1. Introduction On 1st May 2004 Poland became a member state of the European Union. During the first ten years of the EU membership the Polish transportation system changed significantly. It was an outstanding period in the context of structural, quantitative as well as qualitative changes. Thanks to the structural funds it was possible to develop transport infrastructure in Poland what has reduced the development gap between our country and Western European coun- tries. Nonetheless, not only the investment possi- bilities, but also legal issues, including liberalization of railway, automobile and aviation markets, had to be introduced. It was also a great chance for Polish entrepreneurs to enter international markets (Pie- regud, 2014a; Rosik et. al., 2015b). The transformation which took place during the analyzed 10-year period is clearly reflected by the number of cars per 1000 people. In 2004 there were 314 such vehicles while in 2015 as much as 539 (Fig. 1). Table 1 presents a detailed structure of Polish passenger transport in the period of 2005–2015 and its dynamics of changes. In 2005 over 5 million people used means of passenger transport while in 2015 slightly over 4.5 billion. The share of urban transport decreased over the discussed period and Journal of Geography, Politics and Society 2017, 7(3), 41–49 DOI 10.4467/24512249JG.17.026.7182 TranSPorT In Poland durInG The PerIod of acceSSIon To The euroPean unIon Marcin Połom (1), Sławomir Goliszek (2) (1) Department of Regional Development Geography, University of Gdańsk, Bażyńskiego 4, 80-309 Gdańsk, Poland, e-mail: marcin.polom@ug.edu.pl (corresponding author) (2) Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization, Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00-818 Warszawa, Poland, e-mail: sgoliszek@twarda.pan.pl citation Połom M., Goliszek S., 2017, Transport in Poland during the period of accession to the European Union, Journal of Geography, Politics and Society, 7(3), 41–49. abstract Transportation is an important area of the economy. The transport fills a series of tasks daily functioning of the state. The pe- riod of the accession of Central and Eastern Europe countries to the European Union, including Poland is the time of intensive investments financed by structural funds. The countries of the region have gained significant resources to improve the infra- structure and operation of most types of transport modes. This article is a review and ordering information on the functioning and development of major modes of transport. It retains the traditional distinction between road, rail, inland waterways and air transport. Quoted statistics for the period 2005-2015 in order to compare changes in transport infrastructure development. Key words transport, Poland, European Union, transformation period, changes of transport modes. 42 Marcin Połom, Sławomir Goliszek a clear influence of individual transport (passen- ger cars) is visible. When excluding urban transport from the structure, the share of road transport was dominating. However, the share of railway transport also increased (mainly around agglomerations, e.g. Warsaw) during the analyzed period. Other types of transport, including maritime transport and inland waterway transport, were marginal. A significant change was observed for air transport and its share increased significantly over the period 2005–2015. The share of air transport was 15.1% in 2005 while in 2015 it was 25.7%. 2. railway transport Polish railway transport system has a historical back- ground. Due to many years of partitions in different regions of the country different railway systems (dif- ferent rail gauge) were developed. The dynamics of these systems is also differentiated. The railway systems inherited after the First World War were devastated and, what is more important, heteroge- neous. Although many years have passed, Poland is still divided into regions (eastern, north-western and southern) with more and less developed railway networks. The retrogressive development of railway trans- port observed after 1989, at times of economic and Fig. 1. The number of passenger cars per 1,000 people in 2004–2015 Source: Rocznik Statystyczny Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej, 2016; Transport, wyniki działalności w 2015, 2016. Tab. 1. Transport of passengers in 2005–2015 Specification in thous. passengers 2005 2010 2015 2005 2015 In absolute numbers In percent all passengers 5 134 809 4 883 086 4 547 157 100.0 100.0 in urban transport 4 087 879 4 045 062 3 843 415 79.5 