Kutno 2025-03-24

City of Kutno.

Kutno is a city in central Poland, in the Łódź province, with a rich history dating back to the Middle Ages. The first mentions of Kutno date back to the 12th century. The settlement developed on an important trade route connecting Toruń with Kraków. Since 1161, the settlement paid tithes to the Łęczyca collegiate church. In 1386, Kutno was granted by King Władysław Jagiełło to the knight Andrzej de Kutno, who was the progenitor of the Kutnowski family. Kutno was a noble city. Since the 14th century, Kutno was subject to the dukes of Mazovia. In 1432, the settlement received city rights. But the city was degraded and re-location occurred in 1504 and there was another degradation of the city and re-location in 1766. The rights were granted by King Stanisław August, directly to Andrzej Zamoyski.

In the 16th century, Kutno became a significant trade center, mainly thanks to annual fairs and developing crafts. In the 18th century, the city belonged to the Zamoyski family, and later the Rzewuski family. In 1766, Antoni Czartoryski founded the first factory here. In 1750, in Kutno, the Polish King August III Sas ordered the establishment of a travel home, which increased the importance of the city. Inns and taverns had been operating earlier. As a result, the Post Office Palace, called the “Saxon Palace”, was created. The building was built in the period 1750-1753, after the opening of the Royal Route from Dresden to Warsaw.

In 1753, Kutno was completely burned down. At that time, the city records were burned down, including the old location privilege. In 1774, another fire broke out in the city. In 1808, there was another large fire that destroyed 180 houses.

In 1793, as a result of the second partition of Poland, Kutno found itself under Prussian rule, and then in 1807, it became part of the Duchy of Warsaw. In 1815, the city found itself in the Kingdom of Poland under the control of the Muscovite state.

In the mid-19th century, and to be precise from 1861, Kutno developed as an important railway junction. The railway to Kutno was brought from Łowicz, during the construction of the Warsaw-Bydgoszcz Railway. The railway determined the economic face of the city.

In the second half of the 19th century, the first industrial plants were established. In 1844, the first hospital was opened in the city. In 1845, a new town hall was built in the classicist style. In 1905, a municipal power plant was launched. In 1906, Aleksander Prokowski opened the first bookstore in the city. In 1907, the building of the first secondary school in Kutno was opened. The school operated for only 4 months and was closed by the Russian occupier.

In 1905, a large railway strike took place in Kutno. Railway workers protested mainly because of low wages and late payments. At that time, the railway was under the complete management of the Muscovites, who made large profits from the railway. At the beginning of February 1905, the head of the Kutno district, Grigory Dwigubski, received information about the upcoming railway workers’ strike. He immediately handed it over to the Warsaw governor on February 6, 1905. The several-day railway strike ended on February 25, 1905.

During the Great World War, the city of Kutno was destroyed by Germanic troops. In the period of November 15–16, 1914, the Battle of Kutno took place, which, after the defeat of the Muscovites, opened the way for the Germans to Warsaw. In 1915, the local parish priest, Father Franciszek Pruski, was shot by the Germans. A plaque commemorating this event is located in the parish of St. John the Baptist. On November 11, 1918, during an attempt to disarm a Germanic gendarme, near the railway station, a POW (Polish Military Organization) member, Wojciech Rychtelski, was killed. He was buried in the Main Cemetery in Kutno, and in front of the station there is his monument and a plaque commemorating this event.

In the interwar period, Kutno was an important industrial and agricultural center. Public and private schools developed. Among them was a trade school. At that time, all the railway lines that exist to this day were built; to Płock, Poznań and Łódź.

In September 1939, one of the largest battles of the September Campaign took place near Kutno; the Battle of the Bzura. In December 1939, the Germans began the extermination of the Polish population. They planned to expel all residents and seize their property. Poles were taken to concentration camps or to work in a rajch. People were transported in trucks or horse-drawn carts, and then in sealed wagons, in which up to 150 people were crammed. Murders of civilians were a Germanic norm. During World War II, the Germans established a ghetto in Kutno, in the sugar factory “Hortensja”, or as other sources say “Konstancja”. The Germans showed particular hatred towards Polish teachers. About 220 teachers were arrested from the Kutno district and murdered. Only a few teachers escaped death because they were warned before the arrest. In the Kutno district, a ZWZ-AK cell operated, under the pseudonym “Karol”. On January 19, 1945, the Moscow army entered the city and the Soviet occupation began.

