Rail Transport in Poland (Paperback)

High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles The Polish railways network consists of around 19,599 kilometres (12,178 mi) of track as of 2008, of which the vast majority is electrified using a 3 kV DC overhead line system. Although the network is generally electrified and well maintained, the vast majority of the track was laid by the Communist authorities from 1946 onwards or was, in a significant number of cases, laid before World War II by an assortment of different rail companies, when territory was part of different countries including, among others, the Deutsche Reichsbahn and Russian Imperial State Railways. The average age of Poland's railway network is now so high that many sections of track are limited to speeds of 100 km/h (62 mph) or less and although 'high-speed lines' do exist they rarely exceed an average speed limit of 160 km/h (99 mph); the exception to this rule being the Central Trunk Line which runs from Warsaw to Katowice and allows speeds of up to around 220 km/h (140 mph) (soon to be upgraded to 260 km/h/160 mph).