The information presented here pertains to the working version of the Horizontal Timetable as of 16 July 2024. Due to ongoing project work and the planned consultation process, the adopted solutions will undergo further modifications. This working version is provided to ensure a transparent process for the development of the Horizontal Timetable. The current list of commercial stops does not represent a commitment by the Minister responsible for transport to serve these locations but rather acts as a starting point for planned consultations. More information about the consultation process can be found in the “Consultation Plan” section.

For the 2034/2035 Horizontal Timetable and its associated network of commercial stops, the accessibility of the long-distance rail system from and to county towns has been assessed. This assessment includes stops made by Intercity trains (KDP and Ex) and InterRegio trains (P), organised by the relevant transport minister. Cities serving as county seats were used as reference points, assuming they are the primary urban centres within each county area.

For the purposes of the analysis, counties were classified based on whether access to the system is available:

• In the county seat city (direct access)

• Within the county area but outside the county seat city

• Outside the county area

However, this classification is insufficient. The distance from the county seat to the long-distance train stop is also crucial. There are instances where the distance is short even though the station is outside the county (e.g., Chełmno County and Terespol Pomorski station), and cases where the distance is long despite the station being within the county (e.g., Węgrów County and Łochów station). Therefore, when access was available outside the county seat, additional classification criteria were used, including:

• Travel time to a station offering long-distance connections – a threshold of 30 minutes was adopted (based on publicly available mapping services)

• Access via regional rail or road

All 314 land counties and 66 cities with county rights, 380 in total, were considered.

The analysis indicates that, according to the currently accepted solutions for the 2035 horizon:

• 248 counties have direct access to long-distance trains in the city serving as the county seat

• 91 counties have access to long-distance trains from their administrative centre via regional trains, of which:

• • 36 counties within 30 minutes (7 within their area, 29 outside their area)

• • 55 counties in more than 30 minutes (outside their area)

• 41 counties have access to long-distance trains from their administrative centre via road, of which:

• • 23 counties within 30 minutes (9 within their area, 14 outside their area)

• • 18 counties in more than 30 minutes (outside their area)

Among the 41 county centres with access to the system solely by road are Piekary Śląskie and Siemianowice Śląskie, which are part of the Upper Silesian-Zagłębie Metropolis, a compact urban area. Therefore, the remaining 39 county centres represent the minimum set for which the need to organise bus connections to integrate them into the national long-distance rail system has been preliminarily assessed. The division of responsibility for these feeder connections between the relevant transport minister and other transport authorities will be addressed during the planned consultation process.

Table 1. List of counties where preliminary justification has been established for organizing bus feeder services to integrate them into the national long-distance rail network

Among the 91 counties with access to the system from their administrative centre via regional train, there are 7 cities with county rights (miasto na prawach powiatu in Polish) and 84 land counties (powiat ziemski in Polish). The division of responsibility for feeder services between the Ministry of Infrastructure and other transport authorities will be determined during the planned consultation process.

Table 2. List of counties with access to long-distance trains from their administrative centre via regional train

The remaining 248 counties have direct access to the long-distance trains from the county administrative.

Table 3. List of counties with direct access to the long-distance trains from the county administrative centre