After World War II, Kutno was rebuilt and became an important industrial center, especially in the chemical and food sectors. The city is famous for its annual Rose Festival, which attracts tourists and flower lovers. Currently, Kutno is an important logistics, industrial and cultural center in the Łódź region. The city is a center of the electronics industry; Unitra Miflex plants and the machinery industry; Zakłady Maszynowe Kraj. Kutno is part of the Łódź Special Economic Zone.

Currently, Kutno operates under the rights of a district. The city’s area is 33.59 km2. The average elevation is 113 m. Kutno lies on the Ochnia River, a tributary of the Bzura River. Kutno is located in the geographical center of present-day Poland. The city belongs to the Central Mazovian Lowland, in the Łęczyca Land. Kutno is one of the cities that constitutes one administrative and cultural whole. The railway had a great influence on the development of the city. Agriculture is developing around, with a high cultivation culture. In 2023, the city’s population was 41,231 inhabitants.

The history of the railway in Kutno.

The Warsaw-Bydgoszcz Railway is one of the first historical railway lines, which was built in the period 1860-1862, i.e. at the same time as the Warsaw-Petersburg Railway. However, the line to Bydgoszcz was built using existing sections of the Warsaw-Vienna Railway. The line was opened on December 4, 1862. The line is 143 km long.

The initiator and manager of the line was the Joint Stock Company of the Warsaw-Vienna Railway. The line used the Skierniewice – Łowicz branch, which was built in 1845 as the Warsaw-Vienna Railway. From Łowicz through Kutno – Włocławek – Aleksandrów Kujawski – Toruń, the line reaches Bydgoszcz, where it connects with the Germanic Ostbahn (Prussian Eastern Railway). In reality, it was the second railway line that allowed the Muscovite and Germanic brothers to connect with each other, namely Petersburg – Warsaw – Bydgoszcz – Berlin. It was the first connection of the Kingdom of Poland with Pomerania. The line was built in a standard gauge.

The brothers had been trying to build such a connection as early as 1840. In 1849, serious talks were held between the brothers. On one side was the Prussian minister von der Heydt, on the other side was the bandit governor of the Kingdom of Poland Ivan Paskiewicz. The talks were about the Petersburg – Gdańsk – Szczecin – Berlin connection. Behind the talks were merchants from Gdańsk, who were interested in trading grain that came from the Kingdom of Poland.

This was a time when the Germans had already built hundreds of kilometers of railway line. For example: The Bydgoszcz – Gdańsk section, 156 km long, was put into service in 1852. In 1853, the Malbork – Elbląg – Królewiec section, 134 km long, was put into service. So the Muscovites were far behind. It was already impossible not to see the benefits of the railway. In the Muscovite state, after many efforts and arguments of a military nature, in 1842, a short section of the railway was built from St. Petersburg towards Moscow. It was a demonstration of the possibilities of the railway, not a utility railway.

In March 1852, the Eastern Railway Directorate in Bydgoszcz developed a preliminary project and cost estimate for the construction of a section of the line in Prussian Pomerania. As one might guess, the tsarist policy, which kept its subjects in darkness and poverty, stood in the way. The tsarist treasury had difficulty finding funds for the construction of the Warsaw-St. Petersburg Railway, which was built in 1862.

It was not until 1855 that the Prussian government put forward a project to build the Bydgoszcz-Warsaw line. On December 15, 1856, after long negotiations, a government agreement was concluded for the construction of the Bydgoszcz-Łowicz line. According to the agreement, the parties undertook to issue permits, conduct rail traffic, and possibly provide financial support for the construction. The town of Młyn near Otłoczyn was designated as the border point. It was agreed that the sections on both sides of the border would be opened at the same time.

