Warsaw Metro
The Warsaw Metro is a rapid transit underground system serving the Polish capital Warsaw. It currently consists of two lines, the north–south M1 line which links central Warsaw with its densely populated northern and southern districts, and the east–west M2 line. Three more lines are planned. The system is operated by Metro Warszawskie, a municipal corporation, and managed by Public Transport Authority in Warsaw, different municipal corporation. As of, it is the only metro system in Poland.
The first section of M1 was opened in 1995 and the line was gradually extended until it reached its full length in October 2008. The contract for the construction of the initial central section of M2 was signed on 28 October 2009 and construction began on 16 August 2010. The initial segment of M2, measuring with seven stations, one of which, Świętokrzyska, includes a transfer between the two lines, was opened on 8 March 2015. The line's further extensions have been opening since 2019, and it is expected to be completed in 2026, when it will have 21 stations.
In February 2023, the mayor of Warsaw Rafał Trzaskowski released a plan for the Warsaw Metro, calling for five metro lines by the year 2050. The plan includes constructing two additional M1 stations, Plac Konstytucji and Muranów, extending M2 line to Marymont and Ursus-Niedźwiadek, as well as construction of three new lines: M3, M4, and M5. With those extensions the metro would directly serve 17 out of Warsaw's 18 districts.
History
Early attempts (1918-1939)
Plans to build an underground rail system in Warsaw date as far back as 1918, when the idea was first proposed after Warsaw regained its status as Poland's capital city. An underground railway system was expected to solve the transport difficulties of the densely built city center. Proper preliminary planning and boring work were initiated by the Warsaw Tramway Authority in 1925, with construction expected to start in the late 1920s. The Great Depression halted those plans as Poland and the world were gripped by economic hardship.In 1934, with the election of a new mayor of Warsaw, Stefan Starzyński, work was to resume on the metro. The mayor dusted off the plans from the mid-1920s, and with some minor adjustments, construction of the metro was planned to start by the late 1930s, with a projected finishing date of the first of two projected lines scheduled for the mid-1940s. By then, the subway network was to consist of two lines. Line M1 was to follow a route similar to the present-day line and was to link the southernmost borough of Mokotów with the city center and the northern borough of Żoliborz. This line was to be connected with the newly constructed Warszawa Główna railway station and the railway tunnel crossing the city from west to east. Line M2 was to start beneath the westernmost borough of Wola, proceed along the Chłodna street to the pivotal station beneath the Saxon Square and then further eastwards to the Vistula river escarpment. There, the line was to go overground, cross the river through a newly built bridge and proceed to the easternmost railway station of Warszawa Wschodnia. Altogether, in 35 years, 7 lines were to be built. The works finally started in 1938, but World War II brought an end to the ambitious undertaking. The short trace tunnels made in 1938 serve as a wine cellar today.
Post-war plans (1945-1950)
The city suffered heavily during World War II. Although the majority of pre-war projects were destroyed during the war, most of the engineers behind their creations survived and returned to their city to take part in its rebirth. However, the new Communist authorities of Poland envisioned a city completely different from what it had been before the war. As the "ideal" communist city, Warsaw was to be decentralized and the need to commute to the city center was reduced. Thus, the Office for the Reconstruction of Warsaw commissioned several engineers to prepare a project for a fast urban railway crossing the city in a deep cutting. Although to a large extent it was to follow line 1 of the pre-war plans, only the central stations were to be located underground. However, by the end of the decade, the project was cancelled. Instead, in 1948 communist planners developed a different concept with the new SKM morphing into a rapid transit line at a depth of up to. The suggested north–south direction, with three parallel branches of the same line in the city center, corresponded to the planned development of the city along the Vistula. The works, however, never started and this project was also abandoned.Cold War era tunnels (1950-1957)
In the 1950s, as the Cold War continued, Soviet strategic plans required that a secure transport link across the river Vistula be built. One of the ways to achieve this was to create a deep metro system in Warsaw, which would be interlinked with the rail network and could serve as an underground conduit for transporting troops. Plans assumed that the first line would lie along a north–south axis, with a branch of the same line crossing the Vistula river in the city centre. The construction works started almost simultaneously at 17 different points on both sides of the river. By 1953 only of tunnels had been built; after the death of Joseph Stalin and the start of a period of détente, all work was halted under the pretext of technical difficulties. In the following years, only one junction tunnel and one shield-driven tunnel were continued. These works were undertaken experimentally, to discover the best driving methods suitable for the ground conditions beneath Warsaw. All work was halted in 1957, and the tunnel eventually flooded in 1960.Current Metro (1983-Present)
Planning and construction
In 1955, planners returned to the old idea of a shallow metro network. However, the planning phase proceeded at a very slow pace and the economic situation prevented all successive governments from actually starting serious work. Finally, in 1983, the program was approved by the government and the first tunnels were built. Lack of funds, technical difficulties, shortage of materials and outdated tunnelling methods meant that the work progressed very slowly, sometimes at a speed no greater than per day.Opening
The Metro was opened on 7 April 1995 with a total of 11 stations. The initial line, M1, has 21 stations over a route distance of.Many of the station name announcements are narrated by Ksawery Jasieński, with some newer stations using recordings by Maciej Gudowski.
Newer extensions
On 11 March 2016, a 1 billion PLN contract was awarded to the Italian company Astaldi to build the first phase of the north-east M2 extension with of track and 3 stations: Szwedzka, Targówek Mieszkaniowy, and Trocka. On 30 April, construction on Szwedzka station started, and on 2 May, the other two stations started construction. Construction of this phase took 3 years, until it opened on 15 September 2019. Initially, this extension was to be built at the same time as the west extension which was due to be completed in 2020. However, due to delays, it was decided that each extension will be built at its own pace. The extension from Rondo Daszyńskiego to Księcia Janusza was opened on 4 April 2020, and the extension from Księcia Janusza to Bemowo was opened on 30 June 2022. On 28 September 2022, the extension of M2 consisting of three new stations: Zacisze, Kondratowicza, and Bródno was opened to the public.Turkish construction firm Gülermak was commissioned in November 2018 to complete the three western-most stations on the line – Lazurowa, Chrzanów and Karolin.
Timeline
Metro Warszawskie
History
Metro Warszawskie is a transportation company whose main task is to operate the Warsaw Metro and maintain its infrastructure. The company's history began in 1971 with the Łazienki Route construction, led by the Directorate for the Construction of the Bridge Route – Łazienki. After completion, it reorganized into the Directorate for the Construction of Transport Routes on September 1, 1974. That autumn, the Directorate for Metro Construction was established at 27/31 to prepare for the M1 metro line. On July 1, 1980, it became a separate unit under the Directorate for the Construction of Transport Routes.General Directorate for Metro Construction (1983–1995)
After the Toruń Route construction, most employees of the Directorate for the Construction of Transport Routes joined the General Directorate for Metro Construction, established on February 10, 1983, by Mayor of Warsaw. It acted as the investor and contractor for the M1 metro line, starting construction on April 15, with headquarters at 77/79 Marszałkowska Street.In 1989, it was appointed as the metro's initial operator. Due to Poland's political and economic changes, the directorate's scope and legal form shifted, and on February 25, 1992, it became an organizational unit of the Association of Warsaw Districts and Municipalities without legal personality. The first M1 metro section opened on April 7, 1995.