84.5 excluding urban transport 1 046 930 838 024 703 742 20.4 15.5 100.0 100.0 Railway transport 258 110 261 314 277 321 24.7 39.4 Road transport 782 025 569 652 416 774 74.7 59.2 Maritime transport 714 671 597 0.1 0.1 Inland waterway transport 1 444 1 397 1 762 0.1 0.3 Air transport 8 504 8 273 13 486 15.1 25.7 Source: Rocznik Statystyczny Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej, 2016; Transport, wyniki działalności w 2015, 2016. Transport in Poland during the period of accession to the European Union 43 political transformation, has balanced the density of railway network in many regions. However, it was the effect of reduction in the length of railway lines in the west while there were no development pro- jects implemented in the east. Table 2 presents a de- crease in the number of active railway lines – from 20 thousand km in 2005 to more than 19 thousand km in 2015. Railway lines in Poland are managed by the PKP company Polskie Linie Kolejowe (PLK) [Polish Railway Lines] and the main operators are also Polish compa- nies – PKP Intercity and PolRegio (former PKP Prze- wozy Regionalne). In many regions local authorities have established local railway operators supple- menting agglomeration traffic. Koleje Mazowieckie, Koleje Wielkopolskie, Koleje Dolnośląskie, Koleje Fig. 2. Main railway infrastructural development projects in Poland Source: Rocznik Statystyczny Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej, 2016; Transport, wyniki działalności w 2015, 2016. Tab. 2. Railway infrastructure in the period of 2005–2015 (as at 31 XII) Specification 2005 2010 2015 Railway lines operated in km 20 253 20 228 19 231 of which standard gauge 19 843 20 089 19 231 of which electrified 11 884 11 916 11 865 of which single track 11 096 11 353 10 505 Source: Rocznik Statystyczny Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej, 2016; Transport, wyniki działalności w 2015, 2016. 44 Marcin Połom, Sławomir Goliszek Małopolskie, Koleje Śląskie and Łódzka Kolej Aglom- eracyjna consist a group of the largest such entities. In addition to passenger operators, there are numer- ous cargo operators and the national PKP Cargo is the largest of them. As it has already been mentioned the main body managing the infrastructure is PKP PLK. In order to get access to Polish railway lines a special fee for carriers has to be paid. The most important interna- tional railway lines running through Poland are: E30 (from Germany to Ukraine), E20 (from Germany to Belarus) and E65 (from ports in Gdynia and Gdańśk to the Czech Republic). Polish railway market is one of the largest in Europe. During the last few years the structure of railway services has been chang- ing. There are more than 60 cargo and more than 10 passenger operators exploiting the railway network of more than 19,2 thousand km length (Pieregud, 2014b). During the analysed period railway infrastructure was a factor negatively influencing development of transport. The expenditures on railway infrastruc- ture grew significantly, from 1 billion zloty in 2004 to 5.3 billion in 2013 and some more in the follow- ing years. However, the average speed of trains is still low. What is more, the long-lasting construction works usually discouraged potential passengers. Figure 2 presents main railway infrastructural de- velopment projects in Poland, both implemented and planned. The modernisation projects are pre- sented at the background of the existing railway infrastructure. 3. road transport 3.1. road infrastructure Road transport dominates in Poland and it is a base for the integrated transport system of our country as it fulfils the needs of more than 99% of domestic car- go and passengers transport. More than 85% of car- go is carried by trucks. Moreover, Poland is a transit Tab. 3. Road transport infrastructure between 2005–2015 (as of 31 XII) Specification 2005 2010 2015 public roads (urban and non-urban) in thous. km 381 406 420 of wich hard surface in thous. km 254 274 291 of which: improved in thous. km 227 250 268 expressways in km 258 675 1 492 motorways in km 552 857 1 559 Source: Rocznik Statystyczny Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej, 2016; Transport, wyniki działalności w 2015, 2016. Fig. 3. Changes in road infrastructure between 2004 and 2016 (as of 31 XII) Source: Own elaboration based on: GDDKiA (The General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways). Transport in Poland during the period of accession to the European Union 45 country for many carriers travelling between West- ern and