Warszawa Centralna railway station

Warszawa Centralna

Location of station in Warsaw
Location Al. Jerozolimskie 54, Śródmieście, Warsaw, Masovian
 Poland
Coordinates 52°13′43″N 21°00′11″E / 52.228611°N 21.003056°E / 52.228611; 21.003056Coordinates: 52°13′43″N 21°00′11″E / 52.228611°N 21.003056°E / 52.228611; 21.003056
Platforms 4
Tracks 8
Connections Warszawa Śródmieście
Centrum
Warszawa Śródmieście WKD
History
Opened 1975
Services
Preceding station   PKP   Following station
toward Berlin Hbf
EuroCity
Terminus
Preceding station   KM   Following station
toward Skierniewice
RE1
Terminus
Terminus
RE9
toward Działdowo
RL
toward Modlin
Preceding station   SKM   Following station
S3
toward Wieliszew

Warszawa Centralna is the primary railway station in Warsaw, Poland. Designed by architect Arseniusz Romanowicz, its construction began in 1972 and was completed in 1975. The station, located on the Warsaw Cross-City Line, features four underground island platforms with eight tracks in total and is served by the long-distance domestic and international trains of PKP Intercity and Przewozy Regionalne as well as some of the regional trains operated by Koleje Mazowieckie.

History

Main hall

The station was constructed as a flagship project of the People's Republic of Poland during the 1970s western-loan fueled economic boom, and was meant to replace the inadequate Warsaw Główna.

However, the project encountered substantial problems from the very beginning. The station's design was innovative but plagued by continuous alterations to the scope of work and sub-standard construction quality, which in turn hurt functionality and operations upon completion. The problems with the scope and construction were in part to blame on a hasty completion date set to coincide with Leonid Brezhnev's 1975 visit to the capital of the Soviet Union's largest satellite state. The design and construction problems necessitated immediate repairs that would continue through the 1980s. Despite the deficiencies, the structure was fairly advanced for its time and incorporated such features as automatic doors, as well as escalators and elevators for each platform.[1]

After a period of decline, a cosmetic upgrade of the station in 2010-2011 was completed in time for the Euro 2012 championships.[2] The Warsaw city government is now contemplating demolishing and replacing the station, either at the same location or farther from the city center. Tentative plans are to demolish the present station in 2014 and replace it in the same location by 2018.[3] Some elements of the Warsaw press (e.g. Gazeta Wyborcza and Architektura Murator 2012), as well as Swiss journalist and historian Werner Huber, have argued against demolition, claiming that the current Warszawa Centralna is a great example of functionalist architecture and a masterpiece of Polish modernism.[4]

The station is fully accessible to the disabled as well as passengers with heavy luggage.[1]

Location

Warszawa Centralna 1975

Warszawa Centralna flanked on either side by two other rail stations: to the west lies Warszawa Śródmieście WKD, the terminus of the WKD suburban light rail line; to the east lies Warszawa Śródmieście PKP, served by suburban trains run by Koleje Mazowieckie and Szybka Kolej Miejska.[5]

Train services

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

Trivia

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 shut down 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.

References

  1. 1 2 "Warsaw Central". Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  2. ↑ Ryszard Piech (17 November 2008). "Euro 2012 deadline catalyses network upgrade". Railway Gazette International.
  3. ↑ Gazeta Wyborcza article: Dworzec Centralny. Burzyć czy zachować?
  4. ↑ "How political revolutions shaped Warsaw's postwar architecture". FT Now. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  5. ↑ "Photo of location". fotopolska.eu. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
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