Article citation information:
Macioszek,
E. Analysis of the volume of passengers and cargo in rail and road
transport in Poland in 2009-2019. Scientific
Journal of Silesian University of Technology. Series Transport. 2021, 113, 133-143. ISSN: 0209-3324. DOI: https://doi.org/10.20858/sjsutst.2021.113.10.
Elżbieta MACIOSZEK[1]
ANALYSIS OF THE VOLUME OF PASSENGERS AND CARGO IN RAIL AND ROAD
TRANSPORT IN POLAND IN 2009-2019
Summary. Transport
plays an important role in the economy of any country. Efficient and developed
transport infrastructure of various modes of transport significantly affects
the availability of transport services, and consequently, the well-being of
citizens. This article presents an analysis of the volume of passengers and
cargo transport using rail and road transport in Poland in 2009-2019. These
analyses were carried out based on data obtained from the Central Statistical
Office. All data concerns Polish entities that provide services in the field of
passenger and freight transport in Poland and focuses on such information as
the volume of passengers and cargo by individual means of transport, broken
down into domestic and international transport. Further, the presented analyses
concern the length of the available rail and road routes, tracks, the size of
the rolling stock as well as the groups of transported loads.
Keywords: rail
transport, road transport, passenger transport, freight transport
1. INTRODUCTION
In these times of modern economic globalisation, it is difficult to imagine an efficiently
functioning state without an extensive transport system consisting of various
modes of transport. Transport plays a pivotal role in the economy of any
country. Efficient and developed transport infrastructure significantly affects
the availability of transport services, and consequently, the well-being of
citizens. Despite the role it plays in the economy, transport is also
responsible for its negative impact on the natural environment. The energy that
is needed for the functioning of transport comes mainly from petroleum
products, and thus, contributes to high greenhouse gas emissions to the
atmosphere and climate change. For many years, the European Union has been
pursuing a transport policy aimed at reducing the negative impact of transport
on the environment by introducing restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions. In
addition, research is constantly being carried out to obtain solutions in the
field of transport, which will be based on the use of the least-emission means
of transport in everyday life while maintaining low prices of services, as well
as the use of various forms of transport in terms of sustainable development of
transport infrastructure [1-5]. Moreover, there are researches dedicated to the
monitoring of landslide areas [6] and others aimed at analysing
the influence of road transport on urban development or analysis of development
transport corridors [7].
This article presents an analysis of
the volume of passengers and cargo transported using rail and road transport in
Poland in 2009-2019. These analyses were performed based on data obtained from
the Central Statistical Office [8]. All data relates to Polish entities that provide
services in the field of passenger and freight transport in Poland and focuses
on such information as the volume of passengers and loads carried by individual
means of transport, broken down into domestic and international transport. The
presented analyses also concern the length of the available rail and road
routes, tracks, the size of the rolling stock as well as the groups of
transported loads.
2. SIZE OF PASSENGERS AND CARGO
TRANSPORT BY RAIL
In Poland,
in the years 2009-
Fig. 1. Length of railway lines in use in Poland in
2009-2019
Source:
Author’s research based on data presented in [8]
In turn,
Figure 2 shows the size of the rail rolling stock, that is, passenger wagons,
freight wagons, locomotives and other rail rolling stock used for renovation,
construction and rescue works used for passenger and freight transport in
2009-2019. Based on Figure 2, it can be concluded that the number of used rail
rolling stock is gradually decreasing by the year. Annual declines fluctuate in
the range of 2.0-6.5%, and the total decline in the period from 2009 to 2019 is
as much as 20.3%. The largest resource of used rail rolling stock was in 2009,
and it amounted to 118,953 units, and the lowest in 2019, amounted to 94,298
units. When analysing the rail rolling stock in
Poland from 2009-2019, it can be concluded that freight wagons have the largest
share (88%). In 2009, their number was 104.5 thousand units, while in 2019, it
decreased by 26% to 87.7 thousand pieces. Passenger wagons constitute about 7%
of the rail rolling stock, their number in 2009 was 8,227 thousand pieces. In
2019, the number of wagons used for passenger transport decreased by 14.2%,
that is, 7,054,000 pieces. Locomotives account for approximately 4% of the
total rail rolling stock, in 2009, the number of locomotives used for transport
was 4,427,000 units, however, in 2019, their volume decreased by 14.1% to 3,800
thousand pieces. The remainder of the rail rolling stock (for example, devices
and machines) was approximately 0.5%.
