Rail freight performance in Poland in March 2026
In March of this year, the railways transported over 19.3 million tons of freight, which is an increase of over 1.4 million tons (+7.9%) compared to March 2025. Freight tonnage-kilometers exceeded 5.1 billion, which was nearly 0.5 billion tonnage-kilometers higher (+10.5%) than a year earlier. Operating performance exceeded 7.6 million train-kilometers, which is 1.1 million train-kilometers more (+16.8%) year-over-year.
The average distance transported per ton of cargo exceeded 266 km in March—over 6 km more than in March 2025.
The values of key freight transport parameters recorded in March 2026 were the highest since the beginning of the year. Compared to February of this year:
- the weight of goods increased by nearly 3 million tons (+18.3%);
- freight tonnage-kilometers were up by over 0.9 billion (+22.2%);
- train-kilometers increased by 1.4 million (+22.8%).
The average distance traveled per ton of cargo in March was over 8 km longer than the previous month.
“The freight transport results for March 2026 show some signs of recovery, but they should be interpreted with great caution. Data for the entire first quarter indicate that rail freight faces a structural challenge—while the volume of cargo transported declined slightly, there was an increase in transport and operational performance. This reflects a shift in the nature of the market—the importance of bulk transport is declining, while the role of dispersed freight flows and intermodal transport is growing. The key to the sector’s stability is no longer the battle for volume, but rather improving operational efficiency. Only by redefining processes and adapting their offerings to the new realities will carriers be able to maintain profitability,” comments Dr. Ignacy Góra, President of the UTK.
In the first three months of 2026, railways transported over 51.8 million tons of cargo. This is over 0.3 million tons less (-0.7%) than in the same period of 2025. Freight tonnage-kilometers exceeded 13.4 billion, representing an increase of 86.8 million ton-kilometers (+0.7%) year-over-year. Operating performance amounted to nearly 19.8 million train-kilometers and was over 0.9 million train-kilometers higher (+4.9%) than in the first quarter of 2025.