Subway of Warsaw

The Métro of Warsaw includes/understands a single line, North-South, inaugurated in 1995 after great technical difficulties and financial. The line, currently of 17,3 km and sixteen stations, is well integrated into a network of lines of Tramway and shoed regional lines.

History and construction

Though inaugurated the subway of Warsaw recently already a long story has. It is into 1925 that the authorities of the town of Warsaw decided to study a project of subway. The studies were not finished when the war occurred.

In 1950 the government decided to build the subway but work stopped in 1957.

After preliminary studies in 1974, the Council of Ministers took in 1982 the resolution to build a first line of the subway and work started again the following year. Unfortunately the political situation and especially financial became increasingly difficult and work advanced only with the idle. In 1987 a law imposes that the central budget ceases being the single funding source of the subway. The project is tiny room in length and in stations, but, without experiment and outside assistance, the manufacturers pain to advance more quickly.

An agreement of compensation between the Communist regimes of Poland and the USSR envisaged a delivery of 90 vehicles for the subway, but only ten will be delivered before the fall of the Soviet mode. It is on the municipal budget that the 32 vehicles delivered in 1994 will be bought.

After a last delay because of a reinforcement of the security standards, the subway is finally inaugurated the April 7th 1995 of Kabaty with Politechnika (11,5 km and eleven stations).
La construction of the subway continues, four extensions towards the progressively following one another north small length of the construction of the stations: in May 1998 to the station Centrum (1,5 km, a station), in May 2001 until Ratusz (1,7 km, two stations), in December 2003 until Dworzec Gdański (1,5 km, a station), in April 2005 until the place Wilson (1,1 km, a station). All the line is in underground, the stations being between eight and twelve meters below surface.

An extension of the line towards north (5,5 km, 5 stations) is in the course of construction.

Chronology

Technology

The park of rolling stock is currently composed of sixty vehicles of Russian manufacture (series 81), divided into fifteen trains of four vehicles, and 108 vehicles of French design constituting eighteen trains. All the vehicles can reach a speed of 90 km/h. Their width is of 2,8 m for a length of 19,5 Mr.

To the 10 initial vehicles manufactured at MVZ Mytische with Moscow delivered into 1989 the thirty-two vehicles manufactured at Metrowagonmasz were added to Saint-Petersbourg delivered in 1994, then eighteen vehicles of the same manufacturer delivered in 1997.

In April 1998, the company Alstom obtained a contract of 480 million złotys (105 d'€uros million) for eighteen trains of six vehicles (two motor coaches-four trailers). The first four trains manufactured in the factory of Barcelona and were delivered in 2000. The 14 other trains were produced in the Alstom-Konstal factory of Chorzów and were delivered between 2001 and the beginning of 2005. Each one of these trains can carry 1460 passengers including 250 sitted. In April 2006, the subway signed a contract for fourteen complementary intermediate vehicles with Metrowagonmasz; another batch of sixteen vehicles of the same type is in the course of order. All the initial Russian trains will be able to thus pass from four to six vehicles.

The vehicles are supplied classically with 750V by rail of traction on the ground. The way is with standard spacing 1,435 Mr.

The oars are exploited in manual mode, a device controlling the speed and the interval of the trains. An automatic system of control is in the course of establishment.

Exploitation

The subway is used 5:00 of the morning until 0:20 mn in days of week. The interval between two trains is of 4-5 minutes in the course of the day and 8 minutes early the morning and after 21:00. Saturday the interval is 7 minutes and 8 minutes Sunday. The mean velocity reaches 36 km/h.

The quays of the stations reach a 120 meters length to be able to accommodate trains of six vehicles. Taking into account the size of the vehicles, the subway transports: 30000 passengers per hour: 340000 passengers per day of week: 140000 passengers Sunday.

In 2004 the subway of Warsaw transported approximately 81 million passengers (27 million in 1996).

A single ticket at limited time costs 2,4 zł, a ticket for the day 7,2 zł and a monthly chart 76 zł (approximately 19€).

Projects

A second East-West line (twenty km, twenty stations) is in project of Chrzanów in the west towards the district of Praga on Right Bank of the the Vistula. A first section of six km and seven stations would be built.

The total costs of the line would be of 1,5 billion euros. European funds will be necessary, undoubtedly to a total value of 80%, so that the line is really built. It would then take eight years to bring into service all the line.

A short third line of seven km is also in project. A fourth envisaged in the beginning disappeared from the current plans.

External bond

(''' pl ''') Subway of Warsaw - official site

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