Easterm Europe as well as between the sea ports in the north and the southern Poland. That is why, special attention has been paid to improving quality of public roads in Poland. Accord- ing to the report of the Supreme Audit Office (NIK) on road and railway transport published in 2005, only 8% of Polish domestic roads meet the European Union axel-load limit standards (Paprocki, 2014). In the period of 2004–2016 a considerable per- centage of EU funds was spent on improvement of Polish domestic roads quality. The total length of Polish domestic roads grew from 381 thousand km in 2005 to 420 thousand km in 2015 (Tab. 3). Motor- ways and expressways were the most important part as they are of key significance in both international and regional scales. According to the existing devel- opment plans (as at the end of 2016), the projected total length of expressways is to be approx. 7650 km and the length of motorways is to grow from 2000 km to 5650 km (Komornicki et. al., 2013). During the period of 2005–2015 the dynamics of motorways development was as follows: 552 km in 2005, 857 km in 2010 and 1559 km in 2015. Total length of express- ways was growing even faster – from 258 km in 2005 to 1492 km in 2015. Figure 3 presents changes in length of highways and expressways which took place in the period of 2004–2016. The latitudinal layout of the road system is worth mentioning as it perfectly reflects the tran- sit character of Poland. The figure for 2016 shows the actual state of construction of motorways and expressways at the background of the planned road network. Connecting voivodship cities with the capi- tal is considered a key priority. 3.2. car transport Road transport plays the most important element of the Polish transport system. This situation is clearly depicted by the number of cars registered in Poland. At the end of 2005 there were only about 17 million vehicles, including approx. 12.5 million passenger cars (Tab. 4). A dynamic growth in the number of cars observed over the next years resulted in reach- ing the level of 21 million cars in 2015. This growth is mainly the result of importing second-hand cars from Western Europe. At the same time sales of new cars have decreased. However, some legal regula- tions introduced in the following years have result- ed in a decrease in passenger cars imported from abroad. Not only the number of passenger cars has in- creased, but the number of other vehicles has also grown, i.e. buses, lorries, motorcycles and others. However, this growth in the number of vehicles is not correlated with an increase in quality of public roads. The pace of infrastructural development is not fast enough in the context of the rapidly grow- ing number of road users. The entire process affects the road congestion. A significant increase in the number of users of public roads was not associated with an increase in the number of accidents. In this aspect significantly decreased car accidents from more than 48 thous. in 2005 to less than 33 thous. in 2015. Also the number Tab. 4. Registered road vehicles and tractors in 2005–2015 (as of 31 XII), in thous. units Specification 2005 2010 2015 Total (road vehicles and tractors) 16 816 23 037 27 409 of which: passenger cars 12 339 17 240 20 723 buses 80 97 110 lorries and road tractors 2 305 2 982 3 428 ballast and agricultural tractors 1 243 1 669 1 703 motorcycles 754 1 013 1 272 Source: Rocznik Statystyczny Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej, 2016; Transport, wyniki działalności w 2015, 2016. Tab. 5. Road traffic accidents in 2005–2015 (as of 31 XII) Specification 2005 2010 2015 Road vehicles in thous. units 48 100 38 832 32 967 per 10 thous. registered motor vehicles and tractors 28.6 16.9 12.0 Road traffic casualties in units 66 635 52 859 42 716 Fatalities 5 444 3 907 2 938 Injured 61 191 48 952 39 778 Source: Rocznik Statystyczny Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej, 2016; Transport, wyniki działalności w 2015, 2016. 46 Marcin Połom, Sławomir Goliszek of casualties and victims has decreased significant- ly (Tab. 5). 