Katowice 2022-01-15
Mierzęcice Pyrzowice airport.
Geographic coordinates: 50.471E 19.074E. Elevation 298 m.
By train to the Mierzęcice Pyrzowice airport.
The Mierzęcice Pyrzowice airport is located next to the Tarnowskie Góry – Zawiercie railway route. There have been long plans to use this route to transport passengers to / from Katowice Airport.
The Zawiercie – Tarnowskie Góry railway route was built in stages. In 1937, in free Poland, the section Zawiercie – Poręba, 8.10 km long, was first created. Soon the trail was extended to Siewierz by another 6.70 km. The line was single-track. The trail served the goods traffic of nearby workplaces. The line to Tarnowskie Góry was not extended since the Germans and Russians attacked Poland.
During the occupation, in August 1942, the Germans led the route to the Tarnowskie Góry – Kalety line at the Gosek station. In February 1943, the Germans put into use an additional track from the Gosek station to the Tarnowskie Góry station. The goal was to provide the best possible supplies for the training ground and the Zendek airport (German Zondek). At that time (1943), the Mierzęcice Zawierciańskie station, located at the airport, was expanded and a railway siding to the airport to the fuel base (MPS) was built. The counting of kilometers on the trail was started from Tarnowskie Góry to Zawiercie. The length of the trail was 44.94 km. There was freight traffic on the line, and from September 1943 also passenger traffic. An additional passenger stop was built at the airport, which in Poland was called Pyrzowice Airport (18.25 km). Mierzęcice Zawierciańskie Station is 19.88 km of the route. There were 12 stops and stations on the trail.
After the Second World War, the trail was given No. 208b. Freight and passenger traffic continued. The trail has not been electrified. From 1964, passenger trains from Zawiercie ended their run at the Tarnowskie Góry Żyglin station and were operated by steam locomotives. Passengers going on to Tarnowskie Góry used PKS buses. In June 1975, traffic on the entire route was stopped. In 1987, the line does not appear on the railway maps, although it actually existed and already had No. 182.
In 1987, the 39th Fighter Aviation Regiment, which was the main host of the airport, was disbanded. At the airport, workshops and a base of unused aircraft were created. In the 90s, one of the squadrons of the 11th Fighter Aviation Regiment from Starachowice was transferred to Mierzęcice Airport. It was a unit named the 2nd Fighter Aviation Squadron in Mierzęcice. Nevertheless, there have already been talks about transferring the airport into civilian hands in order to create Katowice Airport. From a military point of view, the railway line has become redundant.
In December 1992, freight traffic on the Tarnowskie Góry – Mierzęcice Zawierciańskie section was closed. The remaining route was used by a few trains with fuel tanks to the airport. After 2000, freight traffic remained only on the Zawiercie – Siewierz section.
The trail was degraded in the following years. The track from the side of Tarnowskie Góry was removed. The Tarnowskie Góry Żyglin station was completely dismantled. The rest of the trail to Mierzęcice Zawierciańskie has been partially dismantled. All railroad crossings across the road have been liquidated. There were asphalt rails in some places. The tracks or their places were overgrown with grass, bushes and self-seeded trees. There are three tracks left at the Mierzęcice Zawierciańskie station and tracks further towards Zawiercia.
In 2020, from the Siewierz station, there was rail traffic, but only freight traffic. The station served, among others, sidings to the Electrolux Poland factory and Górnicze Zakłady Dolomitowe SA. There are three tracks and shape signaling at the Siewierz station. There is no electric traction. The speed of the trains is limited to 20 km / h. At the station, you can find trains that pull ST44 and SM42 diesel locomotives.
Revitalization of the route No. 182.
In 2015, decisions were made to revitalize the route No. 182 Zawiercie – Pyrzowice Airport – Tarnowskie Góry. The investments will be carried out by PKP PLK. The investment is to enable alternative access to Katowice Airport from various regions of the Silesian agglomeration.
Unfortunately; Due to the regulations imposed by the European Union, the cost of the investment has increased significantly, because it will be necessary to plant new trees on a large area, build thousands of bird boxes, build water reservoirs for reptiles and amphibians, passages for animals and the like. As if nature was not taken care of in Poland. First, the West burnt its forests, and now Poles are teaching us how to care for the environment. Within the framework of the project, over 7 hectares will be afforested in the Świerklaniec and Siewierz Forest Districts.
In October 2020, PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe S.A. signed a contract worth PLN 660 million net with the consortium: Track Tec Construction Sp. z o.o. (Lider) and INFRAKOL Sp. z o.o., Sp. k. (Partner) and Przedsiębiorstwo Budownictwa Inżynieryjnego i Kolejowego Sp. z o.o. (Partner) under the project called "Revitalization and reconstruction of the partially closed railway line No. 182 Tarnowskie Góry – Zawiercie".
As part of the project, new platforms will be constructed at railway stations and stops: Zawiercie, Poręba, Siewierz, Airport, Tarnowskie Góry, Miasteczko Śląskie. All platforms will be adapted to serve people with reduced mobility. The railway bridge in Zawiercie will be modernized. A new two-storey station building will be built in Siewierz. The works covered 59 engineering structures and 38 rail-road crossings. The main new facilities are the railway viaduct over the A1 motorway and the viaduct over the voivodeship road DW 908 in Miasteczko Śląskie. Route No. 182 will be electronically controlled from the superior control room in Zawiercie, which will be supported by systems installed in Tarnowskie Góry.
The new passenger stop Pyrzowice Airport is to have two tracks and two platforms. At the future Pyrzowice station, there will be an underground passage for travelers, shelters, benches, resting places, lighting and a railway information system. Ticket machines will be installed.
Construction works started in April 2021. From the side of Siewierz, all the old tracks have been dismantled and a new subgrade has been built over a dozen kilometers. In December 2021, the laying of a new track began. The line will be electrified so that there is no need to use diesel traction. Electric traction poles are mounted on reinforced concrete foundations, which are tucked into the ground by piling, without the need to make pits in the ground.
Revitalization of the route No. 182 Tarnowskie Góry – Zawiercie will be completed in the fourth quarter of 2023. The estimated cost is PLN 660 million. Passenger trains will reach speeds of 140 km / h, and goods trains will reach 80 km / h. The estimated travel time from Zawiercie to the airport is about 23 minutes, and from Tarnowskie Góry about 19 minutes. It is planned that trains will travel this route every hour. The trail is also to make life easier for the inhabitants of Miasteczko Śląskie. The route will be operated mainly by the regional carrier Koleje Śląskie.
Written by Karol Placha Hetman