After the 2013 renovation, the railroad station in Radom is one of the architectural icons of the city, a "gateway" that hundreds of visitors admire every day. The reality for travelers who move by bus is completely different. Radom's PKS station has stood closed for several years, and passengers have nowhere to buy tickets or warm up while waiting for their means of transportation. This is set to change, as the city is planning to build a new facility in the vicinity of Station Square, while announcing work on a local plan. For the architectural community, however, this is not positive news, and SARP Radom Branch has published a position paper on the matter. Will the city heed the architects' appeal?
Thefirst bus station in Radom, built in 1931, was described by the pre-war press as a modern facility, built and equipped with equipment "in the European fashion." After the war there was another facility at 10 Wernera Street, but this one was replaced in 2015 by the Radom Meat Halls. However, this is only part of the history of the city's transportation infrastructure.
lost potential
The next PKS station, located on Belina-Prażmowskiego Street, on the other hand, was an organizational disaster. The several-story building was constructed back in the 1990s, but its construction was never fully completed. The station was built close to the railroad, integrating rail and vehicular transportation; therefore, the building was planned to house both ticket offices and waiting rooms for passengers planning to travel by bus, as well as a railroad commissary. The PKP, however, never decided to develop the rooms in its section, which to this day reportedly still stand as shells. The worst was yet to come, however.
The defunct Radom PKS station on Wladyslaw Belina-Prażmowskiego Street
The deteriorating financial condition of PKS Radom led the company's managers to decide to sell the building on Beliny-Prażmowskiego Street. "A relic of a bygone era," as many city residents called the postmodern edifice, was purchased by a private investor for nearly 5 million zlotys. In 2023, the new owner commissioned the Susuł & Strama Architekci studio to design the reconstruction of the old train station into a multifunctional retail and service facility, but these plans never came to fruition and the 30-year-old "relic" stands empty to this day.
However, the most disadvantaged in this situation have become residents and travelers, who are effectively left without a station for suburban and regional lines. In the 200,000-strong former provincial city, bus tickets can today only be purchased from the carrier or online, as there are no ticket offices, much less a waiting room. People wait for their means of transportation on platforms, located on land now owned by the Polish Railways.
Regional Suburban Transportation Center in Radom
Since the beginning of last year, there has been an ongoing discussion in the city about the construction of a new station to function as the Radom Regional Suburban Transportation Center. There have been various concepts - one of which was to erect a new station building in place of the bus shelters under which passengers wait today. The plan was to design a building with office and service functions, equipped with platforms and a P+R parking located above them. As recently as April last year, the city reported on efforts to obtain a decision on the location of a public purpose investment. As it soon turned out - completely unnecessarily. The land on which the Regional Suburban Transportation Center was to be located belongs partly to PKP and partly to a private entrepreneur. The latter expressed no interest in reselling the plot, so the city had to look for a new location.
railroad to railroad
The idea emerged in late February, when the city announced that it was preparing to build a new bus station in the eastern part of the station square in front of the historic 1885 PKP station building.
Final plans will be made only after the local zoning plan is passed. We would certainly like to see a place where commuter buses will stop in the square. We are in talks with the Polish Post Office to take over and develop for this purpose, if only the plot of land between the cab stand and the post office building. At the moment there is a very wide sidewalk there
- Rafał Górski said in an interview with Gazeta Wyborcza.
And this is where the problem arises, as the city intends to get down to planning with an over-the-top and specific approach.
The eastern part of Dworcowy Square in Radom, where some of the infrastructure of the new bus station could be built
Photo: Rafał T - fotopolska.eu © CC-BY-SA 3.0 | Wikimedia Commons
MPU deploys itself in small ways
In the last days of February 2026, the Municipal Urban Planning Bureau presented a draft resolution on proceeding with work on the "Station Area" Local Development Plan. The local plan would cover an area of more than 60 hectares, stretching between Aleja Józefa Grzecznarowskiego, a fragment of the Planty and Wladyslaw Belina-Prażmowskiego, Juliusza Slowackiego Fabryczna and Staropatowska Streets. In addition to the map and the draft resolution, the documents also include a justification, in which we read:
Due to the various problems found throughout the area and the heavily mixed development functions, the area was divided into six stages of development. The analyses prepared as part of the work on the plan will be carried out jointly for the entire area, however, the preparation and adoption of the plan itself may involve individual stages.
The draft resolution of the MPZP "Station Area" assumes the division of the planning process into 6 parts
© BIP | attachment to the draft resolution on accession to the preparation of the local spatial development plan "Przydworcowa Zone"
competition for the station district in Radom?
The problematic nature of such a solution was one of the first to be signaled by Tomasz Gęsiak, a Radom architect and former director of the Municipal Urban Planning Studio. On February 23 he sent an open letter to the Association of Architects of the Republic of Poland, Radom Branch, in which he stressed the importance of the area of the proposed local plan and outlined the dangers of such a highly atomized planning process. At the same time, the architect demanded that the architectural community be involved in the project and suggested organizing an open competition to select a concept for the station area.
SARP Radom Branch position
Shortly thereafter, the Radom branch of SARP responded to the appeal with the following statement:
Position of the Association of Architects of the Republic of Poland - Radom Branch on the preparation of an MPZP for the area "Przydworcowa Zone".
The Association of Polish Architects SARP Radom Branch expresses its objection to the concept presented by the Municipal Urban Planning Bureau to proceed with the preparation of a local land use plan for the area in the "Near Station Zone" assuming the division of this strategic area into six separate planning stages.
The area around the main railroad station is a key transportation hub and showpiece of the city of Radom. Its importance goes beyond the local urban context; it is a space with metropolitan potential, integrating rail, bus, pedestrian and bicycle transportation, as well as service and public functions. Such an important part of the urban structure requires a comprehensive, coherent and long-term vision, not scattered, phased planning. In the opinion of SARP Radom, the proposed division into six stages risks:
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loss of functional and compositional coherence of the entire premise,
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lack of coordination of communication solutions,
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emergence of random, uncoordinated spatial interventions,
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permanent reduction in the urban quality of this part of the city for decades
We do not share the concept of a phased model for planning strategically important spaces. This type of action prevents the development of a unified urban structure and a clear identity of the place, which should be a representative gateway to the city.
SARP Radom Branch takes the position that the only proper way to proceed is to announce an open, nationwide Architectural-Urban Planning-Study Competition, conducted in accordance with the standards of the Association of Polish Architects. The competition will ensure:
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transparency of the process,
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wide competition of ideas,
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selection of the best solution based on substantive quality criteria,
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real participation of the professional community in shaping the future of the city.
At the same time, we declare our readiness to establish an expert team of SARP Radom, which will cover the area with substantive patronage and will be a partner in dialogue with local authorities. We expect openness to cooperation and real inclusion of the community of architects and urban planners in the decision-making process. We appeal to the authorities of the City to suspend the procedure of the project in its current form and to take action to develop a comprehensive, ambitious and responsible vision for the development of the land near the "Station Area".
President of SARP Radom Branch
arch. Katarzyna Wiosna-Osóbka
Will the Radom local government take into account the voice of architects?
