Jakub Taczanowski

Transport activities are a significant factor in environmental pollution, especially in cities. Therefore, measures aimed at electrification of public transport are particularly important. The aim of the paper is to present the origins, status and development dynamics of electromobility in Polish cities, especially the second generation of electromobility, i.e. vehicles that do not require continuous connection to the energy source. In practice the second-generation electric vehicles can be identified with battery-powered vehicles, hydrogen and hybrid vehicles. The study was prepared on the basis of an analysis of literature, industry documents or development strategies. In addition, a database of information on zero- and low-emission vehicles in public transport (i.e. electric and hybrid buses) was compiled to analyse the phenomenon. The study shows that the implementation of electromobility in Poland has already emerged from the initial phase. The possibilities for developing battery technology vary in cities of different sizes. In 2021 in Poland, the share of low-emission buses in the public transport fleet was several times higher than that of electric vehicles among passenger vehicles. It is most likely that the Polish road to electromobility leads primarily through public transport. The following factors influencing the development of electromobility were identified: these were primarily EU and Polish legislation and regulations, the presence of manufacturers of rolling stock and electrotechnical equipment, and – at the local scale – organisational, economic and social issues.

The aim of the paper has been to assess the transport system of the commune (Polish: gmina) of Konopiska (Śląskie voivodeship, southern Poland). As the area which has been analysed is located in the metropolitan area of the city of Częstochowa increasing suburbanization processes can be observed there. They result in constant increase in the number of inhabitants of the commune which is a challenge for its transport system. That is why the road network and public transport system in particular should be modernised and developed. Apart from the main line from Konopiska village to the city of Częstochowa the existing bus network is not well developed and does not provide an attractive alternative to private car. The solutions suggested by the authors of the present article include the development of the bus system with lines also connecting periphery villages and bus stop modification in order to increase the accessibility to public transport. Another proposal  is a new bus line to the nearest railway station

The aim of the article is to answer the question about the results of EU funds which have been allocated to municipal rail-bound transport in Poland – trams, underground and suburban railways – between 2007 and 2013. In this period over 3,000 transport projects of the total value of 187, 5 billion zlotys were executed, of which 21% were absorbed by rail and almost 12% by municipal transport. Warsaw is the undoubted leader in European transport grants absorption in Poland, mainly due to the construction of the second underground line but also because of large scale tram system modernisation programme. Warsaw stands out as having the highest transport project value per capita as well. Other Polish cities which can be described as leaders are the Tricity with its Pomeranian Metropolitan Railway – the largest Polish rail investment over the last 25 years and Olsztyn – the first Central-Eastern European city which have reintroduced tram network. However, almost all Polish cities which have a municipal rail-bound transport system have made use of the opportunity connected with EU grants. The only exception is Gorzów Wielkopolski. It is to be hoped that these vast investments aid Polish cities in maintaining if not increasing the role of municipal transport.

Italy, characterised by a very well developed polycentric urban network and being among the most motorised countries in Europe, has a very high potential for the development of new light rail systems. Although tram networks have never been completely dismantled there, the vast majority of them was closed after the Second World War. In 2003, the construction of new tram systems began. To date, eight networks have been built: in Bergamo, Cagliari, Florence, Messina, Padua, Palermo, Sassari and Venice with a total length of 101.8 km. The networks are rather short – only the systems in Venice, Palermo and Florence have more than 15 km of track. Both classic and fast tram as well as tram-train lines were built. Due to their rather short length and limited service of city centres, their impact on urban transport is mostly moderate. It should be stressed, however, that especially lines with a well-chosen route, connecting the city with satellite centres or crossing the entire city with a passage through the centre, are undoubtedly successful, attracting millions of passengers a year who used to use individual transport which results in an unquestionable benefit for the environment and traffic safety. Also the important role of new tram systems as catalysers of urban regeneration should be highlighted. It applies in particular to public spaces that are being given back to pedestrians and cyclists. Italy’s new tram systems are still in their infancy, so it is too early to evaluate their wider impact on modal share and motorisation rates across the city, let alone in the country. Nevertheless, the considerable potential of Italian cities for the further development of light rail systems is demonstrated by ambitious expansion plans for most existing networks, as well as the intention to implement completely new systems.

