Kielce 2025-03-17
Herbsko-Kielce Railway. 1911
The fact that the railway was and is the most important stimulant of economic development was already known in 1850. The railway definitely influenced the expansion of the sales market, which had been limited until then. However, the development of railway lines in the Kingdom of Poland was dependent on the decisions of the military authorities of the Muscovite state. The granting of concessions, the course and width of the track were related to factors of a strategic and administrative nature. On the other hand, the economic aspect was in the distant future. The Muscovite Empire took care and takes care of maintaining illiteracy, poverty, low standard of living, while at the same time convincing the society that they live in an empire. In the Muscovite Empire, the Moscow-Brest Iron Road was built only in 1872, and the Kiev-Brest in 1878. Let us also remember that until 1914, the most important railways for the Muscovite Empire were: the Warsaw-Vienna Railway (1848), the Warsaw-Bydgoszcz Railway (1862) and the Warsaw-Kalisz Railway (1902). The railways were mainly used to transport hard coal, coke, timber and textile products. From the 1870s, products of the machine and metallurgical industries began to be transported. About 70% of these goods went to the Muscovite state.
It is worth mentioning that at the beginning of the 1880s, the Moscow doctrine appeared that narrow-gauge railways should be developed. The tsarist authorities transferred the issuing of concessions for the construction of narrow-gauge railways to the provincial authorities. These railways were mainly used to transport potatoes, sugar beets and chicory. When these lines were built, the production of sugar factories, which operate on a seasonal basis, increased significantly. Sugar factories gained rail connections to the main railway lines, which allowed for export. The launch of narrow-gauge railways also had a positive impact on the development of urban infrastructure, especially in small towns. For example, in 1911, a municipal power plant and a network of electric trams were built in Włocławek. In 1912, when the standard-gauge and broad-gauge railways were nationalized by the Muscovites, the narrow-gauge railways were left in private hands. They were mainly companies of manufacturers and city councilors, serving only industrial purposes and local passenger transport.
The construction of the Ivanogródzko-Dąbrowska Railway and then the Częstochowa-Herby line were important for the development of industry in the Old Polish Industrial Region. Initially as a narrow gauge line. The line, among other things, connected the Częstochowa Steelworks in Raków with Upper Silesia and the Dąbrowa Basin. It allowed for the mass delivery of hard coal and coke. The Częstochowa Steelworks was built in the period 1896–1902 by the Bernard Hantke Metalworks Association. The steelworks, with an area of 64 ha, was built near the village of Raków, on the left bank of the Warta River, as a raw material base for production plants. The Częstochowa Steelworks was the second largest steelworks after the Bankowa Steelworks in Sosnowiec and the Kingdom of Poland.
A concession for the construction of this line from Częstochowa to the town of Herby, right next to the Prussian border, was issued in 1869. However, the project was stopped by the Moscow authorities. They talked about strategic decisions. It was not until 1900 that the Herby-Częstochowa Railroad Company was established. Work on the construction of the narrow-gauge Herby-Częstochowa line (track width 1067 mm) began in 1901, and it was put into service in 1903. The length of the line was 133 km.
The Herby Ruskie – Herby Pruskie border crossing was established. It was built on the model of the Kalisz-Szczypiorno-Skalmierzyce border crossing. The Herby Pruskie station was the final station of the Prussian Lubliniec – Herby line, which was connected to the Wrocławsko-Tarnowiecka line. The Prussian line was already a standard gauge, 1435 mm.
In 1908, the Herby-Częstochowa Railroad Company obtained permission to extend this railway to Kielce. At that time it changed its name to the Herby-Kielce Railway Company. The company’s share capital was increased to 2,300,000 rubles. The new Kielce – Częstochowa section was 114 km long. The entire line was built as a broad gauge, 1524 mm, and the Częstochowa – Herby section was converted to a wide gauge.
The Prussian company Lenz & Co from Berlin participated in the construction of the line. The rails were made in the Bankowa Steelworks, in the Dąbrowa Basin. All technical structures on the route of this line were made using reinforced concrete technology. The wagons came from factories in the Kingdom of Poland. The locomotives came from the Borsig factory in Berlin.
Herby station was built in Kielce, 2 km west of Kielce station (on the Iwanogrodzko-Dąbrowska line). Both stations were connected by a railway link.
The investment was completed in 1911. The Kielce-Herby railway reduced the costs of transiting goods from the Germans to the Moscow Empire. The distance was reduced by 77 km. Częstochowa became a large railway junction, which contributed to the development of the city.
