Rail transport in Gliwice
The history of rail transport in Gliwice began in the first half of the 19th century. The Gliwice railway station ranks among the largest in the Katowice urban area and is classified as a Category A station by the Polish State Railways. Gliwice serves as a hub for international railways, including the and CE30, connecting Dresden with Lviv. The city hosts the Newag Gliwice facility, the Gliwice Wagon Factory, and an intermodal terminal at, integrating rail, river, and road transport.
History
Prussian period
In 1816, Carl Johann Bernhard Karsten proposed the first railway project to connect Upper Silesia with Wrocław. The double-track, steam-powered line, spanning over 200 km, was primarily designed for coal transport, with provisions for passenger services. The project was rejected in Berlin due to the lower cost of transporting coal via the Oder river.On 3 June 1836, the Silesian bourgeoisie established the Founding Committee of the Upper Silesian Railway, led by Count Püchler, president of Oppeln. Disputes over the route eastward from Opole limited initial construction to the section from Wrocław to Opole Zachodnie, completed on 29 May 1843. The final route from Opole to via Gliwice was approved in October 1842. The section to Gliwice opened on 2 October 1845, followed by two weeks later. The line reached on 3 October 1846, though the planned extension to Bieruń was never built. The 196.3 km line was inaugurated by Prussian King Frederick William IV. The also opened in 1846.
In 1846, Gliwice connected to the Prussian railway network via the Berlin–Wrocław railway, linking Berlin with Wrocław. In 1847, connections to the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria were established through the, connecting Kraków to. Two years later, access to the Congress Poland was enabled via the Warsaw–Vienna railway.
In 1872, the Upper Silesian Railway opened a line to Bytom, and in 1879, a second line to Opole, bypassing. In 1883, the railway was nationalized by the Royal Prussian Railway Administration, which opened a line to in 1904. In 1924, Polish State Railways opened a line from the Polish-German border at, enabling a direct connection to, located in Poland after World War I.
In 1895, wagon repair workshops were commissioned, later becoming the Gliwice Wagon Factory Holding S.A.. On 1 October 1904, the Royal Railway Locomotive Workshops began operations, functioning as the Locomotive Repair Plant from 1971.
On 25 March 1899, the opened a narrow-gauge line with a 785 mm gauge from to. The was completed in in 1903.
In 1913, the first plan to expand the station to its current size was proposed, undergoing several revisions before implementation. Reconstruction of the station's surroundings began in 1923, with the station itself starting on 24 April 1924 and completed on 9 December 1925.
From 15 May 1936 to 21 August 1939, the , a luxury express train, operated between Berlin-Charlottenburg and Bytom via Gliwice. Reaching speeds of up to 160 km/h, it was among the fastest trains globally at the time, with a journey from Bytom to Berlin Silesian Station taking 4 hours and 24 minutes.
In 1939, the Gliwice Canal was completed, ending at the in, served by the.
Polish period
In December 1952, an express connection to Warsaw was launched using a diesel railcar, replaced in 1958 by an electric multiple unit as the express Górnik.In the 1950s, intensive railway electrification began: the line to Katowice was electrified on 1 June 1957, to Opole via Strzelce Opolskie on 3 October 1960, to on 18 July 1962, to on 8 September 1977, and to Bytom on 23 December 1980.
Starting in the 1960s, passenger services were gradually discontinued: to on 1 July 1966, to Lubliniec on 15 October 1973, to on 4 November 1991, to on 9 January 1995, to and beyond on 1 June 1997, and to on 28 November 2000. The connection to Bytom was discontinued on 31 July 2001, reactivated on 31 January 2008, and suspended again on 1 March 2012.
In 1992, the Górnik express was reclassified as an InterCity service, becoming the first InterCity train to stop in Gliwice. In 1993, the station was expanded with a fourth platform, constructed by dismantling the third baggage platform.
In 2010, revitalization began on the line to Opole. On 1 October 2011, Koleje Śląskie launched trains on the Gliwice–Częstochowa route. On 1 February 2013, Koleje Śląskie reactivated the Gliwice–Bytom line, but suspended it again on 1 June 2013. In 2013, revitalization of the line to Katowice began.
On 13 December 2015, Express InterCity Premium trains, operated by ED250 Pendolino, began stopping in Gliwice.
Railways
Standard-gauge
Gliwice is served by, part of the European .From Gliwice railway station, railways, , and originate. From, extends to Opole Główne via Strzelce Opolskie.
Gliwice railway station is connected to Łabędy by an additional railway,, and to by.
Passenger services operate on Gliwice Łabędy–Pyskowice railway, Katowice–Legnica railway, and Zabrze Biskupice–Gliwice. Other railways are used solely for freight.
Narrow-gauge
All narrow-gauge railways in Gliwice are inactive and largely dismantled. On 1 March 1993, the narrow-gauge railway was listed as a heritage site. The 2009 Gliwice Spatial Development Study proposes restoring the narrow-gauge railway for tourism.Operating points
Active
The main station in Gliwice is Gliwice railway station, located in district. It is the second-largest station in the Katowice urban area and is classified as Category A by the Polish State Railways. In the district, lies at the junction of lines to Opole and . Beyond Łabędy, on Gliwice Łabędy–Pyskowice railway, is the.Freight traffic, in addition to Gliwice and Gliwice Łabędy railway stations, is handled by, located at the start of the Gliwice Canal, and, which served passengers until 1 June 1997.
| Name | Type | Number of platform edges | Infrastructure | Former names |
| Gliwice | Railway station | 8 | Ticket offices Ticket machines Waiting room Underground passages Water towers Inactive motive power depot | Gleiwitz Gleiwitz Staatsbahnhof Gleiwitz Gleiwitz Hauptbahnhof |
| Railway station | 2 | Shelters | Rotfeld Łabędy Łabędy Przystanek | |
| Railway station | 4 | Shelters | Laband Łabędy | |
| Goods station | Gleiwitz Hafen | |||
| Railway station | 2 | Inactive motive power depot | Sosnitza Gleiwitz Ost Gleiwitz Ost | |
| KWK Sośnica | Siding | |||
| Szobiszowice | Junction |
Inactive
On, between Gliwice and, there are two inactive service stops: Gliwice Lokomotywownia and Gliwice ZNTK.All narrow-gauge stops in Gliwice are inactive.
Station sidings
Gliwice hosts sidings serving various companies:| Station | User |
| Gliwice | Wire and Wire Products Factory |
| Gliwice | Gliwice Wagon Factory |
| Gliwice | Kem |
| Gliwice | Marbet-Wil |
| Gliwice | Newag Gliwice |
| Gliwice | Gliwice Container Terminal – PKP Cargo |
| KOL-TRANS-HUT | |
| MULLER die Logistik Polska | |
| PKP Energetyka | |
| Erovia Polska | |
| Military Unit No. 1933 | |
| M. Preymesser Logistyka | |
| Silesian Logistics Centre – Opel |
Accidents
- On 4 April 1866, a freight train derailed on the Gliwice– section, resulting in one fatality and two injuries.
- On 12 January 1994, the last carriage of an international train from Kraków Główny to Berlin-Lichtenberg derailed at, causing one death and seven injuries.
- On 14 July 2005, two freight trains collided near the Gl2 signal box, resulting in one fatality and one injury.