Rozwój systemów kolejowego transportu pasażerskiego w krajach Grupy Wyszehradzkiej i krajach bałtyckich
The development of passenger rail transport systems in the Visegrád and Baltic countries

Summary/Abstract: The purpose of this study is to assess the development of the national passenger rail transport systems of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary against the results achieved at the EU-wide level in the context of the achievement of European goals related to the sustainability of the European transport system. The study of the current status and future prospects of development of the Eu- ropean rail transport system is an important research issue, especially in the context of the changes taking place in the European transport system. The TOPSIS method was applied to the study, using statistical data published by Eurostat, the European Com- mission and IRG–Rail. As a result, four rankings were constructed, reflecting the rel- ative performance of the transport systems of the analyzed countries in 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2020. The results of the study indicate that in 2005 and 2010 only Czechia and Hungary performed above the EU average, while in 2015 and 2020 Slovakia also managed to do so. During the analyzed period, four of the seven countries (except Hungary, Latvia and Lithuania) recorded regular progress until 2015, followed by a stagnation or decline in the relative performance of all countries except Hungary in 2020. The modal shift to rail is expected to be one of the key measures to enable the implementation of European sustainable development policies and achieve climate neutrality by 2050, making the study of this mode of transport an important tool to support the development-related decision-making.

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