Warszawa Centralna railway station

History

Warsaw Central was constructed as a flagship project of the Polish People's Republic during the 1970s economic boom, and was intended to replace the inadequate and obsolete Warszawa Główna railway station.

The station's design was innovative, but construction was plagued by continuous alterations to the scope of work which in turn hurt functionality and operations upon completion. It was a result of a hasty completion schedule, with the opening date set to coincide with Leonid Brezhnev's 1975 visit to Warsaw. The design and construction problems necessitated immediate repairs that would continue through the 1980s. The structure was fairly advanced for its time and incorporated such features as automatic doors, as well as escalators and double-sided elevators for each platform. Moreover, each platform was equipped with WC, public telephones and glazed waiting rooms with television sets and central heating system. The edges of the platforms were backlit, but this feature was later removed. There was also a marble fountain, which was also later removed. All benches are made of white marble.

The station was one of only a handful of public buildings in Warsaw which suffered a technical fault as a result of the millennium bug. The indicator board was switched off for approximately 24 hours on 1 January 2000 while its timing chip was replaced. In the meantime, all departures were announced over the public address system. The normal practice is for only international departures to be announced in this way. The story was originally reported in Gazeta Wyborcza on 4 January 2000.

After a period of decline, a cosmetic upgrade of the station in 2010–2011 was completed in time for the Euro 2012 championships. Between 2015 and 2016, a mezzanine connecting the waiting room in the west wing to the restaurants in the east wing was constructed. It has been both praised for improving the use of space in the main hall and criticized for its futuristic design, which clashes with the building's modernist architecture. The Warsaw city government is contemplating demolishing and replacing the station, either at the same location or farther from the city center. Some elements of the Warsaw press (e.g. Gazeta Wyborcza and Architektura Murator, 2012), as well as Swiss architect and journalist Werner Huber, have argued against demolition, claiming that the current Warszawa Centralna is a great example and a masterpiece of modernism in Poland.

The station is fully accessible to the disabled as well as passengers with heavy luggage.

In January 2019, the name of the Polish composer Stanisław Moniuszko was appended to Warszawa Centralna station, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of his birth.

Location

Warszawa Centralna is connected by an underground passage to two other rail stations: to the west lies Warszawa Śródmieście WKD railway station, the terminus of the WKD suburban light rail line, and to the east lies Warszawa Śródmieście PKP, served by suburban trains run by Koleje Mazowieckie and Szybka Kolej Miejska. From the station one can also easily access Złote Tarasy shopping centre, Centrum LIM, the Palace of Culture and Science and Varso Tower.

International train services

Domestic Train services

The station is served by the following service(s):

• Express Intercity Premium services (EIP) Gdynia – Warsaw
• Express Intercity Premium services (EIP) Warsaw – Wrocław
• Express Intercity Premium services (EIP) Warsaw – Katowice – Bielsko-Biała
• Express Intercity Premium services (EIP) Gdynia – Warsaw – Katowice – Gliwice/Bielsko-Biała
• Express Intercity Premium services (EIP) Warsaw – Kraków
• Express Intercity Premium services (EIP) Gdynia/Kołobrzeg – Warsaw – Kraków (- Rzeszów)
• Express Intercity services (EIC) Szczecin — Warsaw
• Express Intercity services (EIC) Warsaw – Wrocław
• Express Intercity services (EIC) Warsaw – Kraków – Zakopane
• Intercity services (IC) Wrocław- Opole – Częstochowa – Warszawa
• Intercity services (IC) Wrocław – Ostrów Wielkopolski – Łódź – Warszawa
• Intercity services (IC) Białystok – Warszawa – Częstochowa – Opole – Wrocław
• Intercity services (IC) Białystok – Warszawa – Łódź – Ostrów Wielkopolski – Wrocław
• Intercity services (IC) Ełk – Białystok – Warszawa – Łódź – Ostrów Wielkopolski – Wrocław
• Intercity services (IC) Olsztyn – Warszawa – Skierniewice – Częstochowa – Katowice – Gliwice – Racibórz
• Intercity services (IC) Olsztyn – Warszawa – Skierniewice – Łódź
• Intercity services (IC) Olsztyn – Warszawa – Skierniewice – Częstochowa – Katowice – Bielsko-Biała
• Intercity services (IC) Olsztyn – Warszawa – Skierniewice – Częstochowa – Katowice – Gliwice – Racibórz
• Intercity services (TLK) Warszawa – Częstochowa – Lubliniec – Opole – Wrocław – Szklarska Poręba Górna
• Intercity services (TLK) Warszawa – Częstochowa – Katowice – Opole – Wrocław – Szklarska Poręba Górna
• Intercity services (TLK) Gdynia Główna – Zakopane
• Regional services (ŁKA) Łódz – Warsaw

