Passenger and freight transportation by rail in Poland

Passenger and freight transportation by rail in Poland continues to demonstrate diverse dynamics, as confirmed by data from the Office of Rail Transport (UTK) for 2023, this is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

Passenger trips reached a historic peak, exceeding 374.4 million people, which is 9.4% higher than the previous year.

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Of particular note is the 8.8% increase in passenger turnover, reaching 25.9 billion passenger-kilometers.

Meanwhile, although the average trip distance decreased slightly to 69.1 km, it indicates the consistent popularity of rail transport among passengers.

Unlike passenger transport, the volume of freight transport in 2023 decreased by 6.8%, reaching 231.7 million tons.

The main reasons for this decrease are related to the reduction in fuel transport, especially coal, as well as steel industry products.

Despite this, freight turnover, though second highest in the last decade, decreased by 1.4%, amounting to 61.6 billion tonne-kilometers.

The reduction in train mileage by 2.7 million train-km (or 3.1%) to 84.4 million train-km also reflects this trend.

This may be due to route optimization and reduction of inefficient transport.

The average distance for transporting 1 ton of cargo, which exceeded 266 km, shows an increase in the efficiency of freight transport.

Overall, despite some challenges such as the reduction in freight transport, Poland’s rail sector continues to demonstrate stability and growth in passenger transport, underscoring the importance of investment and development in this industry for the country’s economy.

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