Polish State Railways

The Polish State Railways (Polish: Polskie Koleje Państwowe [ˈpɔlskʲɛ ˈkɔlɛjɛ paj̃ˈstfɔvɛ], abbr.: PKP S.A.) is a Polish state-owned holding company (legally a sole-shareholder company of the State Treasury) comprising the rail transport holdings of the country's formerly dominant namesake railway operator. The company was reformed in 2001 when the former Polish State Railways state-owned enterprise was divided into several units based on the need for separation between infrastructure management and transport operations. Polish State Railways is the dominant company in the PKP Group collective that resulted from the split, and maintains 100% share control, being fully responsible for the assets of all of the other PKP Group component companies.

PKP is currently the parent company of the PKP Group, passenger operators PKP Intercity and PKP Szybka Kolej Miejska w Trójmieście. Freight carriers PKP Cargo and PKP Linia Hutnicza Szerokotorowa are also parts of the group. PKP is also one of the largest real estate managers in Poland.

Regaining independence on 11 November 1918 allowed Poland to reclaim the former Russian and Austrian sectors from military railways. The Railway Department in the Ministry of Communication was created and the Polish railways were officially named Polskie Koleje Państwowe.^{[citation needed]}

In December 1918, the Greater Poland Uprising started. The rebels took over the former Prussian sector of railways. One year later, after the Polish–Ukrainian War ended, the former Austrian railway directorate was taken over by Poland. Taking over the railways from Prussians lasted until 1921.^{[citation needed]}

After Polish victory in the Polish–Soviet War (1920), the retreating Communists caused heavy damage to railways in eastern Poland. At the same time, tense relations with Lithuania led to partial disintegration and stagnation of the railways around Vilnius and Minsk. The Libau–Romny Railway was not recovered.^{[citation needed]}

The Polish railways administration finally took over the railways in Upper Silesia in 1922. That same year, a decision was made to divide railways in Poland into nine administrative districts.^{[citation needed]}

An economic crisis in the 1930s forced the state to cut back its budget for railway investment. Profit decreased by 50% compared to 1929. The next year, over 23,000 PKP employees had been dismissed and protests and strikes caused authorities to try to find a solution. The end of the crisis and an increase in cargo transport and income came in 1937.^{[citation needed]}

Following the German invasion on 1 September 1939 and the Soviet invasion of eastern Poland on 17 September 1939, most Polish rolling stock fell into Soviet hands.^{[citation needed]}