References

References

1. Werner Huber „Die Stadt und ihr Herz” Hochparterre: Zeitschrift für Architektur und Design, Zürich, 28/2015.
2. (6 February 2015). "How political revolutions shaped Warsaw's postwar architecture". Financial Times.
3. "Motyw kolejowy w polskim filmie: Wielki podryw (1979)".
4. marble fountain in a railway station in Warsaw "Centralny" 1976 http://repozytorium.fn.org.pl/?q=en/node/10891
5. Arseniusz Romanowicz "Warszawski Dworzec Centralny", wyd. DOKP, Warszawa 1975.
6. "Warsaw Central".
7. Ryszard Piech. (17 November 2008). "Euro 2012 deadline catalyses network upgrade". [[Railway Gazette International]].
8. (23 March 2016). "Antresola na Dworcu Centralnym już otwarta. Co o niej sądzicie? [ZDJĘCIA i WIDEO]".
9. [[Gazeta Wyborcza]] article: ''Dworzec Centralny. Burzyć czy zachować? ''[http://warszawa.gazeta.pl/warszaw/1,34889,6919185,Dworzec_Centralny__Burzyc_czy_zachowac_.html]
10. (6 February 2015). "How political revolutions shaped Warsaw's postwar architecture". FT Now.
11. "Dworzec Centralny będzie nosił imię Stanisława Moniuszki".
12. "Photo of location".
13. PKP EIC Szczecin Główny – Warszawa Wschodnia Timetable. [https://koleo.pl/en/pociag/EIC/8100-CHROBRY/09-02-2023 https://koleo.pl/en/pociag/EIC/8100-CHROBRY/09-02-2023]
14. PKP EIC Warszawa Wschodnia – Wrocław Główny Timetable. [https://koleo.pl/en/pociag/EIC/1600-PANORAMA https://koleo.pl/en/pociag/EIC/1600-PANORAMA]
15. PKP EIC Warsaw – Kraków – Zakopane Timetable. [https://koleo.pl/en/pociag/EIC/1350-TATRY https://koleo.pl/en/pociag/EIC/1350-TATRY]
16. Koleo. PKP IC 6128 OLEŃKA Wrocław Główny – Warszawa Gdańska. Timetable. [https://koleo.pl/pociag/IC/6128-OLE%C5%83KA/ https://koleo.pl/pociag/IC/6128-OLE%C5%83KA/]
17. Koleo. PKP IC 6124 FREDRO Wrocław Główny – Warszawa Wschodnia. Timetable. [https://koleo.pl/pociag/IC/6124-FREDRO/ https://koleo.pl/pociag/IC/6124-FREDRO/]
18. Koleo. PKP IC 6122 BACZYŃSKI Wrocław Główny – Warszawa Wschodnia [https://koleo.pl/pociag/IC/6122-BACZY%C5%83SKI/ https://koleo.pl/pociag/IC/6122-BACZY%C5%83SKI/]
19. Koleo. PKP IC 16104 NAŁKOWSKA Białystok – Wrocław Główny. Timetable. [https://koleo.pl/pociag/IC/16104-NA%C5%81KOWSKA/ https://koleo.pl/pociag/IC/16104-NA%C5%81KOWSKA/]
20. Koleo. PKP IC 16102 DĄBROWSKA Białystok – Wrocław Główny. Timetable. [https://koleo.pl/pociag/IC/16102-D%C4%84BROWSKA/ https://koleo.pl/pociag/IC/16102-D%C4%84BROWSKA/]
21. Koleo. PKP IC 6520 SŁOWACKI Białystok – Wrocław Główny. Timetable. [https://koleo.pl/pociag/IC/6520-S%C5%81OWACKI/ https://koleo.pl/pociag/IC/6520-S%C5%81OWACKI/]
22. Koleo. PKP IC 5422 SKARBEK Olsztyn Główny – Racibórz. Timetable. [https://koleo.pl/pociag/IC/5422-SKARBEK/ https://koleo.pl/pociag/IC/5422-SKARBEK/]
23. Koleo. PKP IC 5122 MAZURY Olsztyn Główny — Łódź Fabryczna. Timetable. [https://koleo.pl/pociag/IC/5122-MAZURY/ https://koleo.pl/pociag/IC/5122-MAZURY/]
24. Koleo. PKP IC 5424 KORMORAN Olsztyn Główny – Bielsko-Biała Główna. Timetable. [https://koleo.pl/pociag/IC/5424-KORMORAN/27-01-2023 https://koleo.pl/pociag/IC/5424-KORMORAN/27-01-2023]
25. Koleo. TLK 61100 ORZESZKOWA. Szklarska Poręba Górna – Warszawa Gdańska. Timetable. [https://koleo.pl/en/pociag/TLK/61100-ORZESZKOWA https://koleo.pl/en/pociag/TLK/61100-ORZESZKOWA]
26. Koleo. TLK 61190 KARKONOSZE. Szklarska Poręba Górna – Warszawa Gdańska. Timetable. [https://koleo.pl/en/pociag/TLK/61190-KARKONOSZE https://koleo.pl/en/pociag/TLK/61190-KARKONOSZE]
27. Koleo. PKP TLK 53170 KARPATY Gdynia Główna – Zakopane. Timetable. [https://koleo.pl/en/pociag/TLK/53170-KARPATY https://koleo.pl/en/pociag/TLK/53170-KARPATY]
28. Koleo. PKP TLK 53104 MAŁOPOLSKA Gdynia Główna – Zakopane. Timetable. [https://koleo.pl/en/pociag/TLK/53104-MA%C5%81OPOLSKA https://koleo.pl/en/pociag/TLK/53104-MA%C5%81OPOLSKA]