Warszawa Wschodnia, Warsaw East, is one of the most important railway stations in Warsaw, Poland. Its more official name is Warszawa Wschodnia Osobowa (Warsaw East Passenger). It is located on the eastern side of the Vistula river, on the border of the Praga-Północ and Praga-Południe districts, on the Warsaw Cross-City Line. It serves all trains passing through the larger Warszawa Centralna and Śródmieście stations which stop or terminate at Wschodnia station. It is one of the busiest railway stations in Poland, with over 800 daily trains.
The Warszawa Wschodnia station first started operating in 1866 as the terminus of the newly built Warsaw–Terespol Railway. By 1933 the station was rebuilt as a through the station with the opening of the Cross-City line. The station building was destroyed during World War II, and in postwar decades provisional, temporary buildings were used to serve passengers.
The current station building opened in 1969 and was for a while the most modern large station in Warsaw. In the following years, it received little investment and so fell into disrepair. The station building and its sister station Warsaw Zachodnia were renovated for the UEFA Euro 2012 championship.
The Warsaw (Warszawa) metropolis stands on the Vistula River (Wisła) in east-central Poland 260 km (160 mi) from the Baltic Sea, Its population is officially estimated at 1.9 million residents within a greater metropolitan area of 3.3 million residents, which makes Warsaw the 7th most-populous city in the European Union
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland (Rzeczpospolita Polska), is the fifth-most populous member state of the European Union, with a total population of over 38 million.
The public transport network in Warsaw includes buses, trams, subway and urban rapid rail lines (Szybka Kolej Miejska – SKM). With Warsaw Public Transport (WTP) you can travel easily around the city and get to many cities neighboring with Warsaw. The Public Transport Authority (ZTM) is an organiser of public transport within the territory of Warsaw.
The Warsaw tram network is a 125.3-kilometer (77.9 mi) tram system serving a third of Warsaw, and serving half the city's population. It operates about 726 cars, and is the second-largest system in Poland after the Silesian system (Tramwaje Konurbacji Śląskiej, one of the largest tram systems in the world). In Warsaw, there are about 25 regular tram lines, forming a part of the city's integrated public transport system organized by the Warsaw Transport Authority. Since 1994 the system is operated by the municipally-owned company Tramwaje Warszawskie sp. z.o.o.
The first tram (horsecar) line in Warsaw was opened in 1866. After the German invasion of 1939 the tram service was halted for about three months due to war damage, but the trams were back in service by 1940. In 1941 the present colors of the cars were introduced (yellow and red, in the colors of the Flag of Warsaw. Previously, trams were painted either white and red, or entirely red). During the Warsaw Uprising, the tram system was destroyed. The first tram line was reopened in 1945.
The Polish railways network consists of around 18,510 km (11,500 mi) of track as of 2019. 11,998 km (7,455 mi) is electrified. The national electrification system runs at 3 kV DC.
Rail services of Poland ä are operated by a range of public and private rail operators. The state-owned PKP Group operates the majority of rail services. In addition to PKP owned companies, there are a number of private cargo operators, as well as a number of independent passenger operators, with the latter owned predominantly by Voivodeship provincial governments.
The vast majority of the network was built before World War II by various railway companies, including by the German Deutsche Reichsbahn and by the Russian Imperial State Railways, and a minor component was built from 1946 onwards by the Communist authorities of the Polish People's Republic. During the invasion of Poland at the beginning of World War II the Polish railway network was crippled by the Luftwaffe bombing campaign. Due to the average age of the network and lack of maintenance, many sections are limited to speeds below 160 km/h (99 mph) even on trunk lines. 2,813 km (1,748 mi) allow 160 km/h (99 mph) or more.
Since Poland's entry into the European Union in 2004, major financing has been made available by European financing institutions to improve both the Polish rail network and the rolling stock fleet.
Poland is a member of the International Union of Railways (UIC), its UIC Country Code is 51.