3.3. urban transport Urban transport in Poland regards mainly buses and trams. The underground system operates only in Warsaw. Over the last few years the majority of struc- tural funds was granted to those cities which invest in development of public transport. Development of those transport systems has been observed, in the context of both infrastructure and fleet (Beister et al, 2015; Wolański, 2014). Table 6 presents the dynamics of changes in de- velopment of public transport lines in the period of 2005–2015, with reference to different types of ur- ban transport. Progress has been observed for all the mentioned in the table types. A significant growth in the length of tram lines is worth mentioning – from 2253 km in 2005 to 2425 km in 2015. It is a result of fulfilling the European Union recommendations on sustainable development of transport in cities. Moreover, high dynamics has been observed in rela- tion to few trolleybus networks. The length of trol- leybus lines grew from 258 km in 2005 to 387 km in 2015. Most Polish cities have urban bus systems. In 19 cities there are also other means of public transporta- tion. Since December 2015 there are 15 tram systems in Polish cities, including 10 with standard gauge and 5 with narrow gauge. Those cities are as follows: Gdańsk, Elbląg, Olsztyn, Grudziądz, Szczecin, Byd- goszcz, Toruń, Gorzów Wielkopolski, Poznań, Łódź (with neighbouring towns), Warszawa, Wrocław, Częstochowa, Katowice (with neighbouring towns) and Kraków. All the above-mentioned cities, except Gorzów Wielkopolski, have used the EU funds in or- der to modernise their tram systems. In Olsztyn an entirely new tram system was established. It is the only city in Poland where a new tram system has been created for 50 years. During the analysed period three trolleybus sys- tems were operating (in Gdynia with Sopot, Lublin and Tychy). The share of trolleybus transport in the whole urban transport system is relatively small, but locally trolleybuses play an important role. All the al- ready-mentioned cities have gained structural funds for development of trolleybus transport in the recent years, especially numerous infrastructural projects have been implemented, including construction of a new depot, development of trolleybus lines and power systems (Połom, 2015). The only one operating underground system in Poland is in Warsaw. The first part of the under- ground line began operation in 1995 and over the following years more stations were added. The first line was fully operational in 2008. In 2010 construc- tion works on the second underground line started, the first part (7 stations) was opened in 2015. 4. air transport Development of air transport in the recent years was connected with the ongoing process of the market deregulation triggered by accession to the Euro- pean Union (Hoszman, 2014). It is a means of trans- portation which developed the fastest in the period 2005–2015. In 2005 the number of passengers, both Tab. 6. Urban transport lines in km between 2005–2015 (as of 31 XII). Specification 2005 2010 2015 Ground transport 54 029 56 287 56 764 Bus 51 418 53 728 53 952 Tramway 2 253 2 254 2 425 Trolleybus 258 305 387 Metro 17 23 29 Source: Rocznik Statystyczny Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej, 2016; Transport, wyniki działalności w 2015, 2016. Tab. 7. Passenger traffic at airports in 2005-2015. Specification 2005 2010 2015 2005 2010 2015 From domestic airports To domestic airports 868 164 984 841 1 578 764 837 751 992 079 1 580 391 From foreign airports To foreign aiports 4 861 860 9 234 901 13 633 398 4 946 296 9 335 840 13 695 880 Total 5 730 024 10 219 742 15 212 162 5 784 047 10 327 919 15 276 271 Source: Rocznik Statystyczny Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej, 2016; Transport, wyniki działalności w 2015, 2016. Transport in Poland during the period of accession to the European Union 47 arriving at and departing from Polish airports, was 11.5 million while in 2015 it was slightly less than 30.5 million (Tab. 7). In Poland there is a relatively dense network of civil airports. Warszawa-Okęcie is the most impor- tant one. For many years it was the only interconti- nental airport in Poland. Regional airports have un- dergone vital changes. New runways, terminals and technical rooms have emerged. The fact that Poland was a co-organizer of the 2012 UEFA European Foot- ball Championship was an important factor contrib- uting to the air transport development (Pijet-Migoń, 2013). While preparing to this sports event four host cities have gained the necessary transport infra- structure, including modernization of the airports. Large development projects were implemented in Gdańsk, Poznań, Warsaw and Wrocław. During the analysed period, mainly thanks to the European Union, new civil airports were open in Lublin, Olsztyn and Radom (some existing infra- structure was also used) (Fig. 4). A similar project was implemented in Gdynia where the already existing military infrastructure was used. However, after fin- ishing the construction works, the European Com- mission questioned the legitimacy of such spending under the Structural Funds and ordered the airport to repay the subsidy granted what made it impos- sible to open the airport for civil traffic. The main airlines in Poland are the low-cost car- riers, especially Ryanair and Wizzair. Among the tra- ditional airlines there are Polish LOT as well as other European companies, especially Lufthansa and SAS. The main airport for LOT is Warsaw. Fig. 4. Localization of airports in 2016 (as of 31 XII) Source: own elaboration. 