PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe

During 2000, a substantial restructuring of Polish railways in favour of a liberalised model permission of private operators and external participate, was enacted, one result of which was the creation of PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe S.A. as Poland's new railway infrastructure manager in place of the unified Polish State Railways JSC. The approach of these reforms were largely similar to those being implemented across most of the member nations of the European Union (EU). PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe did not inherit all infrastructure-related aspects of the former Polish State Railways, those that directly dealt with construction works were intentionally kept apart, and were partially privatised as separate entities. Instead, the new infrastructure management organisation came to agreements with those contractors, as well other parties, on a competitive and fair basis in accordance with binding Public Procurement Law; the treatment of all bidder and the overall bidding procedure were monitored as a precaution against irregularities by the Polish government. As a result, many international contractors from across the EU secured work on Poland's railways over the following years.

In 2006, Poland’s Council of Ministers approved the adoption of the Infrastructure and Environment for 2007-2013 operational programme, under which PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe played a leading role in the modernisation of major portions of Poland's rail network during this timeframe. These works, costed at in excess of €36 billion and primarily funded by the European Union, sought to complete a high-speed railway network, raising the maximum speeds on several different lines to 200km/h, as well as to construct or modernise rail links to various major airports and international transport corridors.{{cite web |url = https://www.globalrailwayreview.com/article/1615/performance-of-polands-operational-programme/ |title = Performance of Poland’s operational programme |publisher = globalrailwayreview.com |date = 26 November 2007}}

During May 2010, it was announced that Bombardier Transportation had been awarded a contract to perform the first implementation of European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) Level 2 technology in Poland. This initial deployment of the new signalling system was on a section of the E30 main line between Legnica, Wegliniec, and Bielawa and initially co-existed with the traditional signalling equipment already in situ.{{cite web |url = https://www.globalrailwayreview.com/news/5410/bombardier-awarded-landmark-ertms-contract-in-poland/ |title = Bombardier awarded landmark ERTMS contract in Poland |publisher = globalrailwayreview.com |date = 14 May 2010}} Multiple follow-on contracts covering various aspects of the project and other sections of the same line was issued over the following three years.{{cite web |url = https://www.globalrailwayreview.com/news/17954/kapsch-wins-another-important-railway-communications-contract-in-poland/ |title = Kapsch wins another important railway communications contract in Poland |publisher = globalrailwayreview.com |date = 30 April 2013}}{{cite web |url = https://www.globalrailwayreview.com/news/10588/thales-signs-signaling-contracts-worth-e87-million-in-poland-to-upgrade-e30-railway-corridor/ |title = Thales signs signaling contracts worth €87 million in Poland to upgrade E30 railway corridor |publisher = globalrailwayreview.com |date = 19 September 2011}}{{cite web |url = https://www.globalrailwayreview.com/news/17024/bombardier-wins-further-order-for-ertms-technology-in-poland/ |title = Bombardier wins further order for ERTMS technology in Poland |publisher = globalrailwayreview.com |date = 18 February 2013}} During late 2015, it was announced that services using the new ETRMS section had commenced; at the time, Bombardier had a positive outlook towards delivering similar project in the country.{{cite web |url = https://www.globalrailwayreview.com/news/25588/services-begin-on-ertms-level-2-in-poland/ |title = Services begin on Poland’s completed ERTMS Level 2 |publisher = globalrailwayreview.com |first = Katie |last = Sadler |date = 7 December 2015}}

One of the benefits of the infrastructure modernisation and provision of higher line speeds was enabling PKP Intercity to launch operations of its New Pendolino high-speed trains between the Polish cities of Warsaw, Gdańsk, Wrocław, Krakow, and Katowice. Prior to the commissioning of ETCS Level 2 on the route, the maximum speed was restricted to 160km/h instead of 200km/h.{{cite web |url = https://www.globalrailwayreview.com/article/20570/poland-waiting-for-pendolino-trains/ |title = Poland: Waiting for Pendolino trains |publisher = globalrailwayreview.com |date = 4 June 2014}}{{cite web |url = http://www.rynek-kolejowy.pl/49466/bariera_300_km_h_nie_padla_na_koniec_testow_293_km_h.htm |title = Wszystko na temat branży kolejowej: PKP, Intercity, przewozy regionalne, koleje mazowieckie, rozkłady jazdy PKP, Kolej |website = Rynek-kolejowy.pl |access-date = 29 July 2018}} These trains have been certified for operation at speeds of up to 250km/h in accordance with the relevant Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSI), but such operations require suitable infrastructure to do so.{{cite web |url = https://www.railjournal.com/passenger/high-speed/polish-pendolinos-certified-for-250km-h-running/ |title = Polish Pendolinos gain 250km/h certification |publisher = International Rail Journal |date = 17 September 2014 |first = Keith |last = Barrow}} Conventional services, both passenger and freight, have also been permitted to run faster when feasible to do so; another areas of improvement is safety, which has been helped by the implementation of continuous digital communication and a reduction in grade crossings amongst other measures.{{cite web |url = https://www.globalrailwayreview.com/article/133198/modernising-polands-railways-for-all/ |title = Modernising Poland’s railways for all |publisher = globalrailwayreview.com |date = 11 April 2022}}

