Kalwaria Zebrzydowska 2023-10-06
Kalwaria Zebrzydowska Lanckorona railway station.
Geographic coordinates 49.871N 19.688E. Elevation 295 m.
Kalwaria Zebrzydowska is a small town in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Wadowice County. The city was founded in 1617 by the voivode of Krakow, Mikołaj Zebrzydowski. The town had city rights from the very beginning, but lost them in 1896 and received them again in 1934. Currently, Kalwaria Zebrzydowska has an area of 5.5 square kilometers (2011). Since the city area is mountainous, its elevation is 335 - 527 m. The city is located in the Wieliczka Foothills, at the foot of the Żar Mountain, on the Cedron River. The city's population is 4,454 inhabitants (2012). The national road No. 52 Głogoczów - Bielsko-Białan and the provincial road No. 953 Kalwaria Zebrzydowska - Skawina run through Kalwaria Zebrzydowska.
The town of Kalwaria Zebrzydowska is known for the Passion and Marian Sanctuary of the Bernardine Fathers, around which the town has grown. The construction of the temple began in 1602. The Monastery and Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels was built in the Dutch Mannerist style, then expanded in the Baroque style, turning into the Rococo style. The presence of the sanctuary attracts thousands of Roman Catholic pilgrims every year. The magnet is the miraculous image of Our Lady of Calvary and the Calvary paths. There are 42 chapels and churches in Kalwaria which include: Paths of Jesus (28 stations) and Paths of Our Lady (24 stations).
Additionally, the city has excellent tourist attractions. The town is the starting point for tourist trails leading, among others, to Maków Podhalański and Koskowa Góra. Another attraction is the neighboring town - Lanckorona, with attractive buildings, castle ruins and an interesting history. Kalwaria Zebrzydowska and neighboring towns are a large center of the furniture industry. Every year, a Furniture Fair is organized where craftsmen present their products.
Kalwaria Zebrzydowska Lanckorona railway station.
There are two railway stations in the city: Kalwaria Zebrzydowska Lanckorona and Kalwaria Zebrzydowska. Kalwaria Zebrzydowska Lanckorona is a railway station in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Wadowice County. Two railway lines run through the Kalwaria Zebrzydowska Lanckorona station; No. 97 and No. 117.
In the period 1884-1918 the station was called Kalwarya, in the period 1918-1935 the name Kalwarja, in the period 1935-1938 the name Kalwarja Lanckorona, in the period 1938-1942 the name Kalwaria Lanckorona, in the period 1942-1945 the name Kalwaria Landskron, in the period 1945-1991 the name Kalwaria Lanckorona, and since 1991 the name Kalwaria Zebrzydowska Lanckorona has been in force. In December 1990, a decision was made to change the name of the station to Kalwaria Zebrzydowska Lanckorona. The new name appeared in the timetable in June 1991.
The first train from the station in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska left on December 16, 1884 and was a freight and passenger train.
Kalwaria Zebrzydowska Lanckorona railway station is a regional station. In 2017, the station served up to 150 passengers per day. In 2022, the station served up to 300 passengers per day. This was due to many modernizations, especially on the Kraków Główny - Kalwaria Zebrzydowska route. Please remember that this trail is part of the Krakow - Zakopane line. In October 2023, 18 trains departed from Kalwaria Zebrzydowska Lanckorona station per day. You could go to the following stations: Bielsko Biała Główna, Kraków Główny, Sucha Beskidzka, Zakopane.
The station was built as a typical railway facility during the Austrian partition. The building houses a ticket and baggage counter, a waiting room, a restaurant and railway service rooms. There were apartments on the first floor. Toilets are located in a separate building. A typical apartment block was built nearby for railway workers and their families. In the following years, side wings were added to the station building. The ticket office in the station building was closed on March 1, 2010.
Currently, the station has two platforms. Platform 1 is an island platform and has two edges. Platform 2 is located on the other side of the station plane, from the station. Platform 2 has one edge. The platform mainly serves trains towards Bielsko Biała.
The overground passage was made in the 1960s. Recently, the pier has been renovated and equipped with lifts for passengers in wheelchairs, passengers with small children and travelers with larger luggage and bicycles. During the electrification of the station, the shape semaphores were replaced with light semaphores. There is a wagon scale at the station (40,000 kg). The loading ramp is front-side. The distance from Kalwaria Zebrzydowska Lanckorona station to Kalwaria Zebrzydowska station is only 1.68 km.
Railway line No. 97 Skawina – Żywiec.
The railway line No. 97 Skawina - Żywiec is 82.708 km long. The permissible speed is 100 km/h. The line is electrified with a 3kV DC traction network. Electrification was carried out in stages; July 17, 1974 (Skawina - Sucha Beskidzka), September 29, 1983 (Sucha Beskidzka - Lachowice), October 26, 1989 (Lachowice - Żywiec). The traction network is of the C120-2C type and is adapted, depending on the section, to a maximum speed of up to 110 km/h; current carrying capacity is 1,725 A. The line is single-track and was launched in the 19th century, in 1884. The line was built as part of the Galician Transversal Railway when the Republic of Poland was under partition. In the 1960s, the line was equipped with SHP.
