The Tarnów–Szczucin railway (commonly known as Szczucinka) is a single-track, non-electrified local railway in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship, connecting Tarnów with Szczucin. The railway route, whose infrastructure is utilized by railway line no. 115, was opened in 1906, with the first passenger train running that year. Passenger service was suspended on 3 April 2000, and since then, there has been sporadic freight traffic on the passable section.

As of 2026, the railway is closed but will be operational early September 2026 on the 16-kilometer stretch from Tarnów to Żabno.

Route of the line The line begins near the Tarnów railway station, branching off to the right from the at its 76th kilometer. The route then heads north, passing through the areas of Tarnów and the Tarnów County. In Żabno, the line turns to the northeast, heading toward Dąbrowa Tarnowska. In Dąbrowa, the track turns again, this time towards Olesno, from where the line proceeds north and then east toward Szczucin.

The line passes through the city of Tarnów and the Tarnów and Dąbrowa counties.

Technical characteristics The trackbed of the line is constructed with S-49 type rails and concrete and wooden ties from the years between 1981 and 1983. The route is of a flat terrain type.

In 2021, a significant portion of the line was impassable due to overgrown and stolen track infrastructure. Movement was only possible on a 16-kilometer stretch from Tarnów to Żabno (0.765–16.044 km). The passable sections of the line were classified as C3.

As of 29 November 2016, the following maximum speeds for trains were in effect: Kilometer rangeSpeedTrack 1fromtoRailbuses and EMUsWagon trainsFreight trains0.76516.4004016.40049.1210

Infrastructure

Operating points There are 17 operating points on the line: KilometerNamePlatformsPlatform EdgesInfrastructurePhotoSource0.000Tarnów railway station36Station building, ticket offices, signal boxes (Tr, Tr1), underground passage, shelters, water tower, motive power depot1.25911Station building (demolished), ticket office (closed)3.81011Station building (devastated), ticket office4.200Tarnów Klikowa (industrial spur)009.8691 (formerly 2)1 (formerly 2)Station building (demolished), ticket office (closed), signal boxes (Łk, Łk1)12.03411Station building (demolished), ticket office (closed)14.23311Station building repurposed, ticket office (closed)14.380Niedomice Zuch (industrial spur)0016.0441 (formerly 3)1 (formerly 3)Station building (closed, in good condition), ticket office (closed), signal boxes (Żb, Żb1)20.01311Station building (demolished), ticket office (closed), industrial spur24.76724Station building repurposed, ticket office (closed), signal box, water tower (demolished)29.93511Station building (closed, in good condition), ticket office (closed)34.38211Station building (demolished), ticket office (closed)37.90311Station building repurposed, ticket office (closed)40.80011Station building (demolished), ticket office (closed)43.26511Station building (demolished), ticket office (closed)48.80020Station building repurposed, ticket office (closed), signal boxes (Sn, Sn1), roofed area (demolished), water tower (demolished), motive power depot (demolished)

History

Background of creation

The history of the Szczucinka line begins in the 1870s when landowners from the Dąbrowa Tarnowska area petitioned the Galician Railway of Archduke Charles Louis to build a railway line to Tarnobrzeg via Dąbrowa Tarnowska. However, the Galician Railway was not interested in such an investment. In 1887, the railway built a line from Dębica through Tarnobrzeg to Rozwadów, causing the concept of a railway through Dąbrowa Tarnowska to stall.

The plans for a railway line toward Szczucin and Dąbrowa Tarnowska were revived in the 1890s after the nationalization of the Galician Railway. Local landowners, including Prince , whose wife owned significant estates near Szczucin, began efforts to build a railway line from Tarnów via Dąbrowa Tarnowska and Szczucin to Sandomierz. Deputies from the Tarnów Land repeatedly raised the matter of this railway route in the Diet of Galicia and Lodomeria. Initially, however, the assembly was not willing to engage in the construction of the line, and local governments and landowners could not raise enough funds for the project.

In 1898, the Austrian general staff showed interest in building a railway line to the north from Tarnów as the railway was deemed necessary for a potential military conflict with Russia. The railway project was shortened to a section from Tarnów to Szczucin, which still met the needs of landowners in the area. That same year, under Prince Lubomirski's leadership, a committee for building the Tarnów–Szczucin railway was formed, consisting of local entrepreneurs and landowners. Private investors and local governments pledged to purchase shares for about 100,000 and 400,000 Austro-Hungarian krones, though this amount was insufficient given the projected costs of 3,000,000 krones. Thanks to military factors, the Austrian government became involved in funding the project, purchasing shares worth 900,000 krones, while the Galician government guaranteed a loan of 2,000,000 krones.

In 1900, the plans for the new railway line were approved by the Diet of Galicia and Lodomeria. The Tarnów–Szczucin Railway Joint Stock Company was formed, which took a loan of 2,000,000 krones and issued shares worth 1,400,000 krones.

