Rybnik Towarowy–Chałupki railway, designated as rail line number 158, is a railway line in the southwestern part of the Silesian Voivodeship. The entire length of the line is electrified, the section from Rybnik Towarowy to Wodzisław Śląski is double-track, while the section from Wodzisław Śląski to Chałupki and the track within the Rybnik Towarowy station area are single-track.
The line is classified as a secondary and of national significance. It belongs to the regional branch of PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe in Tarnowskie Góry.
Route of the line Rail line number 158 begins at in the Niedobczyce district, branching off from . Between Rybnik Towarowy and Wodzisław Śląski stations, the line intersects with lines number 862, 877, and 876, which connect these stations via a siding at the Marcel Coal Mine. South of Wodzisław Śląski station, the line runs parallel to inactive lines number 159 (to Orzesze) and number 875 (to a siding at 1 Maja Coal Mine). At , it connects with inactive to . From the Rudyszwałd stop, it runs together with all the way to the final station, .
Throughout its route, the line runs almost parallel to , intersecting it several times. It also intersects with , , and the Oder river.
The line passes through the city of Rybnik, Wodzisław County (including two cities: Radlin and Wodzisław Śląski), and Racibórz County.
The line is divided into 3 sections:
– (from -0.291 to 3.020); Radlin Obszary – Wodzisław Śląski (from 3.020 to 7.828); Wodzisław Śląski – (from 7.828 to 25.036).
Technical features The line is equipped with automatic train control electromagnets. There are no restrictions regarding the days of the week and hours during which the line can be used. The designed speed of the line is 100 km/h. According to the state as of 29 November 2016, the following maximum speeds apply for trains: SpeedMileage in km/hSpeedtrack 1fromtotrack 2rail buses and electric multiple unitscarriagesfreight trainsrail buses and electric multiple unitscarriagesfreight trains -0.2910.50460600.5040.7000.7000.820300.8207.380607.3807.828807.82825.036does not include restrictions from the Permanent Warning List The entire line is classified as C3. The traction network along the entire length of the line is adapted for a maximum speed of 110 km/h, with a current capacity of 1725 A, and a minimum distance between current collectors of 20 m.
The longest block section in terms of travel time between two stations is the single-track section between Wodzisław Śląski and Olza. This section is 12,686 km long, and the travel time at the maximum permissible speed is just under 10 minutes, resulting in a capacity of approximately 6 trains per hour for this section. However, this is purely a theoretical value. For example, according to the timetable from 2023, trains of the Silesian Railways cover the Wodzisław–Olza section in about 14 minutes, PKP Intercity trains in about 10 minutes, and freight trains in 15 minutes or more. In 2023, there were calls for the reconstruction of a passing loop in Czyżowice, which would shorten the longest block section on the line by nearly half to around 6 minutes.
The line is equipped with a semi-automatic block signalling.
Infrastructure
Branches destinationlinesourcenumberdirectionstatus140Katowice LigotaactiveNędzaRadlin Obszary junction862Rybnik Towarowyactive877Radlin Marcel Wodzisław Śląski159Orzeszeinactive8751 Maja Coal Mineinactive876 Radlin MarcelactiveOlza176Racibórz MarkowiceinactiveChałupki151Kędzierzyn-Koźleactive679Chałupki-Bohumín
Operational points There are 11 operating points on the line; no ticket sales are conducted at any of them. Type and nameImageNumber of platform edgesInfrastructurePrevious namestrain station3underpass side ramp sidings:
PKP Energetyka S.A. Chwałowice Coal Mine Jankowice Coal Mine PKP CargoNiedobschütz (1882–1922) Niedobczyce (1922–1939) Niedobschütz (1939–1945) Niedobczyce (1945–1983)train station2Römergrube (1884–1922) Rymer (1922–1939) Römergrube (1939–1945) Rymer (1945–1957) Niedobczyce Rymer (1958–1983)junction0Romanshof (1884–1922) Obszary (1922–1939) Romanshof (1939–1945) Obszary (1945–1949) Radlin Śląski Obszary (1950–1983) Wodzisław Śląski Obszary (1984–1999)train station Radlin Obszary2train station2Radlin (Oberschlesien) (1884–1922) Radlin (1922) Radlin Śląski (1923–1939) Radlin (1939–1941) Radlin (Oberschlesien) (1942–1945) Radlin (1945–1946) Radlin Śląski (1947–1986)train station Wodzisław Śląski3ticket machine waiting room with toilet disused motive power depot front-side ramp defunct wagon repair shop sidings:
PKP Cargo – running repair point PKP Cargo – loading and unloading tracksLoslau (1882–1922) Wodzisław (1922–1936) Wodzisław Śląski (1937–1939) Loslau (1939–1945) Wodzisław (1945–1946)train station1train station1Czyżowice (1934–1939) Czirsowitz (1939–1945)publicly accessible trail siding and train station1Gross-Gorzütz (1886–1909) Gross-Gorschütz (1910–1922) Górzyce Śląskie (1922) Gorzyce Śląskie (1922–1935) Bełsznica (1936–1939) Belschnitz (1939–1945)train station3Olsu (1886–1922) Olza (1922–1939) Olsu (1939–1945) Olza near Oder river (1945–1946)train station3–train station3front ramp
sidings:
PKP Cargo – parking tracks PKP Cargo – scalesAnnaberg (1847–1869) Annaberg (Preussisch Orderberg) (1870–1900) Annaberg (1901–1909) Annaberg (Oberschlesien) (1910–1939) Ruderswald (Annaberg) (1940–1941) Ruderswald (1942–1945)
Bridges and viaducts
The line features 8 bridges and 2 viaducts; the largest of these is the bridge over the Oder river. This is a single-track, 3-span bridge with a steel truss structure, measuring 129.85 meters in length.
