Polish Regional and Long-Distance Railway Transport During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The purpose of this article is to present the changes that took place on the market of passenger transport by rail in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2. Particular attention has been paid to the railway passenger transport in Poland. Two segments of this transport sector are presented: regional (represented by the POLREGIO company) and long-distance (represented by the PKP Intercity company). An analysis of the available data shows that irrespective of the segment, the year 2020 was characterized by significant reductions in terms of transport, which reached the lowest volumes in April and May, and the financial results of PKP Intercity were worse than in previous years; however, the share of POLREGIO in the market of passenger transport by rail increased. For the purpose of the article, literature and other available sources have been researched and analytical and synthetic methods have been applied. In addition to text, drawings are included.