Kraków Główny railway station

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Kraków Główny
Station statistics
Address Kraków, Lesser Poland Voivodeship
Poland
Coordinates 50°03′56″N 19°56′50″E / 50.06556°N 19.94722°E / 50.06556; 19.94722Coordinates: 50°03′56″N 19°56′50″E / 50.06556°N 19.94722°E / 50.06556; 19.94722
Platforms 10
Other information
Opened 1847
Station code Station Category: A
Owned by Dworzec Polski S.A.

Kraków Główny Osobowy (commonly called Dworzec Główny, Polish for Main station) is the largest and the most centrally located railway station in Kraków. The building, constructed between 1844 and 1847 (architect: P.Rosenbaum), lies parallel to the tracks. The design was chosen to allow for future line expansion. The station was initially a terminus of the Kraków – Upper Silesia Railway (Kolej Krakowsko-Górnośląska, German: Obeschlesische-Krakauer Eisenbahn). Trains entered the trainshed via a brick archway at the northern end of the station which was almost doubled in size in 1871.[1]

History and early connections

The station opened on 13 October 1847, with the first train leaving for Mysłowice (the point where the Austrian, German and Russian Empires adjoined during military partitions of Poland).

The railway line got extended eastwards in 1856, when the first section to Dębica (then Dembitz in the Habsburg Empire) was built by the k.k. priv. galizische Carl Ludwig-Bahn connecting Kraków with Lwów in Galicja. The increasing traffic resulted in the station's modernisation and enlargement in several stages between 1869 and 1894. The next substantial expansion took place in the 1930s in the reborn Polish Republic. At that time the northern brick wall and trainshed were demolished, the latter replaced by individual platform roofs.

Amenities

Recently, a new transport interchange was developed which includes a coach station and an express tram line. A new urban shopping centre Galeria Krakowska (Kraków Gallery) opened in September 2006 with adjacent parking for 1,400 cars. The construction of the Galeria Krakowska and remodelling of the area in front of the main station building means that taxis are no longer able to drive up to the station or collect passengers directly from the main entrance; however, the free overhead parking and passenger pick-up right above the tracks is now closer to the platforms, accessible via a convenient elevator.

  • Main entrance promenade

  • Arrival of John Paul II train

  • Eastern entrance to the station

  • The Station island platforms

  • Platforms as seen on approach

  • Kraków station, around 1900

Underground expansion and revitalisation

The station is currently undergoing a multimillion Polish złoty refurbishment to improve passengers' experience. This project includes the construction of a new underground ticket hall, complete with waiting rooms, travel centres and other amenities. The new underground passage will be located to the north of the current platform underpass and will be connected to the platform level via escalators, it will also provide two new direct exits/entrances to the station complex, one from the lower level of Galeria Krakowska and another from the Regional Bus Station located to the east of the railway station. After completion of the new ticket hall, the current platform underpass will also be refurbished.[1] As part of this large investment all platforms and tracks replaced.

Destinations

  • Kraków Balice – served by the "Balice Ekspres" for passengers departing from/arriving to John Paul II International Airport Kraków-Balice

External links

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 History and modernisation of Kraków Główny, at PKP S.A. Robi się. Accessed July 23, 2011.
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