Polish National Railroads Summer 1939
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In the summer of 1939 the map of both Europe and Poland looked very different from today. Poland was a much larger country, occupying, after the annexation of Zaolzie (October 1938), 389 720 square kilometers (today Poland’s size is 312 685 sq km). Obviously, railroad network of interwar Poland was also different from present. Back then, within Polish borders were such important junctions as:
- Lwów (Lviv), Tarnopol (Ternopil), Stanisławów (Ivano-Frankivsk), Stryj (Stryy), Kowel (Kovel), Chodorow (Khodoriv), Kołomyja (Kolomyya) and Sarny (Sarny) - all now in Ukraine,
- Łuniniec (Luninyets), Baranowicze (Baranavichy), Brześć nad Bugiem (Brest), Lida (Lida), Wołkowysk (Vawkavysk) and Mołodeczno (Maladzyechna)- all now in Belarus,
- Wilno (Vilnius), Landwarow (Lentvaris) - now in Lithuania,
- Cieszyn Zachodni - Czeski Cieszyn (Český Těšín), Bogumin (Bohumin) - now in Czech Republic.
On the other hand, several junctions of today’s Poland, belonged in 1939 to Germany. Among them, one has to point out such hubs as: Opole (Oppeln), Wrocław (Breslau), Legnica (Liegnitz), Szczecin (Stettin), Szczecinek (Neustettin), Piła (Schneidemühl), Olsztyn (Allenstein) and Ełk (Lyck).
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[edit] Polish railroad network in 1939
Rail map of 1939 Poland was determined by pre-1914 borders of the three empires that had partitioned Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth late in the 18th century. In the West, in Poznań, Pomorskie and Śląskie Voivodeships (former territories of German Empire) rail network was very dense - all cities and almost every town were junctions.
Southern Poland (former Austrian province of Galicia with Kraków Voivodeship, Lwów Voivodeship, Stanislawów Voivodeship and Tarnopol Voivodeship) was not so developed and rail network looked worse, with dense web of connections only around cities of Krakow and Lwow. In deep south, along the border with Slovakia, Romania and Hungary, rail lines were virtually non-existent.
The worst situation was in Central and Eastern Poland - the territory of former Russian Empire. These were Voivodeships of Łódź, Kielce, Warszawa, Lublin, Białystok, Volhynian Voivodeship, Polesie Voivodeship, Nowogródek Voivodeship and Wilno Voivodeship. Rail network in some parts, especially in Easternmost provinces (close to Soviet border), was nonexistent. Better situation was in Central part of the country, around Warsaw (which was the center of the network) and Łódź.
Even though Polish railroad network in 1939 had its numerous weak points, it must be emphasized that most major cities were quite coveniently connected with each other. The major problem was connection of Wilno and the seaport of Gdynia. Trains running on this line had to cover an overstretched distance of about 900 kilometers, crossing the Warsaw junction. Construction of a line which would shorten this distance was planned, but war halted it.
Electrification of long-distance lines was planned and by 1939 PKP authorities had only managed to electrify local connections of the Warsaw junction.
[edit] Polish national railroad's structure in 1939
In the summer of 1939 the PKP was divided into eight directions - Warsaw, Toruń, Poznań, Katowice, Kraków, Radom, Lwów and Wilno, with PKP’s headquarters located in Warsaw. Also, for practical purposes, Polish rail was divided into 5 communications districts and every connection in the Schedule was numbered according to the district it lays in. The districts were as follows:
- First - North-West, starting with the 278-kilometer connection Warsaw - Mława - Grudziądz - Laskowice Pom. (number of this line in the schedule - 101),
- Second - West, starting with the 379-kilometer connection Warsaw - Kutno - Poznań - Zbąszyń (number of this line in the schedule - 201),
- Third - South-West, starting with the 318-kilometer connection Warsaw - Koluszki - Ząbkowice - Katowice (number of this line in the schedule - 301),
- Fourth - South-East, starting with the 491-kilometer connection Warsaw - Radom - Skarżysko - Rozwadów - Przemyśl - Lwów (number of this line in the schedule - 401),
- Fifth - North-East, starting with the 571-kilometer connection Warsaw - Białystok - Wilno - Turmont (number of this line in the schedule - 501).
[edit] The summer 1939 schedule
“Urzędowy Rozkład Jazdy i Lotów Lato 1939” (“Official Train and Flight Schedule Summer 1939”) was published in May of 1939 and was valid from May 15, 1939 to October 7, 1939. What significantly adds to this document’s importance is the time it was published - just a few months before the war calamity. On September 1 Poland was attacked by Nazi Germany, on September 17 - by Soviet Union. Polish Second Republic (Druga Rzeczpospolita) ceased to exist.
As it can be professed, the authors of the Schedule had no idea that there was going to be war. In the document, we can find such information:
- The following Schedule is valid till October 7. On midnight of October 8, a new Winter Schedule will be introduced, valid till May 18, 1940. All suggestions for necessary changes in Winter Schedule should be presented to the Polish National Railroads Regional Directions not later than August 1.
Apart from Train Schedule, the document also included Flight Timetable of LOT Polish Airlines. In summer of 1939 airplanes on domestic routes flew from Warsaw to the airports of Gdynia/Danzig, Poznań, Katowice, Kraków, Lwów and Wilno.