History
Background of establishment In 1846, the first section of the Wilhelmsbahn (, now ) connecting Racibórz with Koźle was opened. At Koźle, the line connected with the Upper Silesian Railway which linked Upper Silesia with Wrocław. By 1847, the Wilhelmsbahn was extended to Bohumín. Between 1855 and 1858, further sections of the Wilhelmsbahn were opened, connecting Racibórz with Katowice through Rybnik (now ).
In 1861, the residents of Wodzisław Śląski obtained permission to build a road connecting their town to the station in Czernica (now Rydułtowy station). This road was completed after a few years, providing Wodzisław with a connection to the railway leading to Racibórz and Katowice.
Prussian period On 22 December 1882, the Niedobczyce (now Rybnik Towarowy)–Wodzisław Śląski section was opened, with the investor being the Upper Silesian Railway. In 1884, the Upper Silesian Railway, along with all other major railways, was nationalized and taken over by the Prussian state railways. The line was extended to Chałupki on 1 October 1886.
In the late 1880s and early 1890s, the line was known as the Annaberg–Rybnik line. It was constructed as a standard gauge secondary line, and trains operated on it at a speed of 30 km/h. The steepest gradient on the route had a slope of 14‰.
During World War I, the line, like most lines in the Upper Silesian Industrial Region, did not suffer any damage. However, after the war, Germany ceased investing in Upper Silesian railways out of fear of losing these territories.
On 23 May 1921, during the Third Silesian Uprising, a battle occurred along the line near the Olza railway station. After the battle, the railway bridge in Olza was blown up.
From 1922 to 1945 On 15 May 1922, the Polish-German Upper Silesian Convention was signed in Geneva, regulating, among other things, the functioning of railways in Upper Silesia. The Wodzisław Śląski–Chałupki section became a border segment, with the border on the Oder river and passport control in the German Chałupki.
In 1924, the was opened. By the late 1920s, to accommodate increasing freight traffic, the Wodzisław station was expanded, including the construction of a new Bahnbetriebswerk and an auxiliary workshop. In 1935, the construction of the railway line between Moszczenica and Cieszyn was completed, shortening the connection between the Rybnik Coal Area and the Czech Republic by bypassing the German Chałupki (the railway line between Wodzisław and Moszczenica was opened in 1913).
In 1939, during the September Campaign, the railways in Upper Silesia suffered minimal damage, and from 1 January 1940, they were governed by German railway law.
In January 1945, the death march of prisoners from Auschwitz concentration camp to Wodzisław Śląski took place. From there, prisoners were transported by trains into the depths of the Reich, using, among other lines, Line No. 158. During the final months of the war, the bridge over the Oder river was destroyed during the Red Army's offensive.
Post-1945 period
In 1956, the bridge over the Oder river was rebuilt. In 1964, a second track was added on the Rybnik Towarowy–Wodzisław Śląski section, and on 17 November 1981 the electrification of this section was completed. On 21 December 1984, the electrification of the Wodzisław Śląski–Chałupki section was also completed. In both cases, the first electric train to run on these sections was an EN57. In 1984, partial major repairs of both tracks were carried out. In 1990, the was opened. In 2007, the passing siding in Czyżowice was dismantled.
Between 2007 and 2008, major repairs were carried out on track No. 1 of the Rybnik Towarowy–Wodzisław Śląski section, and a year later, on more than a two-kilometer section of track No. 2 between Rybnik Towarowy and Rybnik Rymer. On 11 May 2012, a part of the was opened, which included a viaduct over Line No. 158 between the Wodzisław Śląski station and the .
On 20 August 2012, a train carrying coke derailed between the Rybnik Towarowy and Rybnik Rymer stations. On 9 December 2012, passenger traffic on the Wodzisław Śląski–Chałupki section was suspended, and on the Wodzisław Śląski–Rybnik Towarowy section, Polregio trains were replaced by Silesian Railways trains.
Revitalization of the line
On 30 June 2014, PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe signed an agreement with the Center for EU Transport Projects for funding the revitalization of Line No. 158, including the section of between Rybnik Towarowy and stations, under the Cohesion Fund. On July 30, the company signed a second agreement with a consortium of Rubau Polska, Construcciones Rubau, and Rover Alcisa to carry out the work.
By late October 2014, the single-track section from Wodzisław Śląski to Chałupki was closed for traffic, and the dismantling of railway infrastructure elements began. From March 15 to October 31, 2015, due to work at the Wodzisław Śląski station, access from Rybnik was not possible. Consequently, Silesian Railways passenger trains from Katowice and Rybnik terminated at the Wodzisław Śląski Radlin stop, with replacement bus services to the Wodzisław station.
On 25 March 2015, the city of Wodzisław Śląski purchased the railway station from Polish State Railways. The city was planning to renovate the station and establish a transportation hub there.