In the Kingdom of Poland, the chief engineer of railway construction was Stanisław Wysocki (1805-1868). From 1839, he was employed as a manager in the construction of the Warsaw-Vienna Railway. From 1844, he was a member of the board and head of the technical department. In the period 1857-1865, he served as the chief railway inspector in the Kingdom of Poland. He was a passionate supporter of the construction of railways.

Construction on the side of the Kingdom of Poland progressed much slower. For the construction of the line, the Warsaw-Bydgoszcz Railway Company was established, which was closely linked to the Warsaw-Vienna Railway Joint-Stock Company. Due to the lack of funds, Belgian loans were used. Rolling stock in the form of 18 locomotives and 50 wagons was imported from abroad.

Talks about the route lasted a long time. Initially, a route was established from Łowicz along the Przysowa River to Gostynin. Then through dense forests, along lakes, to Włocławek. But the Society filed a motion to move the line west, through Kutno, Lubień Kujawski to Włocławek. These were better inhabited and more urbanized areas, without dense forests. It was easier to recruit workers. The Włocławek – Aleksandrów Kujawski section was brought closer to the Vistula River. Consent was given to build a siding from Aleksandrów Kujawski to Ciechocinek. It was not agreed to run the line through Nieszawa, where there was a large river port on the Vistula. The border between the brothers ran along the Tążyna River, which is a left tributary of the Vistula.

On July 23, 1859, consent was obtained to change the route. On 18 September 1860, the Society entrusted the construction of a 138 km line from Łowicz to Aleksandrów Kujawski to the Belgian company of the Riche brothers. 4,000 workers were employed for earthworks. On 1 December 1861, the Łowicz–Kutno section was put into operation. On 4 December 1862, the Kutno–border section was opened. All work was completed on 17 December 1863, and the line was officially put into operation on 24 December 1863. On 1 July 1867, the Aleksandrów Kujawski–Ciechocinek branch line was opened.

The line had a single track, with a standard gauge of 1435 mm. 106 bridges and culverts were built on the line. The iron bridge structures came from August Borsig’s plants in Berlin, which were funded in 1837. The rails came from the Bankowa Steelworks in the Dąbrowa Basin. The assembly of the entire structure was carried out by specialists from the Warsaw-Vienna Railway.

The border station was initially called Trojanów, after the name of the landowner Trojanowski. In 1860, a station was built here according to the design of the architect Stanisław Trembiński. The station housed a customs chamber, restaurants for passengers of all classes, ticket and luggage offices, railway and customs service rooms, and apartments for the scout and restaurateur. The station had warehouses, a toilet building, storage yards, a scale, and more. Due to the planned meeting of Tsar Alexander II Romanov and Emperor Wilhelm I Hohenzollern, a western wing was added to the station. The expansion was carried out according to the design of the architect Czesław Domaniewski. The brothers met on September 4, 1879. At that time, the settlement of Trojanów was renamed Aleksandrów Pograniczny, and on February 4, 1919, when the town was granted city rights, the name was changed to Aleksandrów Kujawski. It was the railway that caused the development of the town.

There were 7 stations on the line in the Kingdom of Poland. However, the station equipment was poor, there were no warehouses, good access roads, and high transport fees. Therefore, the Warsaw-Bydgoszcz Railway had little influence on the development of the surrounding area. In 1889, the line had 36 steam locomotives, 65 passenger cars and 574 freight cars, and the transport amounted to 374,000 people and about 430,000 tons of goods. In 1911, 1.7 million tons of goods were transported. On January 14, 1912, the Warsaw-Vienna Railway was nationalized.

It is worth mentioning that in 1860, the Preußische Ostbahn railway reached the town of Eydtkuhnen (currently Chernyshevskoye in the Kaliningrad Oblast). The line ran from Kaliningrad and Olsztyn, connecting in Insterburg (now Chernyakhovsk in Kaliningrad Oblast) and reaching Eydtkuhnen station. Eydtkuhnen station and Wirballen station on the Muscovite side were border stations. The line from the St. Petersburg side had a gauge of 1524 mm, and from the Prussian side it had a standard gauge of 1435 mm. Therefore, passengers had to change trains, and goods had to be reloaded. This was the first direct connection between the brothers. The Warsaw-Bydgoszcz Railway was the second connection, not counting the connection via: Granica (Maczki) – Jaworzno (Austrian partition) – Mysłowice (in Prussia). In 1877, another connection was established via the Vistula Railway.

