Possibilities of Increasing the Role of Railways in the Public Transport System of the Urban Functional Area of Olsztyn

Abstract

This article presents the possibilities of increasing the role of railways in the public transport system of the Urban Functional Area of Olsztyn. First, the proposed extent of the rail service, the assumptions for the new transport offer and the principles for the development of the rail timetable were outlined. Taking into account the current state of the infrastructure, the feasibility of implementing the basic transport offer (10 pairs of trains per day) and its further development in the future was examined for each direction of transport, and graphical timetables were drawn up and presented, based on the assumption of cyclical departures (i.e. clock-face schedule for train departures). Part of the article is also devoted to measures in the area of bus transport in terms of organisation and infrastructure, which, if taken, would make it possible to better integrate it with the railway system. Taking into account the observations and conclusions in the previous chapters, the proposed investment activities involving the railway infrastructure necessary to implement and improve regional rail services, as well as a broader perspective on further investments enabling the development of the transport offer and increasing rail accessibility in the Urban Functional Area of Olsztyn, are presented. The main conclusion of the analyses carried out is the confirmation of the feasibility of implementing a cyclical timetable in the area under study for the assumed base number of connections. Keywords: rail transport, public transport, integrated transport system, cyclical timetable