The report contains data on the entire railway market in Poland: passenger, freight and intermodal transport, infrastructure and rolling stock. A separate chapter describes activities during the European Year of Rail 2021.
In 2021 rail transport recovered after the pandemic, which was visible in different rail market parameters. In statistical terms, 2021 was better than the challenging 2020. With 245.1 m passengers carried, 2021 brought a 35.7 m increase compared to 2020. While the passengers in Poland are returning to using rail transport services, there is still a long way to return to the pre-pandemic levels, when in 2019 almost 336 m passengers travelled by train. In order to restore the pre-pandemic upward trend, rail carriers need to appeal to new customers, providing a good alternative with high-quality services, new rail connections, upgraded rolling stock and ensuring that trains run on time. The dynamically changing preferences of rail passengers can be seen in the growing popularity of mobile ticket sales channels.
In rail freight we also recorded significant increases ‒ both the weight of transported cargo and transport performance were higher than before the pandemic. Freight operators transported 243.6 m tonnes of goods ‒ over 20 m tonnes more than in 2020 and over 7 m tonnes more than in 2019. The previous year was also another year of a steady rise in intermodal transport, with the weight of transported cargo higher by 11.6% and transport performance by 4.4% than in 2020. Rail freight is still facing numerous challenges, including the limited capacity of railway lines and transhipment terminals. Without addressing these issues, it will be difficult to improve the competitive advantage of rail transport.
The annual report on rail transport market operations is prepared on the basis of data submitted to the Office of Rail Transport by rail companies (carriers, infrastructure managers etc.) and supplements and exceeds the scope of statistics, studies and other publications. The Office of Rail Transport publishes these reports annually, by 31 July, in the Public Information Bulletin. The obligation to publish the report results from Art. 15b (1) of the Railway Transport Act 2003. The Office of Rail Transport has been publishing these reports since 2011 and they are a primary source of information on rail transport market in Poland.
You can find the report here,
Detailed statistical data are available at dane.utk.gov.pl.