. Verylittle cargo was shipped by air – only46,000 tonnes in 2007.

• Profile of passenger transport bymeans of transport

Road transport dominates also in thearea of passenger transport and wasresponsible for 71.4% of the passengertransport market measured by the num-ber of passengers transported in 2007.

3. Road infrastructureThe best situation with respect to the net-work of hard-surface public roads is inSilesia, Ma∏opolska and Âwi´tokrzyskieprovinces. Among the provinces withthe least extensive public road networkare Warmia-Mazuria, Podlasie,Lubuskie and West Pomerania.

2 POLAND’S INFRASTRUCTURE

Means of transport

Source: Central Statistical Office (GUS)

Source: GUS

Source: GUS

• Length and condition of particulartypes of roads and bridges

The majority of Polish roads are admin-istered and maintained by local com-munes. Commune roads account for54.48% of all roads. Unfortunately theyare in the worst condition. Only46.76% of commune roads are hard-surface, of which 78.72% haveimproved surfaces. In the best conditionare national and province roads. Over99% of them are hard-surface, of whichover 99% have improved surfaces.As far as the condition of roads is con-cerned, expenditures on road modern-ization will be increased by 2012.According to the Ministry ofInfrastructure in 2007, expenses forroad investments by 2012 will come to121 bln PLN. According to the Programof National Roads Construction in2008-2012, Poland will build in 2010– 779.8 km motorways and 175.3 kmexpressways, in 2011 – 211 km motor-ways and 1178.8 km expressways, butin 2012 – 310.2 km expressways. Insum, between 2008-2012 it is plannedto build 1175.2 km motorways and1979.1 km expressways.

• Plans for construction of road andmotorways in Poland – financing andplansEU membership has accelerated theprocess of extending the road networkby ensuring significant funding.

The planned investments include thenorth-south route from Gdaƒsk through¸ódê and Katowice to Cieszyn. The sec-ond project includes creation of east-west connections, from Warsawthrough ¸ódê and Poznaƒ to Germany,and from Cracow to the German bor-der. In the longer term, these routes willbecome a part of the transportationpassageways connecting the northernand southern parts of Europe.In a few years Poland will have thenewest motorway network in Europe.According to the Polish Governmentprogramme, the completion dates forparticular motorways in Poland are asfollows: (The dates refer to completionof the whole route. Particular sectionswill be ready for use earlier.)

POLAND’S INFRASTRUCTURE 3

Poland’s public road network at the end of 2007

Bridges in Poland’s public road network at the end of 2007

Length of motorways and expressways

4. Road, air and sea border crossingsThere are 5 types of border crossings inPoland:• road border crossings: 204• rail border crossings: 34• air border crossings: 24• sea border crossings: 20• river border crossings: 6

5. Railway networkThere are significant differencesbetween Polish regions in the density ofthe railway network, as presented onthe graph.

• Domestic and international connec-tions

Broad-gauge connections with Russiaand other eastern states ensure fast, reli-able and immediate links with easternmarkets.


Source: GDDKiA

Source: www.trakcja.rail.pl

Source: GUS

Polish motorways

Source: Source: Polish Border Services(Stra˝ Graniczna, http://www.sg.gov.pl/),Rocznik statystyczny, 2007

• Railway network operators

The dominant role in railway transport isplayed by Polish State Railways (PolskieKoleje Paƒstwowe S.A., or “PKP”),which is owned by the state treasury.Since 2001 PKP has operated as a cap-ital group composed of companies thatspecialize in certain types of transport,such as regional transport, long-distancetransport, and cargo transport. In addi-tion to PKP, many local railway compa-nies also operate on the market. PKPand local railway network operators aredescribed below.