48 Marcin Połom, Sławomir Goliszek 5. Maritime and inland waterways transport Since Poland has an access to the Baltic Sea, it is obvious that the maritime transport shall be of key meaning. Among the main sea ports of Poland there are Szczecin, Świnoujście, Gdynia and Gdańsk. These four ports are of key importance for the state economy. Other ports like Elbląg, Darłowo Dziwnów, Kołobrzeg, Stepnica, Ustka and Hel have rather small loading berths. When considering the main sea ports a visible growth in transhipment, which reached 42% of the turnover. The period of 2010–2013 is considered to be the especially good in this context 2013 (Matczak, 2014). In 2013 the limit of 70 million tonnes for all Polish sea port was exceeded for the first time. In comparison, a year before Polish accession to the EU total amount of transhipment was almost 50 million tonnes. Beside cargo transport, there are also regular ferry connections between domestic and Scandi- navian ports. Four carriers operate on routes from Świnoujście to Ystad and Trelleborg, from Gdynia to Karlskrona and from Gdańsk to Nynäshamn, near Stockholm. Among the above-mentioned carriers there are two national ones: Polska Żegluga Bałtycka (Polferries) and Polska Żegluga Morska (Unity Line). The other two companies are private entities Stena Line and TT-Line, well-known on the European mar- ket. Development of cheap air transport in the Baltic Sea region has contributed to a decrease in the num- ber of passengers carried by sea. In 2003 there were 1.6 million of passengers while in 2005 and 2007 there were only about 1.2 million of them. Nonethe- less, an increase in ro-ro traffic contributed to stabili- zation of the situation and finally, the passenger traf- fic has increased to approx. 1.5 million in the recent years (Matczak, 2014). Inland waterways transport in the least popular means of transport in Poland mainly due to lack of properly regulated natural and artificial waterways. However, a well-developed river network creates a great possibility to develop this type of transporta- tion (2005 year: 3638 km, 2010 year: 3659, 2015 year: 3655). Inland waterways transport has been ne- glected by many years and there have not been any development projects implemented in the scope of the infrastructure. That is why, a retrogressive devel- opment of this type of transport is being observed nowadays. Most river ports are situated on the Odra River – a river being a border between Poland and Germany, which is a country investing in this type of transport. The most important river ports are Gli- wice, Kędzierzyn-Koźle and Wrocław. Fig. 5. Comparison of changes of transport modes [km] in Poland in the period of EU accession Source: Rocznik Statystyczny Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej, 2016; Transport, wyniki działalności w 2015, 2016. Transport in Poland during the period of accession to the European Union 49 6. Summary The period of Poland’s membership in the Europe- an Union is unprecedented for development of the Polish TSL sector. From 2004 to 2016 many positive quantitative, qualitative and structural changes in Polish transport system took place. Among the most significant quantitative achievements there are four that have to be mentioned: a threefold increase in road performance (Rosik, Goliszek, 2015), a 300% in- crease in passenger traffic at Polish airports, almost fivefold increase in the number of containers in in- termodal railway transport, a sixfold increase in con- tainer transhipment in the sea ports. Development of the transport infrastructure comprised construc- tion of 3 thousand km motorways and expressways, modernisation and construction of approx. 13.8 thousand of national, provincial and regional roads, modernisation of about 3 thousand km of railroads (Fig. 5), construction of three new airports and con- struction a container terminal in the sea port of Gdańsk. 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