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1 Poland

1.1 Introduction

This Country Summary for Poland has been produced as part of the Task 5 of the ‘Ex Post

Evaluation of Cohesion Policy Interventions 2000-2006 by the Cohesion Fund (including

former ISPA)’. The objective of this task is to assess the contribution of the Cohesion Fund

and ISPA during the period 2000-2006 to the development of the Trans-European Transport

Network (TEN-T) and the pan-European Transport Corridors, in terms of network completion.

The purpose of this summary is to present data on the ISPA/Cohesion Fund projects

completed in Poland, in relation to the national sections of the TEN-T network. Whilst there is

a brief consideration of the contribution of these projects towards policy objectives, the

detailed evaluation of the impact of ISPA/Cohesion Fund interventions within Member States

is addressed in a Summary Report produced as part of this task.

1.2 Background Information

This section provides an overview of the transport situation in Poland during the period 2000

to 2006, including data on the existing national networks and the TEN-T.

Pan European Transport Corridors

Four Pan-European corridors cross Poland, namely:

• Corridor I (North-South) Helsinki-Tallinn-Riga-Kaunas and Klaipėda-Warsaw and

Gdansk

• Corridor II (East-West) Berlin-Poznań-Warsaw-Brest-Minsk-Smolensk-Moscow-Nizhny

Novgorod

• Corridor III Brussels-Aachen-Cologne-Dresden-Wroclaw-Katowice-Kraków-Lviv-Kiev

• Corridor VI (North-South) Gdansk-Katowice-Źilina, with a western branch Katowice-Brno

TEN-T Priority Projects Of the 30 TEN-T priority projects established during the 2000 to 2006 programming period,

one falls within Poland:

27. Rail Baltica’ axis Warsaw-Kaunas-Riga-Tallinn-Helsinki

The pan-European Corridors, TEN-T network and priority projects within Poland are shown in

Figure 1.

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Road

When Poland joined the EU it possessed an underdeveloped road network which was of a

poor standard and lacked the necessary infrastructure to serve the major cities and industrial

areas1. The deficient nature of many of the roads, compounded by extremely high accident

rates, presented massive challenges for the national government, as acknowledged in the

transport strategies and programmes (see Section 1.3). The poor condition of the Polish road

network was recognised as having a detrimental effect on Poland’s economy by inhibiting

trade with neighbouring countries and by causing unequal development of its regions2.

Table 1 contains details of the Polish road network, including the extent of the TEN-T within

the country. These figures illustrate the size of the national road network, in terms of its

kilometerage, as well as the clear growth of the motorways within the country between 2000

and 2008.

Table 1 – Road Network

Road Unit 2000 2008

Road Network Density m/km2 1,192 1,225.9

Length of Road Network Km 372,725 383,313

Length of Motorways Km 358 765

Length of TEN-T Network Km 4,868.99 (2003)* 4,808.2

Source: Eurostat * 2003 -First available year for complete TEN-T network values.

Some uncertainties over the accuracy of the 2003 and 2008 TEN-T values

Rail The rail network in Poland during the period 2000 to 2006 displayed many of the same

problems as the national roads in terms of lack of investment, sub-standard infrastructure and

poor levels of service. Upon accession, the urgent need to modernise the rail network3 rapidly

became apparent, and presented a big challenge for the national government. Technical

deficiencies and the lack of modern infrastructure reduced the operational speeds on the

railways resulting in low competitiveness and service quality. In terms of regional differences

in the rail network, the northern regions along the Baltic have a higher level of rail accessibility

1 Ex Post Evaluation of Cohesion Policy Programmes 2000-2006: Work Package 5A - First Intermediate Report. Steer Davis Gleave, August 2009 2 ‘En-route for Growth’ available at: http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/projects 3 The European Structural Funds 2004-2006: Fact Sheet – Poland. Available at http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy

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than the regions in the south; with those areas along the Czech, Slovak, and Ukrainian

borders having particularly poor rail accessibility, including poor cross border connections4.

Table 2 shows the density and length of the national rail network and the extent of the TEN-T

within Poland. As can be seen, there has been a decrease in the total length of the railways

between 2000 and 2008 which is related to the modernisation and rationalisation of the

existing network.

Table 2 – Rail Network

Rail Unit 2000 2008

Rail Network Density m/km2 134.2 121.79

Length of Railway Network Km 41,960 38,081

Length of TEN-T Km 5,186.91 (2003)* 5,545.9

Source: Eurostat *2003 -First available year for complete TEN-T network values.

Some uncertainties over the accuracy of the 2003 and 2008 TEN-T values

1.3 National Strategies

The National Development Plan (NDP) 2004-2006 for Poland was prepared to assist with

Poland’s accession to the EU and focused on the development of a competitive economy,

employment growth and improvement of social, economic and spatial cohesion’5.