NATIONAL:

Polish State Railways (PKP) Network length, gauge and electrifica-tion (2007): • 19,797 km standard gauge, 11,898

km electrified at 3000 VAt the end of 2001 the old PKP wassplit up into different subsidiaries. Themost important for railway operationsare: • PKP Intercity (long-distance passen-

ger traffic) • PKP Przewozy Regionalne (regional

passenger trains) • PKP Szybka Kolej Miejska (commuter

traffic aroundGdaƒsk/Gdynia/Sopot)

• PKP Warszawska Kolej Dojazdowa(commuter traffic around Warsaw,since sold)

• PKP Cargo (freight traffic) • PKP Linia Hutnicza Szerokotorowa

(broad-gauge trains to Ukraine) In 2007 freight traffic was 153 milliontonnes, 1.9% less than in 2006.All narrow-gauge lines (511 km in2001) have been closed or sold to localcommunities. PKP does not operatetrains on these lines anymore. Thebroad gauge line Ukraine-HutaKatowice is being extended to theCzech border (at Cha∏upki).

LOCAL:KM - Koleje Mazowieckie (MazoviaRailways) Network length, gauge and electrifica-tion (2005): • standard gauge, electrified at 3000 V KM is a new company, operating localtrains around Warsaw. It has takenover trains and employees from PKP.

SKM - SKM Warszawa Sp. z o.o.Network length, gauge and electrifica-tion (2005): • standard gauge, electrified at 3000 VSKM operates commuter services aroundWarsaw using hired PKP electric trains.

WKD - Warszawska Kolej Dojazdowa(Warsaw Commuter Railways) Network length, gauge and electrifica-tion (2001): • standard gauge, electrified at 600 VThis company operates light rail trainsaround Warsaw. It used to be a sub-sidiary of PKP, but was sold to theMazovia regional authority at the endof 2004.

CTL - Chem Trans Logistic Network length, gauge and electrifica-tion (2003): • 130 km standard gauge, electrified

at 3000 VIn 2002 CTL took over the Maczki-Bór“sand railway” in Katowice. They now(also) operate open-access freight trainsthroughout Poland. In 2002 the CTLgroup carried 1.5 tonne-km of freight.

EN - Euronaft-Trzebinia Network length, gauge and electrifica-tion (2004): • standard gauge, not electrified

LOTOS - LOTOS Kolej Spó∏ka z o.o. Network length, gauge and electrifica-tion (2004): • standard gauge, not electrified

KW - Kuênica War´˝yƒska Network length, gauge and electrifica-tion (2005): • standard gauge, not electrified

This former sand railway now operateslocal freight trains in the ¸agisza areato the northeast of Katowice, and open-access coal trains to Katowice andWarsaw.

OK - Orlen Koltrans Network length, gauge and electrifica-tion (2005): • standard gauge, not electrified

Pol-Miedê Trans - KGHM Polska Miedê SA Network length, gauge and electrifica-tion (2003): • standard gauge, not electrified Apart from shunting duties on its ownnetwork, this company operates openaccess trains with copper ore fromLubin Górniczy to the copper smelter inG∏ogów.

PRS - PCC Rail Szczakowa S.A.Network length, gauge and electrifica-tion (2005): • 210 km standard gauge, electrifiedat 3000 V

PTKiGK Rybnik- Przedsi´biorstwoTransportu Kolejowego i GospodarkiKamieniem S.A., Rybnik Network length, gauge and electrifica-tion (2004): • standard gauge, not electrified

PTKiGK Zabrze - Przedsi´biorstwoTransportu Kolejowego i GospodarkiKamieniem Sp. z o.o., Zabrze Network length, gauge and electrifica-tion (2004): • standard gauge, not electrified The company is a private railway oper-ator and has been active on the marketsince 1953. The company offers com-


Comparison of the length of railway network in selected EU countries [km]

plete service and exploitation of rail-way sidings, railway transport of bulkcommodities, forwarding and shipmentas well as transport logistics. The com-pany also specializes in repair and con-struction of track systems, repair ofdiesel locomotives and freight cars ofvarious kinds as well as electric appli-ances and communication systemdevices. Earth work plays a significantrole in the company’s activity, includingmining waste dumping and technicaland biological land reclamation.The company holds a licence for pro-viding railway transport of bulk com-modities, ISO 9001:2000 Certificateand Certificate of Safety. It has beenawarded a European Medal for rail-way transport and complete operationof sidings as well as land reclamation.Its customers include coal mines, sugarplants, power plants and many others.