The Warsaw-Bydgoszcz Railway did not play an important role for Gdańsk and its port. Goods sent overseas were sent to the ports of Szczecin and Kołobrzeg. Königsberg with its port and the railway line to St. Petersburg also played a major role. The differences between the Prussian and Moscow railways were significant. As early as 1850, regulations for the transport of goods were jointly developed. This concerned road, water (river), sea and rail transport. For passenger transport, appropriate regulations did not appear until 1865. However, it turned out that there were major problems in coordinating rail transport at border stations. When the Germans sent another train, the Muscovites had not yet unloaded the previous train. Therefore, on April 1, 1875, a German-Muscovite union was established to coordinate transport between the two countries. The coordination was entrusted to the Preußische Ostbahn, which had much greater experience and its management was located in Bydgoszcz. In Bydgoszcz, timetables were established, accounts were kept, forwarding was carried out and transport was settled.

In 1918, the Republic of Poland regained its independence. The entire Warsaw-Bydgoszcz Railway found itself in Poland. The importance of the line increased significantly. The lines were mainly used for transporting hard coal from the Dąbrowa Basin to the port in Gdynia. It was long, but essential until 1933, when the coal main line was completed. Investments were made in the Łódź junction, and the Zgierz-Kutno line was built, which improved the situation. The construction of another line; Kalety – Herby Nowe – Wieluń – Podzamcze (Wieruszów) – Kępno, improved the situation even more. This line was launched in 1926. In the following years, subsequent sections of the railway routes were rebuilt into double-track. From 1937, almost all coal transport was directed along the coal main line; Herby Nowe – Gdynia. 

Currently, the former Warsaw-Bydgoszcz Railway line is part of Railway Line No. 18; Kutno – Włocławek – Toruń – Bydgoszcz – Piła. The entire line is electrified with 3 kV DC. The line plays an important role in the transport of goods and passengers. The line connects Warsaw with two important cities; Toruń and Bydgoszcz. In Kutno, the line connects with LK No. 3, which leads to Warsaw, and also with LK No. 16 towards Łódź. In Bydgoszcz, there is a connection to the north, with LK No. 131 (coal trunk line).

In the Second Polish Republic, Kutno received a connection with Płock Radziewie (1922), with Poznań (1930), with Łódź (1931), which made it one of the largest railway junctions in Poland.

Kutno Railway Station.

Address: Ulica 3-go Maja, 99-300 KUTNO. Geographic coordinates: 52.227 N 19.347 E. Elevation 103 m.

Kutno is one of the most important railway junctions in Poland. The station connects key railway lines of national and international importance. The station is crucial for the functioning of Petrochemia in Płock. The station in Kutno was ready in 1861, before the entire Warsaw-Bydgoszcz Railway was launched. The station interrupted the times of partitions, two world wars and communism. On December 1, 1861, the Łowicz – Kutno section was put into operation. On that day, the first train in the history of the city was launched on the Łowicz – Kutno – Łowicz route.

In 2011, a general renovation of the station building began. On June 11, 2012, the station was opened to passengers. The investment cost PLN 13 million. Architectural barriers were removed. Ramps and driveways were built and elevators were installed. Braille information boards were installed. Ticket offices were opened. There are three ticket windows in the building, and one of them is adapted to serve passengers in wheelchairs, i.e. it has a lowered desk. The station is open 24 hours a day; 7/24. Toilets are payable. There are kiosks and a catering point in the building. Free WiFi is available. There are ticket machines and luggage lockers.