Switchboard - Railway line No. 621.
Since 2017, design work has been underway for the modernization of line No. 97. The construction of a new Radziszów Centrum passenger stop is planned. A slip road between line No. 97 and line No. 117 was also planned in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska. Thanks to this, it will be possible to move passenger trains on the Skawina - Wadowice route, without changing the need to head the train at the Kalwaria Zebrzydowska Lanckorona station. Trains will bypass the Kalwaria Zebrzydowska Lanckorona station, and passengers will use the Kalwaria Zebrzydowska passenger stop. In fact, it will be a reconstruction of the slip road that existed. What remains is the embankment of the slip road, which was approximately 290 m long. The trace of the track is overgrown with self-seeded trees. During the construction of the slip road, along the old track, the speed of trains will be up to 40 km/h. The investment would not be expensive and would include the installation of two switches and an automatic control system. The land still belongs to the railway. In June 2023, the slip road was completed. The line was numbered No. 621. The line is 480 m long. The investment cost was PLN 22.5 million. Some of the funds were obtained from the Operational Program "Infrastructure and Environment". The railway connection is planned to be put into operation in the timetable from December 2023. Basically, it is a reconstruction of the slip road: it existed in this place, but was demolished in the 1960s. The new slip road has a different profile that meets current railway standards. The curve is much gentler and allows the train's maximum speed to be up to 80 km/h. The slip road is electrified.
Railway line No. 117 Kalwaria Zebrzydowska Lanckorona – Bielsko Biała Główna.
Railway line No. 117 Kalwaria Zebrzydowska Lanckorona – Bielsko Biała Główna is 59.195 km long. The line was electrified with a 3kV DC network in 1990. The maximum speed is 80 km/h.
The line was built in the period 1885–1888. The line is single-track. The line runs east-west and covers voivodeships; Lesser Poland and Silesia. The line is secondary and serves mainly residents and tourists. The line was opened on June 1, 1888 and was part of the Galician Transversal Railway. After the Great World War, after Poland regained independence, the Beskydy Mountains were divided between the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland. As a result, the stations in Zwardoń and Cieszyn became border stations. For Poland, Bielsko Białan and Żywiec stations have become very important. The railway system was finally approved after the division of Cieszyn Silesia; a border post was established in Cieszyn, on the Olza River. Let us remember that at that time, not all planned railway lines in the Beskids were completed.
Line No. 117 is technically very difficult and winding. Generally, it runs along the National Road No. 52 and the Kleczanka and Bulówka rivers. The line crosses two rivers: Skawa and Soła. There are no tunnels on the trail, only two larger bridges. There is a two-span truss bridge on the Skawa River, 61 m long. The second bridge, 67 m long, is on the Soła River and has four spans, with one longer truss span. Experts on the subject sometimes criticize the route because it makes it impossible to reach a speed higher than 80 km/h. The problem is that the trail was marked out along the towns and main roads and serves the residents well, allowing them to reach Krakow, Katowice and Zakopane. The railway facilitated the development of local industry and tourism.
In the 1960s, it was forbidden to use trains on the route; with two locomotives, in a pushing arrangement and locomotives with a Co'Co' axle arrangement.
In 1999, on the Kalwaria Zebrzydowska Lanckorona - Wadowice section, the flow of passengers was; approximately 500 passengers per day, and on the Wadowice - Bielsko Biała section, approximately 2,500 passengers per day.
As a result of PKP cuts, in 2010, passenger train traffic was suspended on the Kalwaria Zebrzydowska - Wadowice and Wadowice - Bielsko Biała sections. In 2014, after partial repairs, passenger train traffic was restored during the holiday season. But the speed of these trains was 40-60 km/h. Among other things, it ran trains; Upper Silesia - Zakopane and Krakow - Żywiec. Since 2016, carriers; PolRegio, Koleje Śląskie and InterCity are testing passenger trains in the summer and winter seasons. It turned out that there was great interest from travelers. Nevertheless, more modernization of this very picturesque route is necessary.
In 2018, PLK announced a tender for the renovation of the Kalwaria Zebrzydowska - Kęty section, 36,400 km long. But in May 2019, the tender was canceled. A new tender was announced and the trail was divided into sections; Kalwaria Zebrzydowska - Wadowice, Wadowice - Kęty. As a result of long discussions on the scope of modernization, Skanska started the renovation of the Kalwaria Zebrzydowska - Wadowice section. As part of the renovation, a slip road will be constructed in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska between lines No. 97 and No. 117. The slip road was built in June 2023. All works are scheduled to be completed in spring 2024. It is assumed that the entire route will be modernized by 2027. Currently (October 2023), traffic on the Kalwaria Zebrzydowska - Wadowice section is served by buses.
The following works are carried out during modernization; Replacement of wooden sleepers with pre-tensioned concrete sleepers or "Y" steel sleepers. The screw fastenings of the "K" type are replaced with spring fastenings, usually of the SB-3 type. The contact rails are replaced with contactless rails.
Written by Karol Placha Hetman