RP - Rail Polska Network length, gauge and electrifica-tion (2004): • standard gauge, not electrified In 1999 Ed Burkhardt (well-known fromEWS in the UK and Eesti Raudtee inEstonia) founded this freight railwaycompany. In 2003 the company boughtup the Polish companies Kolex andZEC-TRANS, which mainly operatedcoal trains from mines to power sta-tions.

TS - Transoda Sp. z o.o. Network length, gauge and electrifica-tion (2004): • standard gauge, not electrified This company, based in Inowroc∏aw,operates freight trains betweenInowroc∏aw/Janikowo and GdaƒskKana∏ Kaszubski. Source: European Railway Server,http://www.railfaneurope.net

6. PipelinesThe main pipelines in Poland includethe crude oil pipelines Adamowo-P∏ock,P∏ock-Schwedt and Gdaƒsk-P∏ock. Theothers connect industrial centres andgenerally run over short distances.

• Planned projects of pipeline construc-tion

The development plans for pipeline con-struction consider two main directions:EEaasstteerrnn – a third pipeline fromAdamowo to P∏ock, which is currentlyunder construction, will make it possibleto adjust the capacity of the Polishpipelines to the capabilities of the north-

ern part of the “Przyjaêƒ” pipeline. Thenew pipeline, despite important issuesconcerning the security of the country’senergy supply, will also allow the devel-opment of crude oil transport servicesfor other countries. The planned com-pletion date of this investment is set for2011-2012.SSoouutthheerrnn – together with the UkrainianUkrtransnafta, construction of the Brody-P∏ock pipeline is continuing, which willenable the transport of up to 25 mlntonnes of Caspian crude oil yearly.

• Renewable energy market in Poland• According to The Institute for Fuels

and Renewable Energy in Warsaw,the share of renewable electricity inPoland in 2006 was 3,2% (2,7% in2005), of which large hydro account-ed for 47%, biomass 43% (most ofwhich was co-firing), biogas 4% andwind-generated electricity 6% .According to the Ministry ofEconomy, the share of renewableenergy in Poland’s energy balanceproposed by the EuropeanCommission in January 2008 is 7,5%by 2010 and 15% by 2020.

• Poland does not take advantage of itspotential in the field of renewableenergy sources (RES). The total RESinstalled capacity in 2007 was only1500 MW, of which the wind powercapacity was also only 276 MW. Thedevelopment of RES sources in Polandis hindered by general over-capacityin the Polish power sector, becausethere is no incentive to search for newRES sources.

• Further barriers for creation of aneffective renewable power market inPoland result from, among otherthings, conflicts between the interestsof several lobbies from the RES indus-try and electricity producers and dis-tributors, very poor high-voltage grids(especially in areas where wind ener-gy may be produced), and lack ofsuccessful cooperation between cen-tral administration departments in thefield of the RES.


Source: The Oil Pipeline Operation Company ‘Przyjaêƒ’ Join Stock-PERN “Przyjaêƒ” S.A.

7. Shipping infrastructureThe length of the navigable inlandwaterways is 2,413 km, whichaccounts for 65.9% of all waterways inPoland. The Odra, lower Vistula,Warta and Noteç rivers, as well aswaterways near Szczecin, Gdaƒsk andWarsaw, offer good conditions forinland navigation. Sand, gravel, coal,ores and fertilizers are the most fre-quently transported goods.

• Harbours (seaports and reloadingports)

The main commercial Polish seaportsinclude Gdaƒsk, Gdynia, Ko∏obrzegand Szczecin-ÂwinoujÊcie.

The global level of international seatransport is falling and will also concernpassenger transport in our country (inPoland this effect may be strengthenedby the growing number of internationalairports as well as the wide range oftransport services offered by cheap air-lines in the EU). On the other handPoland’s growing position among thecountries of EU will lead to growth intransport of commodities.

• Development of shipping infrastruc-ture

The further development of ports (bothinland and sea ports) in the upcomingyears will be financed from public fundswith help from EU structural funds. Suchdevelopment plans are a part of region-al development plans (for instance, theNaval Strategy for West Pomeraniaprovince for the years 2005-2015).Other investments in ports will be madeby local authorities, as some of the seaports are owned by certain cities.

