photo: Archives/Railway
Poland's Office of Rail Transport (UTK), headed by Mr. Ignacy Góra, Ph.D., published statistics on group transport for 2020. Coal, oil and natural gas, as well as the metal ore group and other mining products, accounted for almost 63% of the weight of goods transported in 2020. These goods also accounted for more than half of freight transport output.
In 2020, polish rail carriers carried about 223,2 million tonnes of cargo, which means a decrease in the transported weight of 5,6% compared to 2019. Transport output reached 52,2 billion tonne-kilometres in 2020, which is 6.6% lower than in 2019.
A total of 82,6 million tonnes of coal, oil and natural gas were transported in 2020 (the drop was more than 8,5 million tonnes compared to 2019). The group's share of total transported weight decreased by 1,6 percentage points compared to 2019 and amounted to 37%. In the case of the second most important group, i.e. metal ores and other extractive products, the decrease was almost 7 million tonnes, which was reflected in a decrease of almost 1,5 percentage points in the share. A total of 57,8 million tonnes were transported within this group and its share of the total transported weight was 25,9%.
According to the Office of Rail Transport, the analysis of groups of goods transported in 2020 confirms existing and indicates new trends in rail transport. In particular, the transport of goods in groups of costs related to the energy industry, heavy industry and materials for the needs of infrastructure modernization and development is decreasing. The downward trend is particularly evident in the transport of hard coal. Further declines in coal transport are foreseen in the coming years, which means the need for carriers providing these services to adapt to changes in demand and to develop the transport of other groups of goods. Relatively stable freight transport groups are in the sector related to the production of chemical, rubber and plastic products.
One of the most promising segments of rail freight is intermodal transport. In 2020, the share of groups of goods in intermodal transport was again observed: unidentified goods (15,8% by weight), machines and electrical equipment (36,9% by weight) and means of transport (7,6% by weight 0). In these groups, the role of international transport is dominant, reaching approximately 80-90%.
