WARSAW, Poland—Ah, the train. The old iron horse, the behemoth steel steed. It conjures up romantic images of tradition, solidity, and reliability unencumbered by the fickle vagaries of automobile travel like flat tires, detours, and whiny passengers.
But these qualities seem pretty passé. At least in Poland, where rail travel has become synonymous with derelict infrastructure, scheduling mayhem, and stranded passengers seething with rail rage.
“Do Poland’s railways know where they’re going or are they on the fast track to nowhere?”
A valid question, asked by TVN24’s news anchor introducing a recent piece on what’s been the big story here over the past couple of weeks: Poland’s rail crisis.
Just two weeks ago, the big news was that a train had derailed and ploughed into an embankment, killing one passenger and hospitalizing nearly 100 others. An investigation is underway to pinpoint the causes and apparently excessive speed was a factor, but the blogosphere is quick to lay at least some of the blame on the sad state of disrepair of Polish trains.
On a personal note, this week supplied some pyrrhic relief in the form of my having suffered “only” a three-hour train delay as Poland’s rail workers were gearing up for a 24-hour warning strike. Many travelers the following day made train stations their second homes as the nationwide work stoppage predictably proved downright paralyzing.
One passenger’s poignant sound bite, given an airing on the evening news: “It’s the 21st century, yet we’ve been reduced to vagabonds by the Polish State Rail Service.”
Of course many passengers take such mishaps in their stride, having learned to prepare for such contingencies by not making any key appointments within several hours of the expected time of arrival, just in case. But the situation has gone from bad to worse, confounding travelers, policymakers, and rail employees alike.
A few days ago an investigative reporter for TVN24 picked a train at random and went for a ride, interviewing passengers and a surprisingly forthcoming train operator, who had this to say when asked about the state of Polish rail, “We’re somewhere between Pakistan and India. Maybe a little ahead, but not much.”
Since the squeakiest wheel in Poland’s infamous infrastructural woes have been roads, they’ve also got the most grease in the form of funding—both from the national budget and from the European Union, which for a few more years still will continue to pour money into Poland in the form of the so-called structural funds. But while Polish roads look like one big construction site, Polish railroads are starting to resemble a scrap yard.
According to experts, the Polish State Rail Service is underfunded and that leads to a whole host of problems, including poorly maintained trains.
“The floor panels are fixed in place with nails, so it all moves around,” the same operator told the reporter.
Even according to statistics provided by the Polish State Rail Service itself, 26 percent of railroad tracks in the country are considered unserviceable and qualify to be replaced immediately.
At what price such a luxury?
According to the Wojciech Smiech, the editor of Rynek Kolejowy magazine (Rail Market magazine), it would take around $15 billion to bring all of Poland’s train tracks back to a state of serviceability. To put that into perspective, this year’s entire rail budget is less than $2 billion.
A daunting prospect, particularly if you consider the threat of a longer warning strike next week (48 hours) since rail workers didn’t reach a wage deal after last week’s strike.
A line from hit song from the ’70s by Polish pop icon Maryla Rodowicz comes to mind: “Wsiasc do pociagu, byle jakiego, nie dbac o bagaz, nie dbac o billet…” (Get on a train, don’t matter which one, don’t worry about your luggage, don’t worry about your ticket…). Perhaps if the current trend in Polish rail doesn’t turn around, passengers might as well take her advice and not bother which train they board, as it won’t get them where they’re going just the same as any other.