Fig. 2. Rail rolling stock in Poland in 2009-2019
Source:
Author’s research based on data presented in [8]
Figure 3
shows the total volume of passengers transported by rail and broken down into
domestic and international transport in Poland in 2009-2019. Analysing the presented data, it can be concluded that in
the initial period of the analysis, that is, in 2009-2008, an increase in the
total number of transported passengers by 4.4% can be observed, from 279,657 to
291,892 million passengers. Then in the years 2010-2011, there was a decrease
in the overall number of transported passengers by 3.2% from 291.892 million to
282,619 million transported passengers. The period of the greatest drops in
passenger transport falls in 2012-
On the
other hand, in the case of passengers travelling by Polish international rail
transport in 2009-2019, it can be stated that a total of 19,151 million
passengers were transported in the analysed period,
which constitutes 0.4% of all passengers. Based on the data presented in Figure
3, it can be stated that the number of passengers transported by international
rail transport fluctuated, showing a downward trend. In the initial period of
the analysis, that is, in 2009-2011, there are clear declines in the number of
passengers travelling by international rail transport. The largest decrease in
the number of passengers travelling by international rail transport is visible
in 2010, from 2,676 million to 1,991 million passengers (25.6%). In the
following year, another significant decrease in the number of passengers
transported by international rail transport as much as 23% is visible. Thus,
the number of passengers transported by international rail transport decreased
to 1,533 million. Throughout the entire analysed
period, the lowest number of passengers transported by international rail
transport was recorded in 2017-2018. Most passengers used international rail
transport in 2009, amounting to 2.676 million passengers, accounting for 14% of
all international transport.
Fig. 3. Volume of rail passenger transport in Poland in 2009-
as well as in domestic and international transport
Source:
Author’s research based on data presented in [8]
Figure 4
shows the volume of transported goods by Polish rail transport in 2009-
In the analysed period, a total of 1,784,469 million tonnes of cargo was transported by domestic rail transport.
Based on the data presented in Figure 4, it can be concluded that the volume of
cargo by domestic rail transport in the individual years of the analysis
remains more or less at the same level. In 2009-2010, an increase in transport
was observed by 4.8%, to the number of 176,367 million tonnes.
In the following year, the highest decrease of 16% in the entire analysed period is visible, the volume of cargo decreased
to 148,296 million tonnes. Comparing the year 2009 to
the entire analysed period, it can be stated that the
number of cargo that was transported in 2009 constitutes 8.3% of all
transports. In the years 2009-2012, the least cargo were transported, the total
number is 296,745 million tonnes and constitutes
16.6% of all transports. In turn, in the years 2014-
Fig. 4. Volume of transported goods by Polish rail transport
in 2009-
and broken down into domestic and international transport
Source:
Author’s research based on data presented in [8]
Following,
Figure 5 shows the share of transported cargo by rail transport according to
the groups of cargo. Based on Figure 5, it can be concluded that fossil fuels
have the largest share in the transport, including hard coal, lignite, crude
oil, natural gas and other crude oil products (52%, that is, 1,327,441 million tonnes). The second largest group of cargo in terms of
share in transport is metal ores and other mining and quarrying products (26%,
that is, 659,989 million tonnes). The third largest
group is the remaining cargo (10.2%, that is, 259,255 million tonnes), such as wood, waste, recyclable materials,
machinery and transport equipment, empty containers, packaging. Chemicals
follow as the next largest group, that is, chemical products, artificial fibres, rubber and plastic products (4.1%, that is, 104,584
million tonnes). Steel products (3.8%, that is,
98,456 million tonnes of cargo), cargoes classified
as agricultural products, forestry, hunting and fishing products (2%, that is,
46,157 million tonnes) had a smaller share in
the transported cargo. The smallest share in rail transport had cargo from the
group of non-metallic products and products, which include cement, gypsum,
lime, construction materials (1.8%, that is, 42,145 million tonnes).
