Poland is located on several transit routes, so it can become both the destination and an interesting point in Eastern- and Central-European travelling events. The biggest advantage of transport is the high potential and continuous development and, in the case of investments carried out in recent years, the use of modern solutions. As a result, the infrastructure of travel services often positively surprises with its quality. But the greatest weakness of all the types of Polish transport networks is their uneven distribution.



International airports


Poland has 12 international airports. However, in practice, constant connections are maintained only to 11 (Szymany airport does not have constant air traffic). Warsaw's Okęcie is the largest airport, which last year served, despite the crisis, over 8.2 million passengers. Currently, most airports are conducting intensive investments. The biggest work is carried out, among others, at the Wrocław, Cracow and Warsaw airports. As a result, in the near future a significant improvement in the quality of passenger service can be expected.


Although last year's crisis caused a decrease in the number of passengers served at most airports, the last months of the year showed that the trend has begun to reverse. Rzeszów's Airport Jasionka recorded a significant passenger growth last year. 18.58 percent more passengers departed from Rzeszów and 23.1 percent more air operations were carried out there than a year ago. This airport's good performance shows the enormous tourism potential in eastern Poland. The lack of airports in this part of the country causes that passengers are directed through the airport in Rzeszów.

The museum-boat Dar Pomorza in Gdynia  - one of the most beautiful tall ships in the world


Close to achieving positive results were two other airports: in Poznań and Bydgoszcz. In the case of the airport Poznań - Lawica, the drop in the number of passengers served amounted to just 0.57 percent, and in Bydgoszcz 0.92 percent. These are therefore airports with the greatest potential. Low-cost airlines are becoming more active at Polish airports. They introduce new connections primarily in regional airports. The most important investment in new airports in Poland is the construction of an airport in Modlin, near Warsaw. This airport is considered to be an alternative and competitive for Warsaw's Okęcie, so the cost of flying a single passenger into Warsaw should drop significantly. The completion of work is planned for the beginning of 2012.


Road transport

The road network in Poland is laid out unevenly. The density of roads in Poland is on average about 80 km for 100 km2. The largest density is in the southern and western areas, the lowest density of roads is characteristic for areas in the eastern and north-eastern part of the country, as well as in mountainous areas. Currently, almost all the major cities are well connected to the rest of the country, either by motorways or by express ways. Currently, there is a total of about 800 km of motorways in use. In the case of express ways and motorways, in spite of their still relatively short total length, they are distinguished by a very modern and functional infrastructure.


Rail transport

Poland has a good rail network, unfortunately, their technical condition is often not the best. Currently, the main carrier on the Polish railways are the Polish State Railways (Polskie Koleje Państwowe). At the same time, some routes include other carriers such as the German railways, Deutsche Bahn. PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe SA manages approximately 94% of the length of the entire network. On the Polish railway lines, there is a very big variation in maximum speed limits.


White Fleet boat on the Vistula river in Warsaw


The maximum speed is 160 km/h and is currently mandatory on the Main Railway Lines (Centralna Magistrala Kolejowa - CMK) Grodzisk Mazowiecki - Zawiercie, on the section of line no. 3 Warsaw - Kunowice - the State border, no. 2 Warsaw - Siedlce, as well as on the section Opole Zachodnie - Brzeg on line no. 132. Most lines have a maximum speed of 100 km/h (5609 km), which is 19% of all the railway lines. Trains transport a total of about 28 percent of passangers travelling in Poland. In the coming years, a complete deregulation of the railway market is planned, which will greatly improve their competitiveness.


Sea transport

The main passenger sea ports on the Polish coast are Gdynia, Gdańsk, Świnoujście and Szczecin. In addition, some smaller ports have seasonal connections to other Baltic domestic and foreign ports. The tourist attractiveness of Polish ports is confirmed by the fact that each year more and more cruise ships lay anchor at their landing pier. In 2009, cruise ships of various sizes harboured almost one hundred times in Gdynia alone. Some of them many times over. The largest of them (like the Emerald Princess) are more than 200 meters in length and take almost 5,000 passengers and crew on board. Moreover, there is a relatively well developed network of ferry services between Polish ports and the ports in Scandinavia.

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