The Horizontal Timetable aims to facilitate the liberalization of the rail passenger transport market as part of the EU’s Fourth Railway Package implementation in Poland. This not only entails selecting operators through tenders for routes operated under public service obligations (PSO) but also encouraging competition among train operators within the same transport corridor. 

The Horizontal Timetable, as an all-encompassing solution for the entire railway infrastructure and its services, will also set the conditions for the commercial operation of the most profitable routes, including high-speed lines. In practice, these services will be conducted on routes predefined by the infrastructure manager and allocated through an open, non-discriminatory, and competitive process. The assumptions for these predefined routes and the market conditions for commercial services will be discussed with potential train operators, ensuring the development of solutions that are appealing and acceptable to all stakeholders, including the operators. 

Where there is commercial potential, there should be enough predefined train routes to enable at least two operators to offer services, and for the most attractive corridors, even three. This would foster real competition for passengers on these routes, resulting in lower ticket prices and higher service quality. Additionally, the mechanism of predefined train routes, along with contractual conditions for their availability, would ensure oversight by the Minister of Transport. These conditions could include the desired number of trains per day or their frequency, the necessity to serve off-peak connections, and the requirement to service specific commercial points with lower commercial potential but significant for the overall consistency of the offer.