RAILWAY MODERNISATION
The southern Polish town of Zawiercie has a history that is intricately linked to the railway. The town boomed in the 1840s with the completion of the Warsaw-Vienna Railway, which passed within a kilometre from the town.
Although the Polish railway network is extensive, its age and lack of maintenance means that it is often out-competed by buses and cars as means of transportation. Now the railway around Zawiercie is again attracting attention. The latest plan is to modernise the 44 km long railway connecting Zawiercie to Częstochowa, a town on the Warta River in the Southern part of Poland.
Poland has come a long way in fostering good governance, but recent scandals have highlighted the need for more transparency in public procurement. In March 2017, the government dismissed the board of Polish State Railways (PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe) for mismanagement due to an ongoing investigation into a €440,000 deal with a Warsaw business that is suspected to have caused losses.
For the modernisation of the railway between Zawiercie and Częstochowa, the Polish Railways Line (PLK) has signed an Integrity pact with the Stefan Batory Foundation, who is monitoring the €130 million project to make sure that the money is spent efficiently and in the public interest.
