From regression to success: The phenomenon of reactivation of passenger rail transport in Lower Silesia province (Poland)

The study considers the reactivation of railway lines in the Lower Silesian province. The choice of the research area was not accidental, since Lower Silesia is the region where the largest-scale activities restoring railway traffic were carried out. The factors that had a decisive impact on the reactivation process can be boiled down to several important aspects, such as: the relatively large number of previously closed lines with the potential to be reopened, the pro-railway attitude of the provincial government with a vision to restore the rail network, the establishment of a new carrier operating on different terms than PKP Przewozy Regionalne (regional rail operator), and new funding opportunities for modernization. Although the temporal scope of the study essentially focuses on the 2006–2024 period (i.e., the reactivation period), for a better understanding of the changes being implemented, a brief historical outline is included, covering the period from 1990 to 2006, when massive decommissioning of rail lines was carried out. In a sense, they show characteristic phases of development (a sinusoid) starting from progress, stagnation, regression or progress again. Based on the survey, it can be concluded that in the main the reactivated lines were single-track, without electrification infrastructure. For the most part, they underwent modernization and are operated by modern Polish rolling stock.