page_title: History of rail transport in Poland
section_title: Independent Poland railways
hierarchical_section_title: History of rail transport in Poland / 1918–1939 / Independent Poland railways
caption_attribution_description: Polski: Polski parowóz Pm36-1 (140 km/h) z 1937 r. Fotografia z hali:http://www.smartage.pl/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/231.jpg
context_page_description: The history of rail transport in Poland dates back to the first half of the 19th century when railways were built under Prussian, Russian, and Austrian rule. Of course, "divided Poland" in the 19th century was the territory of the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and not that one of today's Republic of Poland. After Polish independence was declared on 11 November 1918, the independent Polish state administered its own railways until control was surrendered to German and Soviet occupiers during World War II.
  During and after World War II major changes were made again, with the Polish borders shifted westward in 1945, putting many German railways under Polish control and leaving several Polish ones in the East.
context_section_description: Gaining independence on 11 November 1918 allowed Poland to reclaim the former Russian and Austrian sectors from military railways. The Railway Department in the Ministry of Communication was created and the Polish railways were officially named Polskie Koleje Państwowe.
  In December 1918, the Great Poland Uprising started. The rebels took over the former Prussian sector of railways. One year later, the fights for Lwów were over and the former Austrian railway directorate was taken over by Poland and their left-hand traffic infrastructure was reconstructed. Taking over the railways from Prussians lasted until 1921.
  In 1919, Stanislaw Rodowicz, Eng. developed the first draft of the container system in Poland. In 1920 he built  the prototype of the biaxial wagon. The Polish-Bolshevik War halted the development of the container system in Poland.
  After the victory over the Red Army in the Polish-Bolshevik War (1920), a great deal of damage in railway structure was discovered on the route along which the communists were retreating. At the same time, the tense relations with Lithuania led the railways around Wilno and Minsk to a partial disintegration and stagnation. The Libau–Romny Railway was not recovered.
  Polish railways administration finally took over the railways in Upper Silesia in 1922. That same year, a decision was made to divide railways in Poland into nine administrative districts.
  An economic crisis in 1930s forced the state to cut back its budget for railway investment. Profit decreased by 50% compared to 1929. The next year, over 23,000 PKP employees had been dismissed and protests and strikes causes authorities to try to find a solution. The end of the crisis and an increase of cargo transport and income came in 1937.
caption: Polish locomotive Pm36-1 (140 km/h) dated 1937.
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