Katowice. 2023-04-16

Geographic coordinates: 50.258N 19.092E. Elevation 261 m. Address; PKP Szopienice Południowe station, ulica 11 Listopada 11, 40-387 Katowice.

PKP Katowice Szopienice Południowe.

Katowice Szopienice Południowe railway station is located in Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, in Katowice, in the Szopienice-Burowiec district. The station was launched in 1870 and had the Germanic name Schoppinitzz. In 1922, the name was changed to the Polish Szopienice Południowe. In the period 1931-1939, it was called Szopienice. In the period 1945-1975, it was called Szopienice Południowe, and since 1975, Katowice Szopienice Południowe. The station is located at Lwowska and 11 Listopada streets.

The station level is located on a railway embankment. Access to the station is provided by a tunnel, the entrances to which are at ground level, and the stairs lead to Platform No. 1 and Platform No. 2. Platform No. 1 serves trains on Line No. 1 (Katowice-Warsaw, 312.910 km). Platform No. 2 serves trains on Line No. 138 (27.505 km), which serves the Katowice-Krakow and Katowice-Oświęcim routes. Platform No. 1 is wider and has a station building on it. The platforms were 280 m long and had an asphalt surface. In 2015, the platforms were renovated and raised. Now the surface is made of concrete blocks, and the platform edges are made of prefabricated concrete slabs. The length of the platforms is now 200 m, although fragments of the old platforms have been left. Platform 1 is 0.76 m high. Platform 2 is 0.65 m high. On November 27, 2014, a contract was signed for the renovation of the station building on Platform No. 1. As part of the work, the elevation was renovated, the roof was renovated, and the entrance to the platform was renovated. The work was completed in 2015. Interestingly, there are no switches (junctions) at the station, meaning the routes do not cross.

Currently, in 2024, the station is used by trains of the Śląskie, PolRegio, and Małopolskie Railways. In 2017, the station served up to 500 passengers per day, and in 2022, up to 1,000 people per day. There is no parking lot or taxi rank at the station. There are architectural barriers, which makes it difficult for people with disabilities to use the station. There is no ticket office or other service and commercial facilities. There are no toilets. On the south side of the station is the Kolonia Helgoland housing estate. On the north side is Janusz Sidło Square and the Olimpijczyk Park.

History.

The Gliwice–Mysłowice railway line was launched on October 3, 1846. In June 1858, work began on the construction of a link between the Upper Silesian Railway in Prussia and the Warsaw–Vienna Railway in the Duchy of Warsaw, dependent on the Muscovite state. The construction was approved after an agreement between both railway companies and the governments of both countries. Thanks to the link, there was no need to travel through the Austro-Hungarian partition (Szczakowa) and the Granica station (Maczki). Work on the last section of Szopienice–Sosnowiec was completed by August 24, 1859. That day, the line between Katowice and Ząbkowice was officially opened. On August 26, 1859, normal traffic was launched on the new route. The customs office was located in Sosnowiec. In a short time, most of the goods between the Germanic brothers and the Muscovites were transported along the new route.

It was not until 1870 that a passenger station was established at the Szopienice railway junction. This was done at the express request of the residents of Szopienice and Roździeń. The matter was not so simple, because in 1868, a station was built nearby on the new line of the Right Bank of the Oder Railway. The Right Bank of the Oder Railway or the Right Oder Railway (Germanic Rechte–Oder–Ufer–Eisenbahn, abbreviated ROUE) was the second railway line after the Upper Silesian Railway connecting Wrocław with Upper Silesia. It was built by the joint-stock company of the Right Bank of the Oder Railway (Rechte–Oder–Ufer–Eisenbahn–Gesellschaft). It runs along the route Wrocław – Oleśnica – Lasowice Małe Oleskie – Fosowskie – Tarnowskie Góry – Bytom – Chorzów – Siemianowice Śląskie – Katowice-Szopienice – Katowice-Murcki – Tychy – Pszczyna – Czechowice-Dziedzice. The line was put into service in the period 1865–1872.

The station in question is the current Katowice Szopienice Północne technical station. The establishment of this station was an incentive for the Upper Silesian Railway so that passengers would not leave for the competition, and that is why the Szopienice Południowe station was opened. This happened in 1870. The platforms were made of old railway sleepers and planks, and the platforms were accessed by stairs on the railway embankment. The station was a wooden barracks. It is worth mentioning that the distance between the two competing stations was a few minutes’ walk (300 m).

In the 1950s, the electrification of railway lines in Upper Silesia began. The first to be electrified was line No. 1 Warsaw – Katowice. On June 1, 1957, the Łazy – Szopienice Południowe – Gliwice section was put into service. In the direction of Szczakowa, trains with electric traction started running on May 14, 1959.

Written by Karol Placha Hetman