Zakopianka is blocked at the beginning of the ski season. The rail protest will make access to open slopes more difficult

Residents of the Mogilany commune near Kraków will block Zakopianka on Saturday in protest against the route of the Kraków-Myślenice railway line. Residents call the planned line a “route of human wrongs”. They talk about demolitions, divided towns, flood threats and a train that would pass almost under the windows. The route is to start on the outskirts of Krakow – in Swoszowice – and end in the center of Myślenice.

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On the same day, the ski season will begin in the Tatra Mountains. The resorts in Białka Tatrzańska, Bukowina Tatrzańska and Zakopane have already announced the opening of the slopes on December 14 – however, due to the protest, getting there will be difficult.

As announced by the protesters, the blockade is to start at 10 a.m. in Gaj, at the pedestrian crossing at ul. Wąwozowa. The protest is scheduled to last until 1 p.m.

As we read in the statement sent to us by the organizers of the blockade, they will protest “against the construction of the Kraków-Myślenice railway line on the route running through the Mogilany Commune.” They claim that the current route variant was imposed on them, while the earlier one – published in 2019 – ran through the neighboring communes of Świątniki Górne and Siepraw. They also claim that the Mogilany commune, which is in debt of almost PLN 49 million, will not be able to afford expenses such as access roads or the construction of parking lots.

“We expect the railway route to be restored to its original and most economical route, i.e. through the Communes of Świątniki Górne and Siepraw, which applied for this railway,” we read in the organizers' statement.

In the summer, a project for a 22-kilometer route was presented, the construction of which would involve the demolition of several dozen houses and farm buildings in towns along the train's route. Others would lose their peace – the train would pass almost under their windows. In response to residents' comments, changes were made to the project, thanks to which many buildings were preserved. The new course proposal was revealed by PKP PLK at the end of October.

But this did not calm everyone down – hence Saturday's protest.

“The last correction of the route introduced changes consisting in shifts of several or a dozen meters. This does not change our situation in any way, no one wants to live with a railway 10 meters from the walls and an embankment several meters outside the window,” emphasize the protest organizers. They add that they are not against the idea of ​​the railway, but only its current route.

In the summer of 2019, politicians PIS they called the investment “golden train” and promoted it under this slogan for the following months and years. Two variants of the route were then prepared.

Ultimately, the variant that runs through the Mogilany commune was selected.

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The “Golden Train” is the apple of the eye of the mayor of Myślenice, Jarosław Szlachetka from PiS, for whom it is a flagship investment. However, the applicant for the “Kolej Plus” program was the Marshal's Office of the Małopolska Voivodeship.

– The first railway plans were created over 100 years ago. Returning to this idea was one of my main assumptions for Myślenice during the campaign in the local elections in 2018. I am convinced that the residents, by electing me for a second term, support this project – the mayor of Myślenice told tvn24.pl.

“The implementation of such a large investment project is always met with numerous tensions among residents. When determining the route of the railway line, we encounter differences in interests and needs. There are people who are upset with the route, which is most often due to the line running through their plots and properties. Most of 200 people who individually familiarized themselves with the proposal of the railway line at UMiG Myślenice expressed their approval for this concept and the investment itself,” said the mayor. Szlachetka referred to the criticism of some residents at the beginning of September.

However, some residents of towns along the railway route believe that the new route of the railway line is a “route of human harm” – they created a page under this name on Facebook to inform about their doubts about the investment.

The previous authorities of this commune were also against the route through Mogilany. In 2022, Mogilan councilors passed a resolution in which they expressed their strong opposition to the Kraków-Myślenice railway connection through this commune. In September this year adopted a second resolution in which they demanded changes to the project. However, unlike his predecessor, the new mayor of Mogilan, Jerzy Przeworski, is a supporter of the construction.

Krzyszkowice in the Myślenice commune is also a flashpoint – this town is to be cut in half, as some residents fear.

The railway will be useful primarily to the inhabitants of Myślenice, who will be able to get to Krakow in 43 minutes, instead of having to wait on the always clogged Zakopianka – the same one that the inhabitants of the Mogilany commune will block on the day the ski season begins. According to supporters of the railway line, residents of towns along the train route will benefit in a similar way from the investment. Numbering just over 17 thousand. inhabitants Myślenice is one of the largest cities in Małopolska without a railway line.

Public consultations are to take place when railway workers obtain an environmental decision for the investment, which is most likely only in 2026. PKP PLK explains in the statement sent to us that work on the construction project will be completed after the route route is finally determined.

“After multi-sectoral detailing of the scope of the investment, the final boundaries of the project will be determined. They will determine the number of structures to be constructed, including buildings to be demolished and plots to be purchased,” wrote Piotr Hamarnik from the PKP PLK press team. He added that “the public consultation process will be conducted in accordance with applicable regulations.”