Wadowice 2024-11-30

Wadowice Railway Station.

Geographic coordinates: 49.885N 19.501E. Elevation 256 m (839.90 ft). Address: Marszałka Józefa Piłsudskiego 10, 34-100 Wadowice.

The city of Wadowice.

Wadowice is a picturesque city in southern Poland. The city is located in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in the Wadowice district, the Wadowice commune. The city’s area is 10.52 km2. The city’s population is 17,196 people (2024). Geographically, Wadowice is located in the Carpathian Foothills in the Little Beskids. The Skawa River flows through the city, which is a right tributary of the Vistula River. National roads No. 28 and No. 52 run through the city. From Wadowice, the distance to: Bielsko Biała is 35 km, Kraków is 45 km, Katowice is 65 km, Warsaw is 325 km.

Historically, Wadowice is located in the Kraków Land. The first written mentions date back to 1325. City rights were granted before 1327. During the existence of the Duchy of Oświęcim and the Duchy of Zator, Wadowice belonged to the Kingdom of Bohemia, after which in 1564, it was incorporated into the Kraków Voivodeship, which was part of Lesser Poland. For centuries, Wadowice was a local trade center, but development was very slow. It came to life at the end of the 18th century, when the Central Galician road route was built, which connected Vienna with Lviv. Austrian district authorities were placed in the city. Thanks to Saint John Paul II, who was born in Wadowice, the city became a pilgrimage and tourist center. Saint John Paul II made three pilgrimages to Wadowice in: 1979, 1991 and 1999. There is a museum in the family home of Saint John Paul II.

Wadowice railway station.

Wadowice railway station was a junction station. The first train to Wadowice arrived in 1887, i.e. during the Austrian partition. But construction lasted until 1888. An unpleasant episode in the history of Wadowice station was the closure of the Skawce – Wadowice route in 1988, due to the construction of a reservoir. In 2002, another degradation occurred, due to the closure of the Wadowice – Spytkowice rail traffic. The traction network was dismantled.

Until 2014, the number of rail connections in Wadowice was systematically decreasing. In addition to major cuts in rail connections, there were cosmetic cuts that were supposed to lead to the liquidation of PKP. The governments of communists, Volksdeutsche and Masons contributed significantly to the liquidation in the period 2007-2015. In 2015, rail connections in Wadowice were completely taken over by the carrier PolRegio, which maintained connections on the Kraków Płaszów – Wadowice – Bielsko Biała Główna route.

Two rail lines passed through the city: No. 103 Trzebinia – Wadowice – Skawce and No. 117 Kalwaria Zebrzydowska Lanckorona – Bielsko Biała Główna. The station serves local traffic and, to a small extent, long-distance traffic. For many tourists, Wadowice is one of the destinations. The station is operated by Koleje Małopolskie and PolRegio. The distance from the railway station to the city centre is only 800 m.

LK No. 103 Trzebinia – Wadowice is still on the PKP list. The line is 37.408 m long and ends at the Wadowice station. LK No. 117 Kalwaria Zebrzydowska Lanckorona – Bielsko-Biała Główna is 58.463 km long. Wadowice station is located on 17.483 km of this line. The entire length of the line carries rail traffic; freight and passenger.

The station was built in a typical Austrian style, according to a standard design, as one of the largest in size. The building is two-storey, 9-axle, with a projection on the side of the station square. The building is built of red brick and covered with a hipped roof. After some time, the station was plastered, but after the last renovation, the elevation is brick. White decorative elements were left; window and door frames and cornices. Initially, the roof was covered with red ceramic tiles, but is now covered with green ceramic tiles. The attic level is covered with boarding. The building contained ticket and luggage offices, a waiting room-restaurant, a telephone exchange, a telegraph and staff apartments. In 2011, the ticket offices were closed, and reopened in 2023. Tickets can be purchased from ticket machines on the train or from the conductor’s team. Gradually, additional smaller buildings were added to the station building.