8. Air infrastructure• AirportsThe system of public airports in Polandfor passengers includes a number ofregional airports and the dominantWarsaw airport. Airports in Poland canbe divided into:❏ international connecting point- Frederic Chopin Airport, Warsaw❏ community connecting point- John Paul II International Airport,Cracow-Balice

❏ regional and accessibility points- Lech Wa∏´sa Airport, Gdaƒsk- Katowice International Airport,Pyrzowice

- Poznaƒ ¸awica Airport- Copernicus Airport, Wroc∏aw- Szczecin-Goleniów Airport

- Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport- I. J. Paderewski Airport, Bydgoszcz- ¸ódê Airport- Zielona Góra-Babimost Airport- Szczytno-Szymany InternationalAirport

❏ local airports

• Selected international air connections

from Polish airports in 2007According to GUS there were 151 reg-ular routes from Polish airports in 2007,of which 141 were international con-nections. Poland had regular connec-tions with 37 countries and 92 cities allaround the world in 2007.The exam-ples of these connections are presentedin the table.


The types and length of waterway transport and the condition of waterways –navigability of rivers and canals (according to classes of waterways)

Source: GUS, 2008

Source: ULC

• Forecasts of air passenger and aircargo transportThe tables below present the predictednumber of passengers and quantity ofcargo carried by Polish air transport.Both in passenger transport and incargo transport, a growth trend isnoticeable.

• Types, number of airports and num-ber of air connectionsThe system of public airports in Polandused for passenger transportationincludes 12 regional airports and onedominant capital airport (FredericChopin Airport, Warsaw) which han-dles most passengers using air trans-port.


After liberalization of the air transportmarket in 2004, most of the regionalairports (particularly those placed inmajor cities) have developed their owninternational connections, especiallywith the support of cheap airlines likeeasyJet, Germanwings, Ryanair,SkyEurope and Wizz Air.

Air transport developmentAccording to The Ministry ofInfrastructure (former Ministry ofTransport) the existing airport infrastruc-ture cannot handle forecasted growthand that Poland needs to build new air-ports. The regions targeted by theMinistry or by regional authorities fornew airport construction are Mazury(North Eastern part of Poland, nearOlsztyn), Podlasie (also North-Easternpart of Poland, near Bialystok), near thecity of Lublin (South-Eastern part ofPoland), near the city of Kielce (200 kmSouth of Warsaw), Nowy Sacz,Gdynia, Sochaczew, Radom, andKolobrzeg (North-Western part ofPoland). Additionally, the Ministry con-firmed that previous plans for construc-tion of a new airport hub with a capac-ity of up to 50 million passengers wereabandoned due to prevailing decentral-ization trends within the airport industryworldwide. This situation created aneed for construction of an additionalairport close to Warsaw, which wouldsupport, Warsaw Okecie Airport. A for-mer military airport in Modlin (North ofWarsaw) was chosen for low-cost carri-ers and charter flights. It is expectedthat Modlin Airport will commenceoperation in 2010.

9. Logistics• General characteristics of logistics

sectorPoland offers excellent opportunitiesfor logistics space developers, thebest in Central and Eastern Europe,according to experts. The country’swarehouse space market expandedrapidly in the first quarter of 2008and had a successful, albeit slightlyslower, second quarter.According to real estate services com-

pany Cushman & Wakefield a total of645,000 square meters of modernwarehouse space was completed inPoland in the first quarter of 2008,bringing the total stock nationwide to4.46 million sq m.In 2007 total warehouse stock inPoland stood at 3,818,000 sqm.(in4Q 2006 it was 2,722,000 sqm).The number of new investments isgrowing dynamically, especially inthe regions. In 2007 only 16% ofnewly developed warehouse spacewas located in the area of Warsaw.The majority of warehouse space wasconstructed in Poznaƒ (22.5%), Upper

Silesia (20%), in Central Poland (over19%) and in Wroclaw (14%).

