Polish Regional and Long-Distance Railway Transport During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to present the changes that took place on the market of passenger transport by rail in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2. Particular attention has been paid to the railway passenger transport in Poland. Two segments of this transport sector are presented: regional (represented by the POLREGIO company) and long-distance (represented by the PKP Intercity company). An analysis of the available data shows that irrespective of the segment, the year 2020 was characterized by significant reductions in terms of transport, which reached the lowest volumes in April and May, and the financial results of PKP Intercity were worse than in previous years; however, the share of POLREGIO in the market of passenger transport by rail increased. For the purpose of the article, literature and other available sources have been researched and analytical and synthetic methods have been applied. In addition to text, drawings are included. Keywords: railways, regional railway transport, long-distance railway transport, COVID-19

Reduction of Power Consumption and CO2 Emissions as a Result of Putting into Service High-Speed Trains: Polish Case

“…These reductions in the following years depended mainly on the number of kilometers traveled, resulting from infrastructural upgrade works. The significant decrease in carbon dioxide emissions observed in 2020, shown in Figures 16 and 17, is due to restrictions on the operation of trains during the most severe period of COVID-19 crisis [56]. Total CO 2 reductions over the five-year period was 95,212 tons, and the total EU ETS cost savings amounted to EUR 1,282,913.…”

“…The passenger compartments, the driver's cab and the train manager's compartment, are equipped with carefully designed furnishings to ensure maximum ergonomics in operation. During the period of validity of the EIP offer, changes in their operation were sometimes introduced to the timetable due to planned modernization works: The most significant change in the operation of EIP trains was in March 2020 when, due to COVID-19 developments, the operation of these trains was suspended [56].…”