Since April 2016, the station has been owned by the Wadowice commune (the mayor of Wadowice). In recent years (2016-2023), the station building has been renovated. It offers basic services for travelers, such as a waiting room and toilets, but it is also a cultural center. Inside, the joinery, plasters, floors, central heating installations, water and electrical installations have been replaced. A heat pump has also been installed and the old tiled stove has been restored. Air conditioning has been installed. An elevator to the second floor has been installed. Photovoltaics have been installed on the new roof. The station consists of three zones. The first zone has a waiting room, ticket offices, a buffet, a café and a toilet. The second zone is the Culture Station, i.e. the second seat of the Wadowice Cultural Center, with a conference room, an exhibition room and a music room. The third zone is the Science Center, modeled on the Copernicus Science Center. The center is called SOWA, which is an acronym for the Zone of Discovery of Imagination and Activity. The station was opened to passengers and residents in December 2023. Remember that the renovation was necessary because without it the old building could simply collapse. It was in poor technical condition; it had sunken floors on the ground floor, the roof structure was in poor condition, plaster was falling off and the internal installations were in poor condition. The wooden ceilings required repair and maintenance.

Convenient access to the station is provided by an underground passage under Marszała Józefa Piłsudskiego Street (national roads No. 28 and No. 52). The passage is accessible to people in wheelchairs via built ramps.

In the period 2004-2008, the track system and platforms were completely rebuilt. The area was drained and the surface layer of the earth was reinforced. The tracks were rebuilt and new switches were installed. This allowed the speed of passenger trains to be increased to 70 km/h, and freight trains to 60 km/h. The unused platform at the station building was eliminated, but the historical roofing along the station was left. The unused exits on LK No. 103, towards Skawka, were eliminated, and in the Spytkowice – Trzebinia direction, leaving the possibility of reconstructing the line in the future.

Additionally, the railway bridges (three spans) were renovated, in 17.390 km of LK No. 117, the Choczenka River. The steel structure was sandblasted and painted with new paints. The railway-road crossings were renovated along the streets: Podstwie, Wojska Polskiego (DK No. 28), Łazówka (at the Wadowice Osiedla Podhalanin passenger stop).

The construction of the tunnel for passengers, which lasted from 2003 to 2009, was completed. The tunnel connected the square at the station with the platforms. A passage was left on the level of the tracks for people in wheelchairs, families with prams, cyclists and passengers with large luggage. This was necessary because the tunnel does not have lifts or ramps. The tunnel structure was made using the open-cast method using reinforced concrete prefabricated elements. The entire structure was protected with moisture insulation. Electrical installations and lighting were installed. The interior of the tunnel was painted and covered with stoneware slabs. Linear drains and monitoring were installed. The tunnel is 27 m long, 5 m wide and 2.80 m high. The stairs to the tunnel are narrower and are 2-2.5 m long.

Both island, double-edged platforms were renovated. Platform 1 is 260 m long, has a maximum width of 7.50 m, and is 0.76 m high from the railhead. The edges of the platform are made of burgundy slabs measuring 1 m x 2 m. The rest of the platform is paved with concrete blocks. There are bus shelters on the platform. Platform 2 is 160 m long, has a maximum width of 6 m, and is 0.35 m high from the railhead. The platform was renovated earlier. The platform surface is covered with concrete pavement slabs measuring 0.5 m x 0.5 m. A yellow warning line is painted on it. There is a short roof on the platform. There are display cases with railway information, lighting, benches, and an audio system.

Several tracks run through the station, five of which are in use. Four tracks are electrified. The eastern part of the station is the railway technical facilities. There are storage yards, car parks, and a loading ramp. In the northern head of the station, on the eastern side, there is a new railway signal box (Młyńska Street). Near the station there is a bus station, the district police headquarters, as well as parking lots and numerous retail outlets.

In 2022, the station served up to 300 passengers per day. On November 28, 2024, 15 trains departed from the station. It was possible to go to the following stations: Bielsko Biała Główna, Kraków Główny.

Written by Karol Placha Hetman