The purpose of the article is to characterise the possibilities of introducing and developing of urban rail-based transport in Poland. This problem is related to the question whether in order to improve public transport in cities which already have a rail-based (or any electric) transport system, its development should be considered, while in the case of cities without such a transport there is the question if introducing a new means of public rail-based transport is an appropriate solution. In order to answer these dilemmas in the first stage of the present article, new rail-based urban transport systems which have been introduced in European cities in the last decade are characterised, while in the second stage the possibilities of introducing of such means of transport in Polish cities are analysed. The research results demonstrate that rail-based transport may be a proper solution to transport problems of cities, although the possibilities of its development in Polish cities vary depending on many demographic, economic, spatial and political factors. In the largest Polish cities which can be described as metropolises the question is: what sort of rail transport system should to developed ?, in medium-sized towns, however, the challenge is rather to maintain the existing networks. The legitimacy of the implementation of new rail-based urban transport systems depends on the coordination of the activities of many institutions at various levels and from support at the national and European level.

The aim of the article is to determine the influence of the transformation of Polish railways on the functioning of regional railways in the country and on their role in transport systems of the selected voivodeships. The rail reforms launched at the end of the 20th century which derived mainly from EU regulations resulted inter alia in the transfer of responsibility for regional rail transport to regional governments and in the long run they induced large scale changes in the ownership. The paper analyses the changes in the regional railway services of four selected voivodeships: Dolnośląskie, Kujawsko-pomorskie, Małopolskie and Podlaskie between 2005 and 2017. For the chosen voivodeships the authors analysed the number of open railway stations and stops of regional trains on them itemising the number of direct trains to the capital of the region and to the capitals of the neighbouring regions. The result of the survey is that the organisational and ownership transformations of Polish railways have caused fundamental changes in the functioning of regional railways in the country. Diverse trends in railway development can be observed in several voivodeships which results in increasing spatial differences in regional railway functioning over Polish regions. There are many factors which influence increase or decrease in the role of rail in regional transport systems. One of the most important of them are railway subvention levels and the general interest of regional governments for railway transport the reflection of which are initiatives aimed at improving the situation of the railways. Creating the own regional government-owned railway companies as well as opening the market for external railway carriers is certainly an important but not sole factor of this improvement.

The purpose of the paper is to attempt to show that tram transportation fulfills the postulates of sustainable transportation to a greater extent than other means of municipal transportation. Its potential is connected with its small impact on the natural environment, high accessibility also for passengers with limited mobility and – last but not least – the opportunity to create urban space.

The paper analyzes tram investment completed after the year 2000 in two cities that already had this means of municipal transportation – the Polish city of Kraków and the Aystrian city of Linz – as well as two tram networks constructed from scratch, located in the Italian city of Florence and the French city of Nice. The first two cities have built several new tram lines, mainly connecting housing estates with city centers. In both cases, tunnel sections under a main railway station had to be opened. The latter two cities, by contrast, are examples of a return of trams to the streets from which they were removed in the 1950s.

These major investments show that the advantages of trams – especially in the context of their considerably smaller negative environmental impact and overall greater effectiveness compared with buses – are quite well known today to decision makers in different parts of Europe. However, knowledge on the opportunities that trams provide in order to help create urban space seems to be less widespread. What is more, the potential of trams to help create a sustainable municipal transportation system is not fully realized either. This fact applies in particular to Kraków where investment in the tram system is realized together with a large scale extension of the city’s road network. However, even the new tram systems of Florence and Nice do not seem to utilize all the opportunities that municipal tram transportation yields to help create a really sustainable transportation system in a so-called sustainable city.

The objective of the article is to present the influence of COVID-19 on international and long distance passenger rail transport in Italy and Poland. Despite differences in the development of the pandemic the decision to put limits on long-distance rail services was taken in both countries at the very same time. On 23 March 2020 the last large-scale cancellations so far were introduced both in Italy and Poland. The entire rail transport in the two countries has been stopped to a very large extent. The only remaining international trains in Italy and Poland are cross-border regional trains operated by some railway companies from the neighbouring countries – France and Switzerland in the case of Italy and Germany in the case of Poland. As far as long-distance rail traffic is concerned, in Italy over 90% of all trains of this kind have been cancelled whereas in Poland the figure is 43%. A similar characteristic is the fact that almost all prestigious high speed trains have been cancelled. This is probably connected with the fact that their main target are business trips which in the time of pandemic have come almost to a complete stop.

The aim of the paper is to compare the scale of regional train cancellation in Italy and Poland in the aftermath of COVID-19 pandemic and to answer the question whether different approaches to public transport limitation can be observed at national and regional scales in different European countries. The article is a preliminary study and as such contains the first observations and initial conclusions. From the analysis it results that the influence of COVID-19 on regional railway transport in both Italy and Poland is strong but much different. In Italy the scale of cancellation is generally larger and so are the differences between the regions. In both analysed countries the lines which have turned out to be mostly affected by suspension are urban and suburban connections with dense train traffic. It would seem that in Italy exactly as in Poland the train cancellations are more the result of the character of the operated rail system, the different approaches to regional rail transport and of the tendency to cut costs than of the actual epidemic situation in the regions.