HISTORY OF EKD/WKD

The history of the Warsaw Commuter Railway (WKD) dates back to the early twentieth century. The rail line was launched on 11th December 1927 as the first standard electric railway in Poland under the name of Electric Commuter Railway (Elektryczne Koleje Dojazdowe – EKD). At that time "Power and Light joint-stock company" [pl. Siła i Światło S.A.] with the majority English equity capital was the stockholder. This company was the initiator of the construction, the investor and the stockholder of the EKD. The first train entered the rail line on 11th December 1927. The construction of the rail line started in Komorów and was carried out in both directions , i.e. towards Warsaw and towards Grodzisk Mazowiecki. The original rail line route in Warsaw was different from the existing one. The rail line was led in a certain distance from the track of Warsaw-Vienna Iron Road and via Nowogrodzka Street it was led up to Marszałkowska Street.

During the construction of the rail line the then cutting-edge technology was applied. The rail line was equipped with a modern system of driving trains based on automatic traffic lights brought over from Sweden. It ensured a high level of safety of train traffic and a frequency of trains unattainable on state railways. In addition to traffic lights, another remarkable thing was implemented by means of railcars and trailer cars brought from England that could attain a dizzying (at that time) speed of 70 km/h; they were also equipped with Westinghouse air brakes. A good transport connection to the city centre was to ensure a high number of passengers and relevantly high revenues.

The EKD’s heyday was in the last years before the war, although gradual expansion and modernization works were carried out until 1989. Just before the outbreak of World War II, the entire rail line was used by about 4000 passengers. Until 1947, the entire area of grounds occupied for construction purposes was officially owned by the company, except for the urban segments of the rail line in Warsaw, Milanówek and Grodzisk.

In October 1947, the process of nationalization of the EKD joint stock company was initiated. The acquisition by the “PKP” Polish National Railways was finalized in 1951, assigning the rail line to the District Management of the National Rail [Dyrekcja Okręgowa Kolei Państwowych] and changing the name of Electric Commuter Rail (EKD) into the Warsaw Commuter Railway (WKD). The nationalized WKD company incessantly provided excellent and inexpensive communication. After 1960, due to the rising volume of motor car traffic, the rail lines between Grodzisk Mazowiecki (1966) and Milanówek (1972), and between Włochy and Warsaw (1971) were closed.

In the years 1960-1975 the wooden cantilever constructions of the railway system were changed into metal constructions and the track systems at the stations: Komorów, Podkowa Leśna Główna and Grodzisk Mazowiecki Radońska as well as the traffic lights were rebuilt; a new maintenance and repair facility for the rolling stock and back-office building were erected. In 1963, the WKD rail line along Nowogrodzka and Tarczyńska streets was closed, laying the line in the diametrical line trench nearby the railway station Warszawa Zachodnia. A new station Warszawa Śródmieście WKD was laid, at the level of the diametrical track line at Chałubińskiego street, which to this day is the end station of the WKD line.

In 1972 the old fleet from English manufacturers was replaced with electric train sets series EN94 manufactured in Wroclaw PAFAWAG. In January 1975, for the last time, the route of the rail line in the city of Warsaw was changed, removing it from Szczęśliwicka street and leading it towards the cross-town railway line from "Warszawa Raków" stopover.

In the mid-90s of the 20th century, the “PKP” Polish National Railways resolved to set the WKD apart from the “PKP” Polish National Railways Capital Group. On 1 February 1994, the WKD Rail Line Operator [Zakład Eksploatacji Linii WKD] in Grodzisk Mazowiecki was established. The breakthrough, however, was connected to the decision of the Government of the Republic of Poland on the commercialization of the “PKP” Polish National Railways. Consequently, the assets of the WKD were separated from the assets of the “PKP” Polish National Railways.

On 22 December 2000, Warsaw Commuter Railway Ltd (WKD) was established, with a new management board and budget, which commenced to run its business operations on 1st July 2001. Since then, the company has implemented a number of projects aimed at marking its autonomy, improvement in travel safety and visibility at the stations and stopovers of the WKD.

The company's history since 2001

On 1st July 2001, the company commenced its operations with a completely new organizational structure and legal form: “PKP” Polish National Railway Warsaw Commuter Rail Limited Liability Company (WKD) that constitutes, under the law on restructuring the Polish State Railways, a subsidiary of the newly established the “PKP” Polish National Railway Capital Group.

In accordance with the specific timetable for the WKD restructuring process, the next step following the establishment a separate company was to sell it. As a result of a tender procedure conducted by “PKP” Polish National Railway S.A. [joint-stock company], the most serious bidders were: "Polski Express" operating on the market of domestic long-distance bus routes and the Local Government Consortium (pl. Konsorcjum Samorządowe). The new investor was to incur the expenditure related to the purchase of new rolling stock, infrastructure modernization and expansion as well as new technologies in management, service and sale of services.

In order to strengthen the position of local governments in the ongoing negotiations, on 29th August 2004, the Marshall Office of Mazovian Voivodeship handed over a modern electric multiple unit EN95 series (13WE was the factory marking), purchased with the Office’s own funds, for the Company’s use.

Eventually, the Local Government Consortium was the successful bidder for the shares in “PKP” Polish National Railway WKD Ltd shares under the tender procedure conducted by “PKP” Polish National Railway S.A. [joint-stock company]. The Consortium consisted of the Regional Government of Mazovian Voivodeship, the Municipal Office of Warsaw Capital City and six municipalities situated on the WKD rail line routes. In consequence, on 29th December 2004, a draft agreement between “PKP” Polish National Railways S.A. [joint-stock company] and the Consortium for the sale of all the shares held in the company was initialled. The agreement for the sale of the shares was signed by all the stakeholders on 30th September 2005. The transfer of shares was intended to be completed upon fulfilment of certain conditions, which eventually was completed on 27th September 2007. The WKD shares were subscribed by the Regional Government of Mazovian Voivodeship that took up the total of 73 % of shares (in the capacity of the legal successor of the Capital City of Warsaw in terms of liabilities ) and 6 municipalities situated along the rail lines took up the remaining 27 % of the shares. From now on the number of the company’s stockholders has remained unchanged, nevertheless, due to the successive increase in the paid-in capital of the company, the Regional Government of Mazovian Voivodeship has already acquired the total number of shares exceeding 95 % of the paid-in capital.

The immediate consequence of the fact that Warsaw Commuter Railway (WKD) had left the “PKP” Polish National Railway Capital Group and that it had been taken over by municipalities was the change of the company’s name into "Warsaw Commuter Railway Ltd" (WKD, having deleted the abbreviation "PKP"), which took effect on 13th August 2008.

A steady increase in the number of passengers and higher revenues arising from this fact as well as a close cooperation with municipalities allow to plan further sustainable development. Thanks to a long-term framework agreement regarding the funding sources for passenger rail transport services, numerous modernization projects have been undertaken in relation to the rolling stock and railway infrastructure.