A shield and an engine
Poland’s new hub is good for all of Central Europe. Poland is building the largest transport project in its modern history, and the argument about it at home has narrowed to nine kilometres of track outside a city most foreign investors have never heard of. The argument matters well beyond Poland. It will decide whether […] A shield and an engine was originally published on Emerging Europe .
Poland is constructing the largest transport project in its modern history, a network that holds significance for the entire Central European region. The debate surrounding the nine-kilometre stretch of track near Kalisz, a city of 100,000 inhabitants, has become a focal point of discussion within the country. However, the implications of this project extend far beyond the borders of Poland.
The Central European logistics capacity, both for civilian and military purposes, is at stake. If the hub proves successful, Central Europe could develop its own logistics infrastructure, reducing its reliance on external providers in Frankfurt, Amsterdam, and Ramstein. To grasp the magnitude of this project, one need only visit Kalisz's railway platform.
The station is narrow, low, and roofless, yet it serves a city at the heart of a functional area spanning 400,000 people. In the past, this same station was a vital rail gateway between the Russian Empire and Germany.
The Warsaw-Kalisz railway, established in 1902 to Russian broad gauge, connected to a dual-gauge line to Skalmierzyce in 1906. Freight was transhipped at Szczypiorno before crossing the border. Passengers at that time were not only changing trains but also crossing borders and states. Poland's planned high-speed line from Warsaw through Łódź and Kalisz to Poznań will follow this route.
The Sieradz-Poznań section is expected to open by year-end 2035, reducing the travel time from Kalisz to Poznań from an hour and 28 minutes to approximately 35 minutes.
The project's significance extends to the realm of military logistics. On March 6, 2026, Port Polska, the state company overseeing the programme, applied for environmental approval for a nine-kilometre rail bypass around Kalisz. The company asserts that the fastest trains could either use the bypass or stop at the central station.
Once completed, the line will span close to 2,000 kilometres, offering an alternative route for military transport that has been primarily dependent on Ramstein, the primary U.S. air logistics base in Europe.
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