Railroad stations in Poland have never been particularly popular - as best evidenced by the famous excerpt from the Cult song about the train station in Kutno, where "eyes were bursting" from the dirt and ugliness. This is to be changed by the "Station Investment Program" announced by PKP.
"Station Investment Program" is the next installment of the PKP project, which is supposed to change the face of those waiting for trains (very often delayed by up to several hundred minutes). The effects of the previous edition were the renovation and modernization of stations in the Poprad Valley, described by Kacper Kępiński, or the reconstruction of the Łódź Kaliska station.
As announced by the government, the next edition of the program takes the outlook to 2024-2030. During this time, renovations, modernizations, as well as construction are to begin at about 150 locations, for which analyses have been carried out for more than 300 locations. Capital expenditures amount to a gross amount of PLN 4.4 billion. The government takes into account passenger replacement, the technical condition of the facility and complementarity with other infrastructure investments. Again, the proportions point primarily to modernization of historic train stations. Of the 150 projects to be implemented over the next six years, as many as 130 are historic stations.
map of poland showing railway stations from the previous and current investment program
© PKP
The main objectives of our program to change the face of Polish railway stations are accessibility for travelers with limited mobility, modernity, and improved comfort and safety. Among other things, the program aims to increase the attractiveness and accessibility of railroads both in cities and, above all, in smaller towns. These measures will make it possible to erase the historical disparities in rail infrastructure between regions, which we will also be able to observe in the Podlaskie Voivodeship," says Ireneusz Maślany, a member of the PKP Board of Directors.
An idea for modernism?
Investments related to historic railway stations have become the norm for us. A few weeks ago, Gdańsk Główny train station was put into operation. As part of the program, historic stations in Pleszew, Grajewo, Starachowice or Bialy Bor will be renovated. An interesting example, however, will be the issue of the station in Tarnow-Moscice.
The station in Tarnow-Moscice was built in the 1970s, at a time when the communist authorities preferred to use the name Tarnow-West. The project was created by Stanisław Wilkosz, who specialized in railroad station architecture. The simple body of the building, with its characteristic multiplicative ceiling solution, had been falling into disrepair for many years, while being the subject of a student project by Przemyslaw Poreba, about which Dobrawa Bies wrote.
The railway station in Mościce has been awaiting renovation for a long time - modernist buildings are a much bigger challenge
photo by Wiktor Bochenek
Tarnów's train station was entered in the register of historic monuments in 2021, and local authorities have repeatedly appealed to PKP to begin modernization work, not least because of the 2023 European Games taking place in that part of the city. In the end, the building was shortlisted for the program, and the attempt to redevelop it will be an extremely difficult test for PKP, not only because of the necessary preservation requirements, but more difficult to preserve and highlight the unique heritage of modernism. For the time being, PKP has not presented plans and deadlines for the modernization of the stations from the second program, and we still have to wait for details. It is such facilities that will pose the greatest challenge in the modernization process.