The concession for the construction and operation of the line was granted on 7 October 1905, and the concessionaire was Andrzej Lubomirski. Construction of the railway began in October of the same year, and work was carried out at a fast pace. The route was built according to the technical requirements specified in the 1880 local railway law, amended in 1894 and 1899. The cost of building the line amounted to 2,663,257 krones, and additional works and finishing tasks during operation cost an additional 261,449 krones. To service the route, in 1906 and 1908, the Tarnów–Szczucin Railway Joint Stock Company purchased three locomotives of the 97 kkStB series, two of which were transferred to the Polish State Railways after World War I and were assigned the numbers TKh12-10 and TKh12-11.

The new route was opened for use in October 1906, after 12 months of construction.

Austrian period and World War I

The railway was operated by the Imperial Royal Austrian State Railways and was under the administration of the Kraków Directorate ED Krakau. The railway's operations were widely criticized. The criticism stemmed from unsatisfactory travel conditions caused by uncomfortable carriages and weak locomotives, which struggled to cover the route in difficult weather conditions. Initially, the route had one pair of passenger trains and one mixed train, with an additional passenger train added in 1908.

In early November 1914, a narrow-gauge horse-drawn railway with a gauge of 715 mm was extended to the line from Staszów. The narrow-gauge railway reached the normal-gauge station in Szczucin via a temporary wooden bridge. In the same month, Szczucinka line came under Russian control and was converted to broad gauge. During their retreat in February 1915, the horse-drawn narrow-gauge bridge over the Vistula was burned, and the railway was intensively used for supplying the army and evacuating the wounded from the front, which had stopped nearby, at the Dunajec and Biała rivers. After the route was regained by the Austrians, the line was converted back to standard gauge, and train services were restored.

In 1916, a military narrow-gauge railway with a gauge of 700 mm was extended from Szczucin to Rytwiany, and then to Staszów. A temporary bridge was again built over the Vistula. The Szczucin railway station became a transshipment station from the standard-gauge railway to the narrow-gauge railway.

1918–1945 After Poland regained independence, the line became part of the Kraków Directorate of the Polish State Railways. Due to the poor condition of the bridge in Szczucin, narrow-gauge train services were suspended, and Szczucin ceased to be a transshipment station between standard and narrow-gauge railways for several years. After the construction of a new bridge over the Vistula in 1926, narrow-gauge trains resumed service to the , adjacent to the standard-gauge Szczucin station.

In 1930, the route from Tarnów to Szczucin was served by six pairs of passenger trains, three of which were operated with steam-powered carriages. The following year, due to the global economic crisis, the number of connections was reduced, and for the first time, the route was shortened to Dąbrowa Tarnowska.

In the second half of the 1930s, plans to expand the Central Industrial Region led to proposed railway upgrades in the region. Among the proposals was the construction of a line from Kielce through Busko-Zdrój to Mędrzechów, 83 km long, which would connect with the Tarnów route. In 1938, the plans were revised to include the construction of a Radom–Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski–Szczucin route. The existing lines from Warsaw to Radom and Tarnów to Szczucin were to be upgraded to double tracks, and electrification was also planned. However, these plans were not realized due to the outbreak of World War II.

From 1939, the Szczucin station once again lost contact with the narrow-gauge railway. The narrow-gauge trains no longer reached the town due to the poor condition of the bridge over the Vistula, which was later blown up in September. On 7 September 1939, the railway line was occupied by German troops. The line was not destroyed, nor was it a target of German airstrikes. In September of the same year, the line came under the jurisdiction of the Łódź Directorate of the German Reich Railways, and in October, it became part of the so-called Ostbahn under the Kraków Directorate.

In 1940/1941, the bridge over the Vistula in Szczucin was rebuilt, allowing the Szczucin station to once again become a junction with the Jędrzejów narrow-gauge railway. This situation lasted until 1945 when the Szczucin bridge was blown up again.

1945–2007

In January 1945, the Szczucinka line was occupied and dismantled by Soviet troops. A few months later, in August, it was officially handed over to Polish authorities by the Soviet military. It became part of the Kraków Directorate of the Polish State Railways. In October 1946, after reconstruction, during which local residents were involved, the line was reopened.

In 1953, the railway was again connected to the narrow-gauge railway from Staszów, which had been converted to a 750 mm gauge. In the same year, the standard-gauge line to Busko-Zdrój was completed. Originally, this line was to lead to the station in Żabno, thus creating a connection that would shorten the route from central Poland to Tarnów and the border crossing in Leluchów. However, the construction of a large bridge over the Vistula river was a significant obstacle.

In the mid-1970s, SP42 locomotives were used to service passenger trains, and later, in the 1980s, 4-carriage double-decker trains of the Bipa series were introduced for traffic. In 1976, seven pairs of passenger trains operated on the line, with travel times ranging from 1 hour and 23 minutes to 1 hour and 25 minutes. At the end of May 1978, narrow-gauge train services across the Vistula in Szczucin were suspended and later discontinued, meaning the railway lost its connection with the Jędrzejów narrow-gauge line.