[edit] Types of trains in 1939
The following types of trains were run on PKP 67 years ago: express, fast and ordinary. The most interesting and impressive were motor-express trains, or “Pociagi Motorowe-Ekspresowe - MtE” (also known as “Luxtorpeda”). These units achieved great speeds and connected Warsaw with most important cities as well as tourist centers. The 179-kilometer distance from Warszawa Wschodnia (Warsaw East) to Białystok Centralny was covered in 1 hour and 56 minutes.
MtE trains ran from the capital to: Łódź (the distance of 130 km in 1 hour and 28 minutes), Poznań, Cracow, Katowice (through either Czestochowa or Kielce) and Suwałki, located in the Polish lakeland. Also, they operated on lines from Cracow to Katowice and the mountain spas of Zakopane and Krynica. In southeast Poland, MtE trains ran from Lwow to Zaleszczyki, Boryslaw, Tarnopol and Kolomyja.
Of all major Polish cities, Warsaw lacked the MtE connection with Lwow (third city in size in 1939 Poland - after the capital and Łódź). This problem was solved in this way: morning express to Cracow was at Skarzysko connected with the express to Przeworsk. At Przeworsk, one had to change again - this time to the international fast train Berlin-Bucharest.
Fast trains served long-distance lines, but they were not as speedy as the MtE trains. The most interesting fast trains in the summer 1939 were:
- Wilno - Lwow (it crossed, on the distance of 720 kilometers, practically the whole Polish Eastern Borderlands, stopping at Lida, Baranowicze, Luniniec, Rowne and Zdolbunow),
- Lwow - Kraków - Katowice - Poznań - Bydgoszcz - Gdynia - Hel (it crossed almost 1000 kilometers). It went thru the territory of Free City of Danzig, but did not stop there and passengers were not allowed to exit).
Last train category in Poland were ordinary trains. They usually served short-distance lines, but in some cases covered impressive distances, especially in the Polish Eastern Borderlands.
[edit] International trains
Interesting is the fact that in 1939 trains ran over longer distances than today. The famous Nord Ekspres Warsaw - Berlin - Paris - Calais ran every day of the week and it was the only train in Poland of the L (Luxurious) standard. This train consisted only of cars which belonged to the International Sleeping Cars Society (International Wagons-Lits Company). Also, one more train ran to the Atlantic seaside - from Warsaw, Lwow, Kraków and Katowice to Ostend. Warsaw was additionally connected with the capital of France by a train Warsaw - Łódź - Paris. Another train to France ran from Warsaw to Strasbourg, with cars to Geneva and Ventimiglia.
As for the south of Europe, trains ran from Warsaw to Rome, and in the summer also to three cities in Yugoslavia - Split, Susak and Belgrad. A train from Berlin to Istanbul also crossed part of Polish territory. Warsaw, Cracow and Lwow were connected with Vienna.
Poland kept numerous connections with its neighbors. In the summer of 1939 there were 48 rail border crossings. Warsaw was connected with Prague, Bratislava and Zilina. Also, Lwow and Gdynia were connected with the capital of the Protectorate of Bohemia-Moravia. After March of 1939 Poland shared border with Hungary. Its capital, Budapest, was connected with Warsaw, Cracow and Lwow (the train Cracow - Budapest had additional car Krynica-Budapest connected to it).
Another neighbor, Romania, was connected twice daily by trains Warsaw-Lwow-Bucharest (in the summer an additional train reached the Romanian seaport of Constanţa). Poland was also crossed by in international transit train Berlin - Breslau - Katowice - Cracow - Lwow - Sniatyn - Bucharest (with additional car Katowice - Constanţa). Other transit trains ran towards Berlin from East Prussia, Danzig, Riga and Daugavpils.
Twice a day a train from Wilno reached Kaunas - the capital of Lithuania (one of these trains had an additional car Warsaw - Kaunas).
Passenger rail connections between Soviet Union and Western Europe required change of trains. If one traveled towards Moscow, it was necessary to change at a Soviet border station Niegoreloje. If from Moscow - the change took place at a Polish station Stolpce. This town, located on the line Warsaw - Minsk - Moscow, was conveniently connected with such centers as Paris, Berlin and Calais.
[edit] Curiosities
- Rail lines of Wolne Miasto Gdańsk (Free City of Danzig) were controlled by the Torun direction of the PKP and as such are included in the Schedule,
- As is commonly known, one of reasons for German attack on Poland (September 1, 1939) was the existence of the Polish Corridor, which separated main body of Germany from East Prussia. In the summer of 1939 only 3 German trains crossed it daily - from Berlin to Eydtkau, Tilsit and Eydtkau again. They entered Polish territory at Chojnice and left at Tczew-Liessau, after crossing the distance of 97 kilometers,
- Ordinary trains, which in most cases serve short-distance connections, in interwar Poland sometimes ran on very long lines. The best example is the ordinary train Wejherowo - Torun - Kutno - Łódź Kaliska - Rozwadow - Lwow, which virtually crossed the whole Poland, from southeast to the seaside (930 kilometers). Other interesting examples are: Warszawa Wilenska - Brzesc n/B Centralny - Pinsk - Mikaszewicze (490 km), Warszawa Wilenska - Siedlce - Wolkowysk - Lida - Molodeczno (530km), Warszawa Glowna - Lublin - Kowel - Zdolbunow (480 km), Warszawa Gdanska - Lublin - Rejowiec - Zawada - Rawa Ruska - Lwow (438 km),
- In some cases, interwar express trains were then faster than today.