In terms of the Cohesion Fund, the main objective of the transport investment in Poland

between 2004 and 2006 was also centred on increasing the economic competitiveness of the

country and fostering greater social and territorial cohesion6. The Framework Reference

Document for Cohesion Fund set out the strategy for implementing the Cohesion Fund in

Poland between during this period and included the following transport priorities7:

• Modernisation of the TEN-T railway lines

• Motorway construction

• Expressway construction

• Reconstruction of national roads

4 Study on Strategic Evaluation on Transport Investment Priorities under Structural and Cohesion funds – Country Report Poland. ECORYS Nederland BV, November 2006 5 National Development Plan 2004-2006. Council of Ministries, January 2003 6 Ex Post Evaluation of Cohesion Policy Interventions 200-2006 by the Cohesion Fund (including former ISPA): First Interim Report – Annex 1. RGL/AECOM, January 2010 7 Ex Post Evaluation of Cohesion Policy Programmes 2000-2006: Work Package 5A - First Intermediate Report. Steer Davis Gleave, August 2009

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The Sectoral Operational Programme Transport (SOPT) for the period 2004 to 2006 set out

the framework for transport investment in Poland, including the European Regional

Development Fund (ERDF) and the Cohesion Fund. The areas which were targeted for

funding via the Cohesion Fund mirrored those listed above, prioritising rail modernisation, and

road construction and reconstruction.

1.4 Projects in Poland

This section presents the data which relates to the TEN-T network in Poland and the projects

financed between 2000 and 2006.

Projects Financed The following tables show the completed road and rail projects financed by the Cohesion

Fund/ISPA in Poland during the period 2000 to 2006.

Table 3 – Road Projects Financed by Cohesion Fund/ISPA

Source: EC Project Data

Table 3 shows that, of the nine projects which were completed between 2000 and 2006, four

involved road construction, whilst the remaining five were classified as reconstruction and

rehabilitation. All of these projects were located on the TEN-T network and are listed below:

2000PL16PPT001 Construction of A4 motorway section KA4E Klcezczow-Sosnica 2000PL16PPT004 National road No.717 Reinforcement of the surface pavement of the section Sochaczew-Grojec 2000PL16PPT005 Construction of expressway Bielsko Biala-Skoczow-Cieszyn, 2000PL16PPT007 Pavement strengthening of the National Road no.7 Gdansk- Warszawa-Chyzne section from Gdansk to Jazowa 2000PL16PPT008 Pavement strengthening of state road No.4 Krakow-Tarnow- Rzeszow-Korczowa to carry traffic of 115kN/axle 2001PL16PPT009 Reconstruction of A4 Expressway, section Krzywa-Wroclaw 2002PL16PPT018 Upgrading of National Road No.50, section: Grojec-Minsk Maz. 2002PL16PPT019 Second Carriageway of National Road No.18, Olszyna-Golnice

Road Unit Projects Completed

Road No 9

Construction No 4

Km 136

Reconstruction/ rehabilitation No 5

Km 329

Of which on TEN-T % 100

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2003PL16PPT020 Construction of A2 Motorway: Section Konin-Strykow (Lodz) Subsection Emilia-Strykow II

These projects show the clear focus which was placed upon the rehabilitation of large

stretches of national roads, particularly in terms of strengthening road surfaces to

accommodate heavy goods vehicles (to the EU standard of 115kN/axle vehicles). Road

construction projects prioritised sections of expressway and motorway on the national

network.

Table 4 – Rail Projects Financed by Cohesion Fund/ISPA

Source: EC Project Data

Table 4 shows that the five rail projects completed in Poland all involved the rehabilitation and

modernisation of existing rail infrastructure on the TEN-T network, totalling some 528 km of

track. These projects are listed below:

2000PL16PPT002 Modernisation of the E-20 Railway Line on section Minsk Mazowiecki - Siedlce 2001PL16PPT012 Modernisation of the E-20 railway line on the section Siedlce- Terespol, Phase 1 2001PL16PPT014 Modernisation of the Poznan rail node (E-20 railway) 2001PL16PPT015 Improvement of the railway infrastructure & liquidation of operational bottlenecks 2002PL16PPT016 Modernisation of E30 railway line on the sections Wegliniec- Zgorzelec & Wegliniec-Bielawa Dolna

These projects are almost exclusively focussed upon modernising the existing E-20 and E-30

railway lines, which make up much of the TEN-T network in Poland. Project

2001PL16PPT015 was described as helping to overcome operational bottlenecks, something

which is key to improving the functionality of the national network and helping to integrate

Poland’s infrastructure into the EU.

Rail Unit Projects Completed

Rail No 5

Construction No -

Km -

Reconstruction/ rehabilitation No 5

Km 528

Of which on TEN-T % 100

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Figure 1 shows the indicative location of all of the projects financed by the Cohesion

Fund/ISPA in Poland, including those completed between 2000 and 2006.

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RGL/AECOM analysis, EUROSTAT GIS data NOTE: Project Closed/Almost closed = Project Completed

Figure 1 - Transport Networks and Cohesion Fund/ISPA Projects

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1.5 Contribution towards the TEN-T Cohesion Fund and wider EU objectives

This section assesses the contribution of the Cohesion Fund and ISPA financed projects to

the development of the TEN-T in Poland, as well as their congruence with EU policy

objectives.

