Jakub Taczanowski

The Effects of Liberalisation of the Passenger Railway Market on the Situation of Regional Rail Connections in Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria

Abstract Liberalisation of railway market can be an important instrument for increasing the attractiveness of local rail services and consequently for making the railways more competitive with other means of transport, which could result in changing the modal share in the favour of railways. The differences in the railway liberalisation level as well as in the policies towards rail transport between Central and Eastern European countries are vast, hence the present situation and the future prospects of regional services are diverse. Whereas there is only one railway line in Slovakia which is not operated by the state railway company ZSSK, a few private local connections which complement a very dense network of ČD state railways are in service in the Czech Republic. Poland, by contrast, is a country where liberalisation of railway market is most advanced as several different companies are responsible for transport in the regions. However, the results of this large scale liberalisation are ambiguous as the positive effects (reopening of some lines) are balanced by isolation of the new regional government-owned systems from each other. In Austria, by contrast, the existence of several private and regional government-owned local railways which are an indispensable part of the regional transport networks has contributed to maintain an effective transport system. Although the effects of liberalisation on the local railway networks can often be ambiguous, several cases from the Czech Republic, Austria and Poland show that privatisation and municipalisation may have a positive effect on the railway service as it has enabled to maintain the service on many sections which were at risk of closure. However, the most important condition of the effective transport development seems to be an active cooperation between the railway operators and the local governments as an expression of appropriate transport policy.

A comparative study of local railway networks in Poland and the Czech Republic

Abstract Despite similar economic and legal conditions in Poland and the Czech Republic, the situation of local railway lines in each of these neighbouring countries is completely different. In Poland more than 90% of third-category and over 44% of second-category lines were closed down between 1989 and 2011, whereas the Czech Republic did away with only 14% of its regional lines during the same period. This means that two decades of transformation processes in Poland have resulted in a massive decline in the importance of the regional railway network, which is one of the most important symptoms of a rapid decline in the role of the railway transport system as a whole. By contrast, the Czech Republic still has one of the densest railway networks in Europe, thanks to the vital role of its local lines. The main reasons for this big difference between the two countries - and for the very minor importance of the regional railway service in Poland - are the lack of a realistic transport policy at the state level and the badly conducted restructuring of the national PKP railway company (PKP - Polskie Koleje Państwowe, Polish State Railways). Other reasons are the poor state of the railway infrastructure and also factors connected with the structure of settlement, as well as the historical development of the railways in certain parts of the country. These factors have merely reinforced an already vast bureaucracy and aggravated the wastage for which the PKP was known during the communist period. The main question that arises concerning the future is whether decision-makers in Poland at both national and regional levels - as well as those in the railway companies themselves - will be able to follow the Czech example, as this would appear to be the best solution for the greatest crisis the Polish railway system has seen in decades.

The development of low-emission public urban transport in Poland

Abstract The aim of the paper is to identify the main factors and mechanisms behind the development of low-emission public transport vehicles in Polish cities. This innovation is primarily connected with growing environmental requirements for transport, with the EU environmental and transport policies being the key factors. However, strategies of local governments and municipal transport companies as well as the organization of urban transport - which differs significantly between cities - also play an important role. Three basic types of approach towards low-emission buses can be observed in Polish cities: tests of electric and hybrid vehicles, purchases of small quantities of buses in order to implement new solutions, and finally attempts to replace the majority or even the entire transport fleet with low-emission vehicles. It should be emphasised that an important element which affects the development of low emission public urban transport in Poland is the fact that the country has become one of the main bus producers in Europe - a fact which is a result of both large-scale foreign investments and the success of Polish manufacturers.

European semi-periphery under environmental pressure: the case of urban public bus transportation and private bus-makers in Poland

The authors explore the factors shaping the adoption of low-emission vehicles in urban public transportation in Poland. The country has leapfrogged to a position among European leaders in the manufacturing of hybrid and electric buses within 20 years due to foreign investors (Volvo) and domestic enterprises (Solaris). At the same time, the adoption of new powertrain technologies in urban public transportation has lagged behind Western Europe. Contrary to the hypothesis there is no hierarchical diffusion of hybrid and electric vehicles from major cities to medium-sized and smaller towns in Poland. EU regulations provide a general legal framework for environmentally-friendly public transportation; however, they do not determine the adoption rates of particular low-emissions technologies. The actual pattern of use of hybrid and electric vehicles in urban public transportation in Poland seems to depend on local factors in the main, including institutional arrangements, social and personal characteristics.

Connecting airports with cities. Perspectives of air-rail links development in central Europe

Air travel has increased rapidly in Central Europe in the first decade of the 21st century thanks to the admission of Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia to the European Union and the liberalization of their air travel market. Rapid increase in th