– We are consistently working to increase transport accessibility in Lower Silesia. We are taking over and revitalising railway lines, and where revitalisation works are not yet complete, we are launching bus transport coordinated with rail transport. Thanks to good cooperation with local governments, we will jointly finance these connections – explains Marshal Cezary Przybylski.
Under the agreements concluded today, grant agreements were signed with the Gmina of Góra and Górowski County. Both local governments will provide the Voivodeship with financial resources to finance Rail Bus Transport connections from 3 September 2023 to 31 December 2023. The connections will also continue next year.
– Preparing the investment took quite a long time, but thanks to good cooperation, today is the historic moment when the agreement between our local governments is signed. Thanks to it, we will create Rail Bus Transport, which will ultimately be converted into a regular passenger rail connection. We have already signed an agreement with the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways to rebuild the viaduct over the S5 road; we have already taken over the railway line, and this year we will announce a tender for its revitalisation – announces Tymoteusz Myrda, member of the voivodeship board.
The transport offer provides for the launch of eight daily pairs of connections operated by Rail Bus Transport on the Rawicz – Bojanowo – Góra Śląska route and back. At Rawicz station, connections are planned with both Koleje Dolnośląskie and Polregio trains to and from Wrocław. At Rawicz and Bojanowo stations, passengers will also be able to change to long-distance PKP Intercity trains and Polregio trains towards Leszno and Poznań.
– For the Gmina of Góra and Górowski County, this is a great celebration. We were the only county in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship to be excluded from public transport. For several years, we had been seeking the restoration of a railway connection, and I am delighted that this board has achieved it. The railway connection, together with other investments being carried out in parallel, will cause our town to begin developing – says Irena Krzyszkiewicz, Mayor of Góra
The connections to Góra launched as part of Rail Bus Transport continue a project initiated by the Lower Silesian Voivodeship last September, when Rail Bus Transport connections from Kłodzko to Lądek-Zdrój and Stronie Śląskie were launched. The completion of cooperation with local government units interested in launching Rail Bus Transport connections on the (Wrocław -) Oleśnica – Syców line is also planned soon. In that case, the Rail Bus Transport project will comprise a total of three transport lines, including connections operated as substitute rail bus services. Work and discussions with local governments on the further development of the project are currently under way.
– The connection to Góra is returning after 32 years. We began the Koleje Dolnośląskie bus transport project last September. More than 73,000 passengers used the first connection we launched, Kłodzko – Lądek Zdrój – Stronie Śląskie, by the end of July. This shows how necessary this initiative was – adds Wojciech Zdanowski, Vice-President of Koleje Dolnośląskie.
The activities undertaken by the Lower Silesian Voivodeship as part of the Rail Bus Transport project, together with local government units, aim to counteract transport exclusion in areas where the restoration of railway connections is planned in the coming years.
This initiative will enable the gradual rebuilding of demand in areas where railway connections were discontinued a dozen or even several dozen years ago. Rail Bus Transport connections are temporary, and the Voivodeship’s goal is to revitalise railway lines along these transport corridors and restore rail connections.