In brief

• Marshal Mieczysław Struk met with PKP PLK and Port Polska about rail plans for Pomerania.
• The region is to get about 160 km of new lines, and trains are to run at up to 350 km/h.
• The ports in Gdańsk and Gdynia are to be served by freight trunk lines, including Bałtyk–Czechy.
• The Baltic Trunk Line is to connect the region with Szczecin, Berlin and Hamburg.

Meeting in Gdańsk and scope of the plan

At the Marshal's Office in Gdańsk, Marshal Mieczysław Struk met with representatives of PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe and Port Polska. The meeting discussed long-distance rail, the assumptions of the Zintegrowana Sieć Kolejowa (Integrated Rail Network), and what the timetable in the region might look like in the future (Nowe magistrale i terminale przeładunkowe. Kolejowe plany dla Pomorza – Urząd Marszałkowski Województwa Pomorskiego) (Nowe linie kolejowe dla rozwoju Pomorza - Port Polska – portpolska.pl).

Zintegrowana Sieć Kolejowa is a draft recommendation for the target rail network in Poland, that is, investments carried out over the coming decades. Some changes are to be introduced gradually, through the modernization of existing lines.

High-speed rail and new lines

High-speed railways are to connect the Tri-City with the new airport and, via Grudziądz and Toruń, further with Warsaw, Kraków and Katowice. Thanks to the Central Rail Trunk Line North (Centralna Magistrala Kolejowa Północ), trains are to run at up to 350 km/h towards Warsaw and the south of the country.

About 160 km of new railway lines are to be built in the region. Thanks to the new sections, travel time to Bydgoszcz, Poznań and Wrocław, and further to Prague, is expected to shorten noticeably. In its announcement, Dziennik Bałtycki writes about trains to Warsaw taking as little as 100 minutes, and about new lines through Żuławy and along the Baltic Sea.

Freight trunk lines and connections with neighbours

The ports in Gdańsk and Gdynia are to be served by freight trunk lines: Bałtyk–Czechy and Morze Bałtyckie–Morze Czarne. The Baltic Trunk Line along the coast is to connect the region with Szczecin, and further with Berlin and Hamburg. The Warmia Trunk Line is to provide a connection with Elbląg and Olsztyn, as well as with regions in the south and east of the country.

Who is responsible for the project

On behalf of PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe, the plan was presented by Rafał Banaszkiewicz, a proxy of the company's management board. Port Polska was represented by Rafał Garpiel, also a proxy of the management board, of the company Centralny Port Komunikacyjny (Central Communication Port).