To what extent did the projects financed contribute towards completion of the TEN-T network? Table 5 – Contribution of Completed Projects to the TEN-T Network

Road Unit 2008

Length of TEN-T Km 4,808.2

Project – Construction (4) Km 136

Project – Reconstruction (5) Km 329

Contribution to TEN-T % 10

Rail

Length of TEN-T Km 5,545.9

Projects – reconstruction (5) Km 528

Contribution to TEN-T % 9

Source: AECOM analysis As can be seen from Table 5, the four road construction projects contributed 136 km to the

TEN-T network, whilst the five reconstruction and rehabilitation projects benefitted 329 km of

the TEN-T network. The financed projects, therefore, collectively contributed around 10%

towards the completion of the TEN-T road network to a suitable standard. It is, however,

worth noting that the EU financed road construction projects had a significant contribution

towards the growth of the national motorways; providing 136 km of the 407 km constructed

between 2000 and 2008 (see Table 1).

The five rail projects all involved the modernisation of existing rail lines and infrastructure on

the TEN-T network, benefitting around 9% of the total network length.

The amount of the TEN-T road and rail network which was rehabilitated/modernised by the 10

reconstruction projects financed by the Cohesion Fund/ISPA amounted to 857 km. This is

reflective of the sub-standard nature of much of the existing national infrastructure when

Poland joined the EU in 2004, and the subsequent priority which has been placed upon

improving this situation so as to assist with the country’s integration with the rest of Europe.

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To what extent did the projects financed help meet the priority objectives of ISPA and the Cohesion Fund? The priority objectives of the Cohesion Fund and ISPA are listed in Table 6, making it

possible to compare the projects financed against this policy framework.

Table 6 – Cohesion Fund and ISPA Priority Objectives

Cohesion Fund Priority Objectives ISPA Priority Objectives

Completing the missing links in the priority corridors

Focus on projects of common interest (such as contributing to TEN-T)

Promoting rail and combined transport Promote sustainable mobility

Developing multi-modal platforms

Improving traffic management Address interconnection and interoperability of national networks…together with access to trans-European networks

The contribution of the Cohesion Fund/ISPA funded rail projects towards the modernisation of

the Polish rail network has helped to meet the priority objectives for promoting rail and

sustainable mobility, as well as addressing the interconnection of national networks. All of the

financed projects were on the TEN-T network (and closely aligned with the pan-European

Corridors in a number of places) which in itself is a priority objective for both the Cohesion

Fund and ISPA. In addition, the majority of the rail modernisation projects extended towards

Poland’s neighbouring countries (see Figure 1), which would assist with enhancing cross-

border connectivity and the interoperability of rail infrastructure on the TEN-T network.

The road projects financed in Poland display less of a fit with the priority objectives as they

were primarily focussed upon raising the standard of the existing highway infrastructure, so as

to be able to better meet passenger and road-based freight demand. Nevertheless, these

projects, particularly those focused on rehabilitating and upgrading the TEN-T road network,

support sustainable mobility in that they contribute to economic, environmental and social

dimensions of sustainability through improving the efficiency of travel within Poland,

supporting wider economic development and reducing the accident rates on the nation’s

roads.

To what extent did the projects financed help meet the wider EU Cohesion and the wider EU transport policy objectives?

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The key priority for Poland during the period 2000 and 2006 was the modernisation of its

national transport infrastructure, as evidenced by the projects financed by the Cohesion

Fund/ISPA during this time. These projects should have the effect of improving Poland's

transport accessibility (both internally and across the Trans European Transport Networks)

and strengthen the country’s economy and competitiveness.

At the start of the 2000-2006 programming period, Poland’s transport infrastructure was

viewed as being one of the primary obstacles to economic development of the country owing

to its poor state of repair8. The modernisation of the transport network is therefore key for

Poland’s economy but it is also in the EU’s interest, as it will enable easier access into the

markets of the central and eastern European countries. The projects financed between 2000

and 2006 will therefore assist with Poland’s integration into Europe, directly contributing

towards the EU convergence objective.

In terms of road infrastructure, EU policy seeks to improve transport efficiency and levels of

service for passenger and freight movements, to provide better accessibility to local

communities and to cut accident rates and mitigate the negative environmental effects of road

travel. The projects which aim to raise the standard of the existing national roads in Poland,

therefore accord well with the wider EU objectives. The focus upon improving the traffic flow,

road safety, capacity and quality along the TEN-T road network in Poland also contributes

towards European transport policy goals.

The rail projects financed in Poland will also help to meet the EU policies which relate to the

promotion of sustainable mobility. Bringing the Polish railway network to a standard

compatible with the other member states will greatly assist with the removal of bottlenecks

caused by sub-standard infrastructure, particularly in the context of cross-border connectivity.

A modern and efficient rail network, focussed along the key pan-European and TEN-T axes

will also contribute towards the shift from road to rail in terms of passenger and freight

movements.

8 Ex Post Evaluation of Cohesion Policy Programmes 2000-2006: Work Package 5A - First Intermediate Report. Steer Davis Gleave, August 2009