Silesia’s Trams – Challenges and Visions

Bolesław Knapik: Chairman of the Board of Tramwaje Śląskie S.A. - 70 years old - graduate of the Faculty of Transport and Services of the University of Economics in Katowice, majoring in rail transport.  Spends his free time hiking with family.

tram.news: How long have you been working for the Upper Silesian tram operator  Tramwaje Śląskie?

Bolesław Knapik: My work here began in 1983. I have been a member of the company‘s Management Board since 2003, and since 2017 I have had the honour of serving as the President of the Management Board of Tramwaje Śląskie S.A. in the area of the Metropolis GZM (formally Górnośląsko-Zagłębiowska Metropolia).

tram.news: How important is public transport in Upper Silesia and what are the special features of your company?

Bolesław Knapik: Electric tram transport in Upper Silesia has been operating for 126 years. The routing of our tram lines is, in many cases, historically shaped through connections with former industrial plants, often no longer existing today. Compared to other areas in Poland, our routing system is so extended that in an east-west arrangement, a tram line between the depot in Gliwice and the tram loop at Huta Katowice with a length of 100 km could run.

As our tram lines were built in a highly urbanized area, there are a large number of tram tracks on the road, which generates various operational problems and high maintenance costs. Today, the importance of public transport in Silesia is increasing, and we are observing a tendency to remove individual car transport from city centres. So, we are building transfer hubs because the entry of cars into cities is limited, and in some cases also of bus lines, - for example, in Katowice, only trams can enter into the very restricted city centre. In addition, we are systematically observing a steady increase in the number of passengers after their outflow during the Covid-19 pandemic, who are now returning and eagerly using convenient public transport.

tram.news:  What is the tram network size in the region, how many vehicles do you have and how many passengers each day?

Bolesław Knapik: Our tram network includes approximately 330 km of tracks, 290 vehicles and 34 power substations. We transport on average approx. 52 million passengers a year, in 2019 we served a record 70 million passengers.

tram.news: How long have you been working with HANNING & KAHL, whose representative in Poland is Bibus Menos Sp. z o. o., and what products do you use?

Bolesław Knapik: We have been using HANNING & KAHL products and systems in Tramwaje Śląskie operations since 2000, together with the then new trams manufactured by Konstal (Alstom), where electrohydraulic braking systems are installed, but we also use them in our infrastructure, for example point machines along with control and heating systems.
The first control and heating system for point machines appeared at TŚL in December 2012 on the Market Square in Katowice. It‘s hard to imagine a more prestigious place for such a debut. Thanks to their reliability, durability and low operating costs, HANNING & KAHL point machines and controllers soon proved their worth and immediately found their places in other cities and tram lines in Upper Silesia. Not without significance is the fact that Bibus Menos employees are active at every stage of investment and operation, starting from cooperation with design offices, through participation in construction councils, comprehensive installation and assembly of the systems in the field, commissioning and technical acceptance, finishing with maintenance, warranty and post-warranty issues, after-sales services, advice and cooperation with our employers in everyday operation.

tram.news: How have the investments changed the image of Silesia so far and which of them are the most important to you?

Bolesław Knapik: The company has been able to use EU funds since the transformation of the state-owned commercial law company Tramwaje Śląskie into a municipal company in 2008. Using EU funds, we have already invested approximately €500 million in the last two budget perspectives. In the first EU perspective, we invested in the modernization of old trams, the purchase of new ones and the revitalization of old routes. In the next step, we only bought new trams, and for the first time in 30 years, we built two new tram lines, and we also rebuilt many single-track sections into double-track lines. This increased accessibility to tram transport, improved the fluency, and increased the frequency of tram traffic. We have also strengthened pro-ecological activities by reducing the nuisance of tram transport on the environment, improving the acoustic influence and decreasing the impact of vibrations. At the same time, the modernization and purchase of new vehicles, and the change from a resistance system of drives to an electronic system brought us approximately 30% savings in electricity consumption for one wagon. Moreover, we are the only company in Poland which has built an energy storage facility that recovers traction energy from recuperation.
After such a long period of stagnation, all these investments are very important for the company, because beside the fact that we are modernizing what we have had for years, we are also starting to develop and significantly improving the comfort of travelling. We still have a lot to do, but the progress is significant and the changes for the better are very visible. For me, of all these projects, the most important was the construction of the tram line in Sosnowiec from the loop in Zagórze to John Paul II Square, because it was the first new line in many years.

tram.news: What new investments are you planning in the coming years and are you going to buy more trams?

Bolesław Knapik: As part of the new EU FENX program, we plan further modernization of the tracks, but we also plan development investments in Katowice and Sosnowiec, and plan further purchases of modern trams that meet passengers‘ expectations. These will be low-floor vehicles, air-conditioned and comfortable, equipped with Wi-Fi, for example. For now, we are preparing an FENX application for aid funds of approximately €150 million, but we will also apply for funds for purchase under the NRP (National Reconstruction and Resilience Plan), i.e. funds secured by the EU to offset the economic effects caused by the Covid 19 pandemic.

tram.news: Thank you for your time, Mr. Knapik. We wish you every success in the future.

Bolesław Knapik: Thank you, too, and best wishes to all your readers.

Questions were asked on behalf of tram.news by Damian Pradela / BIBUS MENOS