The station has retained its shape, which has existed since 1861. The building is large and resembles a palace. The building was built in the neo-Renaissance style with elements of neo-Romanesque features, according to the architectural design of Leonard Aleksandrowicz. Some see the station’s shape as Italian Renaissance villas with palace features. The base of the station is close to a rectangle, measuring 46 m x 20 m. The usable area is 2,340 m2. The building’s shape is asymmetrical. The building has a basement. The central part is lowered, two-storey. The wings are three-storey with projections. The side projection, from the city side, is decorated with a clock tower, with a square cross-section. Representative stairs lead to the main entrance. All windows are large and have semicircular ends. Currently, the station is plastered in white, with grey elements. Previously, the station was canary yellow, with white elements. The building has been richly lit, and the light highlights its architectural values.

New elements in the external design of the station are shelters and canopies made of Corten steel. Under the influence of atmospheric factors, Corten steel automatically covers itself with a coating of chrome, copper, silicon and phosphorus, giving it an interesting appearance of natural patina. The material is resistant to adverse weather conditions and is not susceptible to rust. This material was used to make: the roof over the entrance to the tunnel for travelers and residents, the roof in front of the main entrance to the station and the shelter between the station building and the auxiliary building.

The station, together with other facilities, created a whole complex of railway buildings. Repair plants for rolling stock, a water tower, a locomotive shed and other railway facilities were also built.

In 1963, a monument of gratitude to the Polish Railway Workers who died in the period 1939-1945 at the hands of the Germans was erected on the station square.

Currently, there are four platforms and eight platform edges at the station. The last renovation was carried out in the period 2017-2022. The platforms were completely rebuilt. The track layout was modified. The electric traction was replaced. Platform 1 has one through edge, and the other on the western side, ending with a stop trestle at the station. The platforms are connected by a tunnel. The tunnel additionally connects both sides of the city: 3 Maja Street and Henryka Siemiradzkiego Street. On the western side of the platforms, above the tracks, there is a viaduct with Łęczycka Street. There is a railway signal box “KW” at the viaduct. This viaduct was built in the 1960s, and contributed to the increased safety of residents who crossed the tracks at the rail-road crossing with the barriers lowered.

Before the renovation, there were also four platforms. However, these were low platforms and their surface was asphalt. There was no roof or bus shelters on the platforms. These platforms were built after 1945, together with a tunnel for passengers.

Currently, Platform 1 is located at the station. It is 300 m long, and the impassable track is 100 m long. Platform 2 is 460 m long. Platform 3 is 435 m long. Platform 4 is 250 m long. All platforms are roofed, and platform shelters are located on the greater length of the platforms. Only the ends of the platforms, at a length of about 30-50 m, are not roofed. There are 8 through tracks and one impassable track at Platform 1 running through the passenger station.

Behind Platform 4, at Henryka Siemiradzkiego Street, LCS Kutno “Kt” (local control center) was built. This center replaced all the signal boxes in Kutno, and there were 6 of them.

On Majdan Street, on the northern side of the freight station, there is the PKP Energetyka SA Plant Mazowiecki Power Supply Section Kutno. Further west, on Raszewska Street, there is the “Kutno Azory” traction substation. The furthest west, on Osiedle Kolejowe Street, there is a complex of workshop buildings, including locomotive sheds. The fan locomotive shed was abandoned. It had 29 stations. The roof of the locomotive shed is equipped with skylights, which provided good lighting for the interior. The locomotive shed was systematically expanded, under the influence of changes in the rolling stock. The locomotive shed had a boiler room and a central heating system. The boiler shed had four boilers. There was also ventilation. Inside the locomotive shed, there was an overhead crane for locomotive repairs. The turntable was removed, but its foundations remained. Since 1984, this locomotive shed has serviced electric locomotives. The traction network was suspended. There are still poles supporting the traction network.

A rectangular locomotive shed, which is passable, operates on the premises of the workshops, as well as a rectangular wagon shed. The Complex of Schools No. 4 named after Zygmunt Balicki also operates here.

