The methodology and preliminary solutions used in the Horizontal Timetable are inspired by methods adopted in many countries such as Switzerland, Czechia, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Spain and Italy.  

The Horizontal Timetable not only incorporates best practices but also draws lessons from observed challenges, while taking into account the Polish specifics. These include economic development, settlement patterns, population forecasts, and the way the Polish rail market is organized. 

Czechia 

The Czech Ministry of Transport, along with the infrastructure manager Správa železnic, have developed a long-term plan for the railway network up to 2050. This plan includes new high-speed rail lines serving as the country’s new transport backbone and specifies train frequencies, stop patterns, train categories, and maximum speeds. 

What inspires the Horizontal Timetable to draw from Chechia?  

• The Czech Republic is an example of a country that, like Poland, plans significant changes to the structure of its rail transport network due to the construction of high-speed rail lines. It also has experience with timetable integration based on clock-face schedules and train connections 

• In the Czech Republic commercial services on several transport corridors have been introduced under the open access model (market competition). Besides the obvious benefits for passengers (more service options, reduced ticket prices), some less apparent issues have also been observed, such as inefficient use of capacity, which, among other things, adversely affects the freight traffic 

Germany 

The DeutschlandTakt project in Germany is an integrated timetable concept coordinated across the entire country. It aims to develop the final timetable forregional and long-distance passenger rail transport by 2030. The target timetable envisions a half-hourly frequency for the most important long-distance trains. The DeutschlandTakt concept also aims to double the number of passengers in both regional and long-distance trains. 

What inspires the Horizontal Timetable to draw from Germany? 

• DeutschlandTakt emphasizes designing infrastructure to meet timetable requirements, not the other way around 

• It involves a list of necessary infrastructure investment projects to achieve the proposed goals, potentially optimizing infrastructure usage and doubling passenger volumes 

• Criticisms include the excessive pressure to align regional and long-distance services and unrealistic implementation timelines. 

Switzerland 

Switzerland has been perfecting its integrated timetable for many years. The ongoing work is part of the STEP 2035 program. The project products are network schemes that include railway nodes as well as the Swiss netgraphs illustrating layout of train routes across the country in a reference hour, repeated throughout the day. 

What inspires the Horizontal Timetable to draw from Switzerland? 

• Switzerland’s integrated and cyclical timetable is often cited as a model for better organization of the timetable, increased frequency, and easier transfers 

• However, the Swiss railway network is on the verge of reaching its capacity limits. Adding new connections (increasing frequency) is difficult, and rigid assumptions about train connections hinder the efficient maximization of infrastructure capacity 

• On the other hand, the lesson that might be drawn here is about the balance between frequency and connectivity – with sufficiently high service frequency, it might not be necessary to optimize connections, which has been the traditional approach for the Swiss timetable 

An integrated and periodic timetable is often cited as a model for Poland to follow. However, Switzerland’s specific conditions do not match those in Poland—both in terms of the size and settlement networks in each country, as well as market operations (Switzerland does not implement the assumptions of the Fourth Railway Package on market opening and liberalization). 

COUNTRIES WITHOUT HORIZONTAL TIMETABLE EQUIVALENTS 

Given the unique characteristics of Germany (a highly congested network with a substantial amount of mixed traffic), the Czech Republic, Switzerland, and Austria (countries with much smaller areas and limited high-speed rail networks), the Horizontal Timetable must not restrict its inspirations solely to these countries. Consequently, solutions from other European countries that are actively striving to boost passenger rail transport volumes and have various similarities to Poland are also being considered. 

Spain 

Spain, a European leader in the size of its high-speed rail network, offers an insightful case, particularly in terms of market liberalization. Since opening its high-speed rail market to competition in 2020 and the subsequent entry of new train operators such as Ouigo and Iryo in 2021, Spain has experienced dramatic increases in passenger volumes. 

What inspires the Horizontal Timetable to draw from Spain? 

• Spain is the first EU country where already three train operators compete on the high-speed railway network. 

• The Spanish liberalization model involves pre-defined train routes put out to tender, with long-term framework agreements between infrastructure managers and train operators. 

• The model includes synergistic trains, where commercial trains offer some seats at subsidised rates under a public service contract (PSC) scheme, optimizing operational efficiency and reducing costs. 

Italy 

Italy is an example of a spectacular transformation in the railway market achieved in a relatively short time. At the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, the country faced significant stagnation in rail transport. However, with the completion of a new transport framework in the early 2010s and the opening of the long-distance rail market to competition, marked by the launch of services by Italo, Italy managed to completely revamp its long-distance rail image within a decade, making it the preferred mode of long-distance travel. By 2019, the nationwide operational work increased by 21% compared to 2010, with long-distance connections seeing a remarkable 51% increase. 

What inspires the Horizontal Timetable to draw from Italy? 

• Italy demonstrated how competition between Trenitalia and Italo, supported by policies reducing access fees on high-speed lines, can benefit all market participants, consequently offsetting other costs incurred by train operators, such as acquiring rolling stock 

• The expansion of infrastructure, which boosted the capacity of the rail network, created the conditions needed for the long-awaited growth of regional connections. 

• The Italian experience shows that well-managed competition can lead to improved service quality and passenger benefits.