Warsaw Metro – the only underground rapid transit system in Poland, managed by the municipal company Metro Warszawskie. It consists of two lines: M1 and M2. The first section of the M1 line,
connecting the center of Warsaw with its southern districts, was opened in 1995. The line reached its full planned length in 2008. The construction of the M2 line, connecting the left- and right-bank parts of the capital, began in 2010, and its first section was put into service in 2015.
Introduction[]
The first resolution on its construction was passed in 1925. After a break caused by World War II, work on the construction of the deep metro began in the early 1950s from the Praga side, but was definitively interrupted in 1957. Design work on today's metro has been ongoing since the mid-1970s. In 1982, the Council of Ministers decided to build the first metro line in Warsaw. On April 15, 1983, the first steel pile was driven into the ground at the construction site of the tunnel in Ursynów. This date is considered to be the start of metro construction. The first stations were put into service in 1995.
After 25 years of construction, on 25 October 2008, the construction of the first line of the Warsaw metro was completed, opening the last three stations (Stare Bielany, Wawrzyszew and Młociny) that day. Thus, 21 stations and the STP Kabaty technical and parking station were built in 25 years. The first line was to be supplemented in the city centre with two additional stations, Plac Konstytucji and Muranów, but these plans were put on hold.
The first line of the Warsaw Metro runs through the districts of Ursynów (the first station on the Kabaty housing estate), Mokotów, Śródmieście, Żoliborz and Bielany (the last station is Młociny near Huta), and is 23.1 km long and has 21 stations. This line connects the southern and northern districts of the left-bank Warsaw with the city centre. The average travel time for the entire line (from Kabaty to Młociny) is 38 minutes and 20 seconds. Trains run daily between 5:00 and midnight, every few minutes, and on weekends until 3:00 a.m. The metro is used by approximately 500 thousand passengers daily. The Warsaw Metro employs approximately 1,500 people.
On August 16, 2010, construction of the second metro line began. The central section of line II was opened on March 8, 2015. The first part of the eastern section, consisting of three stations, was opened to passengers on September 15, 2019. The second metro line runs through the districts of Bemowo, Wola, Śródmieście, Praga, and Targówek. It is 19 kilometers long and has 18 stations.
There are currently over 57,000 residents per metro station in Warsaw. The average for cities in the European Union with metros is 25,000.
The Warsaw metro is adapted to the needs of disabled people. Each station has lifts or ramps (mainly in stations in Ursynów) that allow wheelchair users to get to the station. However, on September 17, 2008, an accident occurred at the Centrum station. Filip Zagończyk, a blind man, fell onto the tracks under an oncoming train. As a result of the accident, his leg was amputated. This incident drew attention to the fact that the Warsaw metro is only partially adapted to the needs of disabled people. Since 2011, the edges of all platforms have been marked with special protrusions, which is intended to facilitate spatial orientation for blind people.
History[]
The first postulates regarding the need to build a metro in Warsaw date back to 1903.
The first city metro project was created in 1917-1918 in the City Regulation Section.
In 1925, a resolution was passed to build a metro in Warsaw, in 1927 the plans were approved and geological research began. In 1929, the Underground Railroad Department was established, which was to be responsible for the construction. The Great Depression of the 1930s caused the work to be suspended. In 1938, Stefan Starzyński established the Underground Railroad Studies Office, which updated the plans. Construction began, but was interrupted by the outbreak of World War II. Right after the war, the idea of building a metro or SKM in Warsaw returned; the route of the line planned at that time roughly coincided with the currently operating M1 line, with only 7 km of the 21.6 km route to be in a tunnel. Ultimately, however, the project was abandoned.
In 1950, the government passed a resolution to build a deep metro in Warsaw. It was planned that by 1965 there would be three lines. Construction began in Praga on 22 September 1951 on a route that was to run under the Vistula River. The first section was to be completed by the end of 1959. The planned route, approximately 7.5 km long, was to be Y-shaped and run from Wilson Square (then the Paryske Commune) through Muranów to Unii Lubelskiej Square. At the height of Próżna Street, a branch line to the east was planned for Teatralny Square and Dworzec Wileński with a tunnel under the Vistula River and then a single-track line to the Targówek halting station. Due to rising costs, in 1953 construction was limited to an experimental section in Praga. At that time, a huge (almost 7,000 m³) switch chamber was built in the area of the shaft located at ul. Radzymińska, near the railway viaduct, and a 6 m diameter and 1270 m long track tunnel leading from the shaft at Naczelnikowska Street to the previously mentioned switch chamber. In 1957, the works were finally stopped, and in 1960 the constructed tunnel was flooded with water.
The idea of building a metro was revisited in 1974. Technical and economic assumptions for the first metro line were drawn up, but information on this subject was subject to censorship. Censorship recommendations on this subject were noted by Tomasz Strzyżewski, who published an information note from the Main Office of Press, Publications and Performances Control from April 2, 1975 in his book on censorship in the Polish People's Republic. The guidelines for censors stated: "All materials concerning the construction of the metro in Warsaw should be withheld until the decision of GUKPPiW.
In 1982, the Polish People's Republic government concluded an agreement with the USSR on assistance in the construction of the Warsaw Metro. On December 23, 1982, the government passed resolution no. 266/82 on the construction of the first metro line in Warsaw, and on April 15, 1983, construction began. The construction of the first 11-kilometer section Kabaty - Politechnika lasted for 12 years with problems, until the grand opening on April 7, 1995. After another 13 years, on October 25, 2008, the construction of the first metro line was completed.
