APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200070025-1
possibly only after interchanging standard- and broad-gauge trucks; facilities for this process, used for special passenger cars only, are available at Brest in the USSR, and at Przemsyl, Poland. Well-equipped freight-transloading facilities are available at nearly all border crossing points.
The east-west routes are particularly strategic as they afford direct connections between the USSR and East Germany. A significant volume of commercial and military traffic moves on many of the east-west through routes, the greatest being on the Brest-Poznan-Frankfurt and Medyka-Wroclaw routes. The north-south traffic flow is heaviest in the Silesian industrial areas, on the routes that connect Czechoslovakia, Silesia, and Warsaw with Poland's major ports.
More than two-thirds of the approximately 12,000 bridges in the railroad network span relatively narrow watercourses and are less than 50 feet in length; most bridges 1,000 feet or longer are crossings of the Vistula and Oder rivers. Bridges are generally of steel or concrete and are well structured and in good condition. The few existing timber structures are on minor routes. Many bridges are being reconstructed and reinforced to permit increased tonnages and the addition of a second track. Most of the 25 tunnels on the network are in the mountainous southern region; the longest is a 5,253-foot structure southeast of Walbrzych near the Czechoslovakia border.
Track structure of the Polish railroads is generally poor. Heavy traffic demands and inadequate maintenance and supplies have hampered improvement efforts. Poland produces rails in sufficient quantity for export as well as domestic use. All rail is of the T-section type and ranges in weight from 61 to 122 pounds per yard. As a rule, standard-gauge main lines are laid with 85 and 99-pound rail, but 122-pound rail is being introduced. The standard length of rail is 98.4 feet. Wooden ties are gradually being replaced by steel and reinforced-concrete ties. Ballast is of crushed stone on lines of less importance. Axleload limits are generally 19.3 to 22 short tones on main lines, 16.5 to 18.1 tons on secondary ones, and as low as 11 tons on a few local lines. Heavy track maintenance equipment is imported from Austria, Switzerland, and the USSR; light and medium equipment are produced domestically.
Both manual and automatic block systems are in operation on the Polish railroads. Plans to convert all main lines to automatic signaling have been in effect for several years, and work is progressing toward that goal. Experimental installation of the dispatcher signal control (Dyposytorskie Urzadzenie Nastawcze - Dun) system are also being made. Colorlight signals are being installed to replace the manually operated semaphores and signal control boxes on main lines. Most interlocking is mechanical; however, relay installations and automatic interlocked switches are planned for main-line stations. Telephone and teletype transmissions are used almost extensively within the communication system.
Coal is the principal railroad fuel, but because of its importance as an export item, its use is being decreased as electrification, dieselization, and use of other fuels expand. The supply and quantity of water are satisfactory for locomotive use.
Economic expansion has caused a steady annual increase in long-haul and intercity rail traffic. In 1971, railroads hauled 438 million short tons of freight and carried 1.06 billion passengers, accounting for 71.4 billion short-ton miles and about 22.7 billion passenger-miles.
Railroad equipment manufacturing is a large industry in Poland and an important part of the economy. Full utilization of domestic production by the PKP has been prevented by a large export program, and much of the existing railroad stock is old and in poor condition.
Although none have been acquired since 1957, steam locomotives are still used in over half the PKP operations; some of the units in operation have been converted to use mazat (a petroleum residue) and will be relegated to use on secondary lines. Dieselization has moved rather slowly. In general, Poland's development of diesel locomotives has been limited to units of 150 to 700 horsepower (hp) but some 800-hp units have been produced locally. Almost all heavy-duty diesels have been imported from Romania or the Soviet Union; however, the current Five Year Plan
FIGURE 1. Series EU07 electric locomotive built in Poland under English Electric license (U/OU)
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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-007R000200070025-1
