Kalwaria Zebrzydowska 2023-10-06
Kalwaria Zebrzydowska railway station.
Geographic coordinates 49.873N 19.673E. Elevation 289 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-Biała 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 railway station. Passenger stop.
There are two railway stations in the city: Kalwaria Zebrzydowska Lanckorona and Kalwaria Zebrzydowska. Kalwaria Zebrzydowska is a railway station in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Wadowice County. Railway line No. 117 runs through the Kalwaria Zebrzydowska station.
The Kalwaria Zebrzydowska station was built during the Second Polish Republic and was launched in 1938, when the railway line to Bielsko-Biała had been operating since 1888. A station building and blocks of flats for railway workers and their families were built. Ultimately, three tracks ran through the station. There was a storage yard and warehouses. In 1945, the station lost its function and was reduced to a passenger stop and a loading bay. In 1990, the station was further reduced to the level of a passing and passenger stop. Since 2000, the station has remained only as a passenger stop.
Currently, the station, or rather a passenger stop, is located on the railway line No. 117 Kalwaria Zebrzydowska Lanckorona - Bielsko Biała Główna. There is one track running through the station and there is one platform with one edge. Platform 1 is 200 m long. The platform is high. Its edge is lined with 1 m wide slabs. During the last renovation, additional tracks, a loading yard and warehouses were removed. Passenger traffic at the station in 2022 was up to 20 passengers per day.
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 Biała 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.
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.
Written by Karol Placha Hetman