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Central Rail Line ((ポーランド語:Centralna Magistrala Kolejowa), ''CMK'', also known in Poland as the ''Rail Line No. 4'', Polish: ''Linia kolejowa nr 4''), completed on 23 December 1977〔(Portal Polska.pl, Timeline of Events )〕 could have been the first high speed railway line in Europe.〔Although the CMK might have allowed high-speed travel, high-speed services never started, and thus the Italian Direttissima from Rome to Florence, which opened in 1978, is generally credited to have been the first true high-speed line in Europe. ((source ))〕 Designed for speeds of up to 250 km/h, the line goes from the city of Zawiercie in Zagłębie Dąbrowskie region of southern Poland, to Grodzisk Mazowiecki in the suburbs of Warsaw. Its length is 224 kilometers, and in the Polish rail system it is officially known as ''Rail Line Number 4'' (''Linia kolejowa numer 4''). The line was originally built for rail freight transport, but it now carries InterCity and EuroCity long distance passenger services, mostly from Katowice and Kraków to Warsaw, as well as InterRegio trains.〔(Rail Transport Page )〕 Since 14 December 2014 new Alstom Pendolino trains operate on the CMK between Olszamowice and Zawiercie at . This is currently the highest speed of any regularly scheduled passenger train in Poland. == History == The CMK was constructed between 1971 and 1977, as a freight line designed to haul coal from Upper Silesia and Zagłębie Dabrowskie to the ports of the Tricity. According to the original idea, it was supposed to start at Zawiercie, and end at Tczew or Gdańsk. However, the economic crisis in mid-1970s Poland changed these plans, and due to lack of money the CMK ends at Grodzisk Mazowiecki, where it is connected to the already-existing Warsaw–Vienna railway〔(Portal Polska.pl, Timeline of Events )〕 The idea of construction of a direct rail connection between Upper Silesia and Warsaw was first proposed by professor Aleksander Wasiutyński〔A. Wasiutynski, notka biograficzna, '170 Lat Koleji Warszawsko-Wiedenskiej,' http://www.skm.warszawa.pl/en/a-wasiutynski-notka-biograficzna.html#〕 in the 1920s. He rightly noted that the Warsaw–Vienna railway, which goes to Warsaw through Zawiercie, Myszków, Częstochowa, Radomsko, Piotrków Trybunalski, Koluszki, and Skierniewice, would not be able to carry all the passenger and freight traffic between the two industrial centers of the newly created country. Wasiutyński’s idea was abandoned however, when the government constructed the Polish Coal Trunk-Line instead. In the late 1950s Polish planners again considered the concept of Wasiutyński, but came to the conclusion that electrification of former Warsaw–Vienna railway should suffice for the increased traffic. The electrification was completed in 1957, increasing traffic volume by some 25%,〔(Gazeta Czestochowska, 50th Anniversary of Electrification of Warsaw-Vienna Railway )〕 but this was still not enough. In 1970 rail authorities briefly considered adding new tracks to existing lines, however this idea was quickly abandoned and the idea of construction of a brand new line was revived. The line was planned to be a two-track, high speed connection, designed to carry both express passenger trains and heavy freight trains. Construction of several overpasses was planned, to avoid intersecting with roads. Speeds up to were projected for passenger trains, and a maximum weight up to 5,000 gross tons for freight trains.〔(Portal Polska.pl, Timeline of Events )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「PKP rail line 4」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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