The western freight station consists of three stations. One is far to the west, at the height of the railway workshops. This station had 8 freight tracks and a marshalling yard. Currently (2025) it is unused. The track is overgrown with self-seeding trees. The second and third parts, closer to the passenger station, were renovated in the period 2017-2022. On each part there are 8 tracks for freight trains and 4 main tracks on the north side. Additionally, on the south side there are tracks leading to the locomotive shed, only some of which are used. This is the Kutno Zachód station. The Kutno Azory passenger stop is also located here. In the past, in the freight part there was a footbridge over the tracks for residents. During the last renovation, it was eliminated and replaced with a pedestrian and bicycle crossing at the track level. The crossing is secured with automatic barriers.

In the eastern part of the station there is a fourth freight station with a total length of 400 m, with 4 tracks that are not through. The entire Kutno station is approximately 5,000 m long.

There were several railway sidings leading from the station. Currently, only the sidings to the railway power plant (on the north side) and to industrial plants (on the south side) remain, for example to the Kutnowskie Zakłady Młynarskie company.

Kutno railway station according to PKP classification has the category of a regional station. All passenger, fast and express trains stop at the station. Carriers have four platforms and eight platform edges at their disposal. Since 2016, the station has served a total of over 1,000,000 passengers per year. There was only a breakdown during the Chinese virus pandemic (2020-2021). In March 2025, during the day, 129 trains departed from Kutno station. You could go to the following stations: Bielsko-Biała Główna, Bydgoszcz Główna, Chełm, Frankfurt/Oder, Gdynia Główna, Gorzów Wielkopolski, Katowice, Kołobrzeg, Kraków Główny, Lublin Główny, Łowicz Główny, Łódź Fabryczna, Łódź Kaliska, Łódź Widzew, Piła Główna, Płock, Poznań Główny, Rawicz, Rzeszów Główny, Skierniewice, Suwałki, Szczecin Główny, Świnoujście, Toruń Główny, Toruń Wschodni, Warsaw Wschodnia, Wrocław Główny, Zakopane, Zielona Góra Główna. The following carriers stop at the Kutno station: EIC (international Warsaw – Berlin, 3 pairs), InterCity, PolRegio, ŁKA (Łódź Agglomeration Railway, Mazovian Railways, Wielkopolskie Railways.

The music group Kult sang a song about the Kutno station entitled “Polska”. Also singing about Kutno were: Grzegorz Turnau “O Kutno” and Andrzej Rosiewicz “Podróż poślubna do Kutna”. Long gone are the days when the station was neglected, dirty and in the evenings attracted only the social margin.

Railway lines:

Railway line No. 3 Warsaw West – Kunowice (western border of the country). The line runs latitudinally. The line is double-track, electrified with 3 kV DC. Length 475.583 km. Maximum speed 160 km/h. The line is a part of the international railway line E 20 (Berlin – Kunowice – Poznań – Kutno – Sochaczew – Warsaw – Terespol – Moscow).

Railway line No. 16 Łódź Widzew – Kutno. The line runs meridionally. The line is 71.027 km long, double-track, electrified with 3 kV DC. Maximum speed is 120 km/h. The line was built in the period 1920-1931. Electrification took place in 1969 and 1981.

Railway line No. 18 Kutno – Piła Główna. The line runs in an arc, initially towards the north and gradually turns towards the west. It runs through the area of ​​the Łódź province, the Kuyavian-Pomeranian province and the Wielkopolska province. The line is part of the former Warsaw-Bydgoszcz Railway. The line is 247.418 km long. It is double-track electrified with 3 kV DC current. The maximum speed is 160 km/h.

Railway line no. 33 Kutno – Brodnica. The line runs meridionally. The line is 142.847 km long. It is electrified on the Kutno – Płock Trzepowo section, with 3 kV DC current. Electrification took place in the period 1980-1984. The maximum speed is 100 km/h. The line was built in the period 1922-1938, in the Second Polish Republic. The intention was to create an alternative route to Gdynia. The problem was the long construction of the bridge over the Vistula. The line is double-track and single-track. Since December 2021, passenger traffic has been running again along the entire length of the line. Passenger trains can reach Warsaw, Katowice and Gdynia.

Written by Karol Placha Hetman