The contract for the construction of the second metro line was signed with the contractor in October 2009, then the design and obtaining of appropriate permits took place, so that the construction of the central section of the second line could start in mid-2011. The works were carried out with difficulties, the city signed an annex with the contractor – the Italian-Turkish consortium AGP Metro Polska, postponing the date of completion of the investment.
The construction of the central section of Line II was originally planned to be completed in October 2013, but the work was delayed, among other things, due to the flooding of the construction site of the Copernicus Science Centre station. In August 2012, the builders encountered a watercourse during work, the station construction site was flooded, the Wisłostrada tunnel was closed, and repair work lasted almost a year, until June 2013. Construction officially ended on September 30, 2014, and the 6-kilometer section of Line II Rondo Daszyńskiego - Dw. Wileński was opened on March 8, 2015. The next section of Line II metro from Dworzec Wileński station to Trocka station was put into service on September 15, 2019. On April 4, 2020, the section from Rondo Daszyńskiego station to Księcia Janusza station was opened. On June 30, 2022, the Ulrychów and Bemowo stations were opened. On September 28, 2022, three more stations were opened: Zacisze, Kondratowicza and Bródno.
Metro development[]
| Expansion date | Line | Segment | Lenght |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 7, 1995 | M1 | Kabaty - Politechnika | 11005m |
| May 26, 1998 | M1 | Politechnika - Centrum | 1450m |
| May 11, 2001 | M1 | Centrum - Ratusz Arsenał | 1705m |
| December 20, 2003 | M1 | Ratusz Arsenał - Dworzec Gdański | 1534m |
| April 8, 2005 | M1 | Dworzec Gdański - Plac Wilsona | 1463m |
| December 29, 2006 | M1 | Plac Wilsona - Marymont | 896m |
| April 23, 2008 | M1 | Marymont - Słodowiec | 1014m |
| October 28, 2008 | M1 | Słodowiec - Młociny | 2581m |
| Expansion date | Line | Segment | Lenght |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 8, 2015 | M2 | Rondo Daszyńskiego - Dworzec Wileński | 6100m |
| September 15, 2019 | M2 | Dworzec Wileński - Trocka | 3120m |
| April 4, 2020 | M2 | Rondo Daszyńskiego - Księcia Janusza | 3400m |
| June 30, 2022 | M2 | Księcia Janusza - Bemowo | 2000m |
| September 28, 2022 | M2 | Trocka - Bródno | 3900m |
Map, lines and stations[]
| M1: Kabaty - Młociny |
|---|
| Kabaty – Natolin – Imielin – Stokłosy – Ursynów – Służew – Wilanowska – Wierzbno – Racławicka – Pole Mokotowskie – Politechnika – Centrum – Świętokrzyska – Ratusz Arsenał – Dworzec Gdański – Plac Wilsona – Marymont – Słodowiec – Stare Bielany – Wawrzyszew – Młociny |
| M2: Bemowo - Bródno |
|---|
| Bemowo - Ulrychów - Księcia Janusza – Młynów – Płocka – Rondo Daszyńskiego – Rondo ONZ – Świętokrzyska – Nowy Świat-Uniwersytet – Centrum Nauki Kopernik – Stadion Narodowy – Dworzec Wileński – Szwedzka – Targówek Mieszkaniowy – Trocka – Zacisze – Kondratowicza – Bródno |
Trains[]
| Train | Producer | Number of trains | Number of members | Years of delivery |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Serie 81 | Mietrowagonmasz | 9 (22) | 6 | 1990-2009 |
| Metropolis | Alstom | 18 | 6 | 2000-2005 |
| Inspiro | Siemens | 35 | 6 | 2012-2014 |
| Varsovia | Skoda Transportation | 37 | 6 | from 2022 |
The Russian-made 81 series cars ran in 4-car trains, but in 2006 the Warsaw Metro signed agreements to buy 30 new cars, increasing the existing trains to 6 cars. The first enlarged trains were put into service in February 2007.
On November 27, 2006, the board of the Warsaw Metro decided to buy another 5 6-car trains. The new trains had to be compatible to some extent with the existing rolling stock, so that the largest possible number of parts and components would fit those of the trains already in use and so that the new trains could be serviced by the existing metro infrastructure. On December 18, an open tender began, which was won by Wagonmasz from St. Petersburg. On July 25, 2007, a contract was signed with the company for the delivery of 10 cars with a driver's cabin and 20 cars without cabins. Metro paid over 27 million dollars for the cars and covered taxes and duties in the amount of about 24% of this amount. The new trains were put into service with the completion of the construction of the first metro line. The first train was to be put into service within 15 months from the date of signing the contract, and the last one was put into service after 17 months. The new trains are modified series 81 cars, slightly different from those already running on the Warsaw metro tracks. They are equipped with a modern driver's cabin, visual information in passenger compartments and mechanical ventilation.
The final deadline for the order is April 30, 2008. After the new cars are delivered, the metro will have 228 cars (38 trains), a similar number to the number that was planned in the 1980s when planning the metro.
On the night of August 1-2, 2008, a new train arrived at STP Kabaty, which was undergoing tests on the test track and was to be launched on the route together with the extension of the line to Młociny.
Expansion[]
M3 line:[]
Planned third metro line in Warsaw. According to plans, its first section will have 7 stations and will connect the National Stadium with Gocław. Currently, its only completed element is the National Stadium station, which is also a station on the M2 line.