Fig. 5. Share of individual cargo groups transported by Polish
rail transport
in 2009-
Source:
Author’s research based on data presented in [8]
3. ANALYSIS
OF PASSENGERS AND CARGO TRANSPORT BY ROAD TRANSPORT
In Figure
6, the length of the road network in Poland in the years 2009-
In the analysed period, the length of the road network in Poland
increased by a total of 10.2% (including the network of paved roads by 15.8%,
while the length of the unpaved road network decreased). This phenomenon is
very positive and desirable because efficient transport is based on extensive
infrastructure, which undoubtedly translates into the country's economic
growth.
In Figure
7, the length of the road network in Poland was shown, broken down into
expressways and motorways in 2009-2019. Both networks of expressways and
motorways in Poland are being expanded at a dynamic rate. In 2009, the length
of expressways was
Fig. 6. Length of road network in
Poland in 2009-2019,
broken down into hard and ground surfaces
Source:
Author’s research based on data presented in [8]
Fig. 7. Length of the road network in
Poland in 2009-2019,
broken down into motorways and expressways
Source:
Author’s research based on data presented in [8]
Figure 8
shows the volume of passengers transported by road passenger transport in
Poland in 2009-
Fig. 8. Number of passengers transported by road transport in
Poland in 2009-2019
Source:
Author’s research based on data presented in [8]
When analysing
individual modes of transport, an increase in transport by all types of
transport is visible, except for inland waterway transport. In terms of
structure, in the case of cargo transport, road transport has dominated in
Poland for years. This is illustrated by the data from the Central Statistical
Office on cargo transport in individual years [8]. Figure 9 shows the volume of
cargo transported by road in Poland in 2009-
The largest 14%
increase in cargo transport can be observed in 2016-2019. It was then that the
number of transported cargo increased from 1,313,657 million to 1,497,568
million tonnes. Comparing the total number of transported cargo in 2009 and
2019, it can be concluded that the number of transported cargo in 2019 is
greater by 52.1%. In the analysed period, a total of 11,895,407
million tonnes of cargo was transported by domestic road transport. Analysing
the data, it can be concluded that the volume of cargo transported by domestic
road transport increased throughout the analysed period. The lowest
number of 895,356 million tonnes was recorded in 2009. In 2009-2010, an
increase in the volume of cargo transported by domestic road transport of
1093,405 million tonnes (an increase by 11%) can be observed. The largest
increase of 13% in the volume of cargo transported by domestic road transport
occurred from 2018-2019, the number of transported cargo increased then to
1,209,782 million tonnes. Comparing the volumes of transported cargo in 2009
and 2019, it can be concluded that the number of transported cargo increased by
35.1%. In the analysed period, a total of 1,873,850 million tonnes of cargo were
transported by international road transport. By analysing the data, an upward
trend in the volume of transported cargo can be observed. Comparing the volume
of goods transported by international road transport in 2009 to the data from
2019, it can be concluded that this number increased by as much as 226%.
Fig. 9. Distribution of the cargo volume
transported by road in Poland in 2009-2019
Source: Author’s research
based on data presented in [8]
In turn,
Figure 10 shows the shares of cargo transport by road in Poland by cargo groups
in 2009-2019. Based on the data presented in Figure 10, it can be concluded
that road transport in Poland conveys most materials from the group of fossil
fuels, metal ores, hard coal, brown coal, crude oil, natural gas, sand, gravel,
stones and other mining products and mining. During the analysed
period, a total of 4,935,520 million tonnes of this
type of cargo were transported, which constitutes 36.8% of all transports. The
second group, in terms of share in the transport, are chemicals and other
products, metal products, machinery and transport equipment, clothing. During
the analysed period, a total of 3003,661 million tonnes of this type of cargo was transported, which
constitutes 21.85% of all transports in the analysed
period. Another group includes products made of other non-metallic products,
such as cement, lime, building materials. During the analysed
period, a total of 1,850,239 million tonnes of this
type of cargo was transported, which constitutes 13.4% of all transports in the
analysed period. Food products (9.6%), waste and
recycled products (7.7%), agricultural, hunting and fishing products (6.6%),
wood, cork (5.0%) had a smaller share in road transport.
