Why this is important to Wisconsin businesses: Major projects would expand and upgrade the capacity of the rail network, offering opportunities for Wisconsin companies that provide products for that sector.
Poland is embarking on the next phase of a major overhaul to its rail system.
Between 2021 and 2030, the National Railway Program plans more than 230 infrastructure projects at a combined cost of $18.7 billion, according to the U.S. Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration (ITA). Nearly 5,600 miles of railroad track will be upgraded when the project is complete.
Cargo routes linking southern Poland to ports in the northern part of the country are a key priority, as well as upgrading rail lines to carry higher-speed trains, the January 2024 ITA report said. Polish cargo trains currently run at less than half the average speed of European Union (EU) countries and that’s hampering intermodal transportation.
One of the key projects is construction of the Solidarity Transport Hub, which involves building a new airport, 25 miles southwest of Warsaw, modernizing nearly 1,500 miles of existing rail lines, and constructing more than 1,000 miles of new, high-speed railroad track that will connect to the airport.
The airport will be a hub for Poland’s LOT Airlines. One of the 10 rail corridors for the project will extend to Frankfurt, Germany.
With a price tag of $8.9 billion, the Solidarity Transport Hub is the most expensive rail construction project that broke ground in 2023, worldwide, according to the Railway Technology industry news site.
Poland currently has 12,000 miles of railroad tracks. A series of improvements began over the past decade. The EU has already spent more than $10 billion for the modernization of the Polish railway system—in part, to shift some freight transports from roads to rail in order to improve air quality and safety.