It is worth mentioning that the Warsaw-Radom railway was not built until 1914. A financial consortium representing Germanic capital, centered around Lt. Col. Tiesenhausen and the Warsaw-Vienna Railway Company applied for a concession to build this line. Strategic and military considerations were decisive. For the same reason, a concession to build the Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski – Sandomierz line was not issued. This had a negative impact on the economic development of these regions.
The Herbsko-Kielecka Iron Road was the last broad-gauge line built in the times of the Kingdom of Poland, i.e. after the Moscow Partition. It was intended to be an important line that was to connect the Old Polish Industrial Region with Wrocław. The line was laid out on the route; Kielce – Włoszczowa – Koniecpol – Częstochowa – Herby – Lubliniec – Opole – Wrocław. The name Herbsko-Kielecka Iron Road is a name without historical justification, because no new company was established to build this line. No uniform plans were made for the construction of this line. Nevertheless, the line was created in the interests of the Muscovites and Germans. The east-west line significantly shortened the railway route from the center of the Kingdom of Poland to Wrocław. In addition, despite the passage of time, the railway line plays an important role in the Polish economy. Additionally, the line integrated the Ivanogródzko-Dąbrowa Railway with the Warsaw-Vienna Railway. Both railways achieved large profits and positively influenced the development of the economy and the welfare of society.
Among those interested, the line through Kielce, Częstochowa and Herby gained considerable support. This variant had the support of Germanic shareholders in the Warsaw-Vienna Railway Company, because they also had shares in the Right Bank of the Oder Railway (Right Oder Railway). Other shareholders in the Warsaw-Vienna Railway Company preferred lines towards Galicia. It is not true that the Warsaw-Vienna Railway was afraid of losing some of its profits. Profits doubled after the Warsaw-Kaliska Railway was built. Already on 16 June 1869, the Company applied for the Tsar’s consent to build the Częstochowa – Herby line.
On 1 December 1891, the Lubliniec – Herby Pruskie line was built on the Prussian side, the investor of which was the Prussian State Railways. On 10 October 1894, the Lubliniec – Fosowskie section was opened.
On the Moscow side, the Warsaw-Vienna Railway Company did not obtain a concession. In 1903, the Herby Ruskie – Częstochowa Stradom section was built from the Tsarist government. It was a narrow-gauge line. Since around 1870, the Muscovites preferred the construction of narrow-gauge lines, which by their nature are inefficient in terms of freight mass and time. It was not until 1905 that the Herby Pruskie and Herby Ruskie stations were connected, with tracks of normal gauge. In 1911, the Częstochowa Stradom – Kielce line was put into operation, with broad gauge tracks. At the same time, the Częstochowa – Herby section was rebuilt to broad gauge.
In May 1909, work on the construction of the broad-gauge Częstochowa – Kielce section was ready for implementation. Originally, the line was to run through Złoty Potok and Olsztyn, and the work was planned to be completed in 1910. Finally, on February 26, 1911, the Częstochowa–Kielce section was opened, creating the Herby–Kielce communication route.
In 1914, the Great World War broke out, which the leaders of all major European countries were striving for. The construction of broad gauges in the Kingdom of Poland and in the Muscovite state did not help the Muscovites. The Germans and Austrians were remaking broad gauges (1524 mm) to the standard gauge of 1435 mm, at a rate of 30 km per day. In railway workshops, captured locomotives and wagons began to be remade to the standard gauge. The capabilities of these workshops were such that one day of work was enough to modernize a locomotive.
After Poland regained independence, the line became the property of the Polish State Railways. Currently, the entire length of the line is double-track and electrified.
Electrification.
On 29 April 1967, the Kielce – Kielce Herbskie section was electrified, and on 27 November 1965, the electrification of the Kucelinka – Herby Stare section was completed. Further work was carried out until 26 January 1973, when the Herby Stare – Lubliniec traction network was put into service, and on 29 December 1973, the Kucelinka – Koniecpol section was electrified. Over a year later, on 4 December 1974, the Kielce Herbskie – Koniecpol section was electrified. The final work on the electrification of the line was completed on 18 December 1976, when the traction network on the Lubliniec – Fosowskie section was put into service.
Railway line No. 61.
Currently, the former Kielce – Lubliniec route is LK No. 61 Kielce Główne – Fosowskie. The length of the line is 177.30 km. Electrified with 3 kV DC current. Maximum speed is 160 km/h.
Written by Karol Placha Hetman