4. CONCLUSIONS
This article presents an analysis of
the volume of passengers and cargo transported by rail and road in Poland from
2009-2019. The dominant share of transport in the analysed
period was road transport, which provided over 64% of all passenger transport
and 84% of cargo transport. The easy availability of this form of transport,
flexibility, and the dynamic development and modernisation
of the expressway and motorway network in Poland in recent years have a
significant impact on the popularity of road transport. This translates into
increasing the competitiveness of this form of transport. Following road
transport, the second kind of transport constituting the foundation in terms of
transport in Poland is rail transport. In the analysed
period, this form of transport was used for a total of 34% of passenger
transport and over 15% of freight transport. Rail transport is giving way to
road transport due to its unevenly distributed transport network, and often,
poor condition of infrastructure, which has been largely neglected in recent
years. An additional factor determining the use of railways in transport are
the costs associated with rail services, which are higher in the case of small
loads and services provided.
Fig. 10. Cargo transportation by road in
Poland by cargo groups
in 2009-2019 [million tonnes]
Source: Author’s research
based on data presented in [8]
References
1.
Ambroziak Tomasz, Dariusz Pyza. 2011.
"Problematyka wykorzystania różnych form transportu w aspekcie
zrównoważonego rozwoju infrastruktury transportowej". Logistyka 4: 33-42. ISSN:
1231-5478. [In Polish: "Problems of using various forms of transport in
the aspect of sustainable development of transport infrastructure].
2.
Jacyna Marianna. 2010. "Wybrane aspekty
koncepcji modelu Systemu Logistycznego Polski ze względu na komodalność transportu". Prace Naukowe Politechniki Warszawskiej.
Transport 75: 37-54. ISSN:
1230-9265. [In Polish: "Some Aspects of conceptual
model of logistic system of Poland due to transport co-modality"].
3.
Jacyna Marianna, Mariusz Wasiak, Roland Jachimowski, Piotr Gołębiowski,
Piotr Klimek, Rostislav
Vasek, Ilona Jacyna-Gołda,
Mariusz Izdebski. 2019. “The concept
of EPOS database ot the transport infrastrycture.
In: Proceedings of the International
Conference Transport Means 2019: 1250-1255.
4.
Neider Janusz. 2012 Transport
Międzynarodowy. Warsaw: Polish Economic Publisher. ISBN: 978-83-208-2191-8. [In Polish: International Transport].
5.
Cieśla Maria, Aleksander Sobota,
Marianna Jacyna. 2020. „Multi-criteria decision making process in metropolitan transport
means selection based in the sharing mobility idea”. Sustainability 12(17)7231:1-21. ISSN: 2071-1050. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su12177231.
6.
Skrzypczak Izabela, Kogut Janusz, Kokoszka Wanda,
Zientek Dawid. 2019. „Monitoring of landslide areas with the use of
contemporary methods of measuring and mapping”. Civil and Environmental Reports 24(1): 69-82. ISSN: 2080-5187. DOI: 10.1515/ceer-2019-0005.
7.
Sładkowski Aleksander, Maria Cieśla.
2018. “Analysis and development perspective scenarios of transport
corridors supporting eurasian trade”. In: Transport Systems and Delivery of Cargo on
East-West Routes Studies in Systems, Decision and Control 155: 71-119. Edited
by Aleksander Sładkowski.
Switzerland: Springer, Cham, Springer, Cham. ISBN: 978-3-319-78295-9.
8.
Central Statistical Office. "Freight and
Passenger Transport. Reports for the years 2009-2019". Available at:
https://stat.gov.pl/wyszukiwarka/szukaj. html.
Received 02.09.2021; accepted in
revised form 19.10.2021
Scientific Journal of Silesian University of Technology. Series
Transport is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License