10. Municipal infrastructure• Length of municipal distribution systems

• Access of households to infrastructurein citiesAccess to certain items of municipalinfrastructure is dependent on the num-


ber of infrastructure systems installed inthe city. The current situation in Poland isshown by the table below. Nearly all ofthe cities have the four basic systems:water, sewerage, electricity, and gaslines (the smaller percentage is due to thelow population among the smallest citiesas well as the pipeline building costs incomparison to delivery of gas cylinders).The number of wastewater treatmentplants is also high, with a growth trendin the number of wastewater plants withincreased biogenic removal. The overall access of dwellings to majorsystems is therefore high. As statedabove, for the systems with the lowestshare, this is the effect of economiccomparative costs and the populationof certain cities.

• Production of electrical energy

Due to the economic revival in recentyears in Poland and population growth,production of electricity has been grow-ing since 1990 is likely to continuedoing so. Only in 2007 the productionof electricity dropped by 2% in com-parison with 2006.

11. Tourist infrastructure

The previous decrease in foreigners vis-iting Poland was caused by the terroristattacks worldwide that caused a slumpin tourist trips globally. Currently there is a steady increase inthe number of visitors, especially fromEU countries. The reason for this fact isbroader promotion of Poland and spe-cific tourist attractions, as well as stabil-ity in international relations. On theother hand, the decrease in the numberof visitors from the other side of the east-ern border (especially Belarus) due toPoland’s accession to SchengenAgreement in December 2007. Themost significant decrease concerns thesea border. This is caused by the grow-ing number of cheap airlines and theinternational connections they offer.


Source: GUS

Source: GUS, Information Centre on Energy Market (CIRE)

Source: Institute of Tourism, 2008

• Hotels and facilities offering accom-modation to tourists in Poland

Despite the falling number of all touristfacilities the demand for such services israther constant. Nevertheless the require-ments of the clients have changed, andthus the total number of hotels is growing.

• Health tourism: dentistry, cosmeticsurgery, health resorts etc.

Number of cities with the status of ahealth resort (2007)

The overall number of tourists that cometo Poland can be estimated thanks to thestatistics on arrival motives. The segmentthat includes dentistry, cosmetic surgery,and health resorts as motives for short-term visits was growing rapidly to 2006.The main reason for the inflow of touristsis low prices throughout the country(below the EU average, especially inprices of medical treatment, which forexample in 2006 is PLN 51.72 for a con-sulting visit to a second-graduated physi-cian in specialist practice).

Foreigners’ expenditures in this sectorare also growing rapidly. According tothe Institute of tourism include, the over-all sum of money spent on healthcarefor visitors reached USD 95 million in2007 (USD 275 per person in 2007,there was USD 247 in 2006).

12. Possibilities for financing infrastruc-ture investments from EU funds

• The most important financing program-me for the upcoming years is conside-red to be the Infrastructure and Envi-ronment Operation Programme, whichis a part of Poland‘s Cohesion Strate-gy. It will be coordinated by the Mini-stry of Regional Development and pro-vince governments. The main prioritiesfor financial support under the pro-gramme include the following areas:

Priority 1 Water supply systemPriority 2 Waste disposal and

land surface protec-tion

Priority 6 TEN-T trans-Europeantransport networks

Priority 7 Environment-friendlytransport

Priority 8 Safety of transport andnational transport net-works

Priority 9 Road infrastructure ofeastern Poland

Priority 10 Power industry safety

• It is assumed that in the years 2007-2013, the total sum of EUR 26,054.8million will be allocated forEnvironment Operation Programmeprojects, of which EUR 21,275.2 mil-lion will come from the EU budgetand EUR 3,754.6 million from Polishpublic resources. Projects will also befinanced from private resources in theamount of EUR 1,025 million.

• The majority of EU funds (EUR 7,400million) will be spent on the realiza-tion of Priority 6 (TEN-T trans-European transport networks), 30%of which is to be spent on motorwayinfrastructure, 65% on other roadsand the remaining 5% on airports.

• A total of EUR 5,990.0 million will beallocated for projects of Priority 7 (envi-ronment-friendly transport), of which54% will be allocated for TEN-T rail-way lines, 7% for other railway lines,7% for ports, and 7% for rolling stock.

• Under the Environment OperationProgramme, EUR 2,500.0 million willbe allocated for investment in thewater supply system (Priority 1).


1. general characteristics of infrastruc-

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