On 10 November 2015, the first phase of the North Sea – Baltic rail freight corridor was launched; it is intended to increase rail freight traffic between the most important North Sea ports with Central Europe and the Baltic States, with the new rail freight line interconnecting with the wider pan-European network to do so.{{cite web |url = https://www.globalrailwayreview.com/news/25377/rail-freight-corridor-north-sea-baltic-begins-operation/ |title = Rail Freight Corridor North Sea – Baltic begins operation |publisher = globalrailwayreview.com |first = Katie |last = Sadler |date = 6 November 2015}} Funding for the upgrading of Poland’s railway infrastructure along the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) North Sea–Baltic Corridor has been provided by the European Investment Bank.{{cite web |url = https://www.globalrailwayreview.com/news/18409/further-support-from-eib-for-modernisation-of-polish-railways/ |title = Further support from EIB for modernisation of Polish railways |publisher = globalrailwayreview.com |date = 3 July 2013}}{{cite web |url = https://www.globalrailwayreview.com/news/27192/eib-loan-poland-railway-infrastructure-upgrade/ |title = €250m EIB loan to finance Poland railway infrastructure upgrade |publisher = globalrailwayreview.com |first = Katie |last = Sadler |date = 22 April 2016}}

In early 2018, a five-year contract was signed between Nokia, Herkules, Pozbud, WASKO, and PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe for the deployment of a 13,800km GSM-R radio network and a 11,000km mission-critical backhaul network across Poland's railways. The scheme, which has been largely financed by the European Union alongside contributions from the Polish government, will create one of the largest modern railway communications networks and is a key component for ERTMS operations.{{cite web |url = https://www.globalrailwayreview.com/news/67925/nokia-railway-contract-polish-pkp/ |title = Nokia has won its largest-ever GSM-Railway contract with Poland’s PKP |publisher = globalrailwayreview.com |date = 3 April 2018}} Multiple contracts were also signed with Thales Group, a long term supplier of Poland's railways, around this time to design and deliver both signalling and railway traffic control systems, which includes the implementation of Level 2 European Train Control System (ETCS), upon multiple lines.{{cite web |url = https://www.globalrailwayreview.com/news/69921/thales-signalling-modernise-poland/ |title = Thales contracted to modernise 785km of Poland’s rail network |publisher = globalrailwayreview.com |date = 6 June 2018}} During April 2021, a major milestone in the project was reached with the completion of work on the E65 line between Warsaw and Gdynia, permitting the implementation of 200km/h services along it.{{cite web |url = https://www.globalrailwayreview.com/news/121437/signalling-upgrade-poland/ |title = Signalling upgrade complete for Poland high-speed rail line project |publisher = globalrailwayreview.com |date = 23 April 2021}}

Into the 2020s, PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe has continued to study opportunities for improvements, such as increasing capacity around Katowice and raising line speeds between Szczecin Główny and the Polish-German border.{{cite web |url = https://www.globalrailwayreview.com/news/99156/pkp-plk-feasibility-study-tender-katowice/ |title = PKP PLK launches feasibility study tender for Katowice |publisher = globalrailwayreview.com |date = 9 April 2020}}{{cite web |url = https://www.globalrailwayreview.com/news/136219/plk-plan-for-better-journeys-by-rail-on-szczecin-to-german-border/ |title = PLK plan for better journeys by rail on Szczecin to German border |publisher = globalrailwayreview.com |first = Elliot |last = Robinson |date = 8 August 2022}}

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