Trains delayed and cancelled as Poland’s rail system breaks down

More than half of Poland’s train control centres broke down on Thursday, leading to delays and cancellations of rail services across the country, officials said. 

Passengers at Warsaw's Centralna railway station on Thursday, March 17, 2022.

PAP/Piotr Nowak

Mirosław Skubiszyński, deputy CEO of Poland’s national rail operator PKP PLK, told a news conference that 19 of 33 train control centres had malfunctioned, the state PAP news agency reported.

Skubiszyński added that the centres had been fitted with equipment supplied by France-based multinational company Alstom. 

Meanwhile, Poland’s top cyber security official Janusz Cieszyński announced that the government’s Critical Incidents Task Force would convene later on Thursday to look into the crash. 

W związku z wystąpieniem usterek urządzeń sterowania ruchem kolejowym jeszcze dziś odbędzie się posiedzenie Zespołu ds Incydentów Krytycznych działającego zgodnie z art. 36 ustawy o krajowym systemie cyberbezpieczeństwa.

— Janusz Cieszyński (@jciesz) March 17, 2022

Infrastructure Minister Andrzej Adamczyk said that "the problem doesn't only concern Poland, but has a global nature," adding that the railway network was "safe," according to PAP.

PKP PLK said the breakdown occurred at 4 a.m. on Thursday and affected 820 kilometres of Poland’s rail network, including a major route from the capital Warsaw to the northern port city of Gdańsk.

As a result, trains were being cancelled or delayed by dozens of minutes, officials said, adding that some trains could be re-routed or replaced with bus service, PAP reported.

(pm/gs)

Source: IAR, PAP