Szybka Kolej Miejska (Warsaw)

The Warsaw SKM in its present form was initially proposed in 2002, stipulating to use the existing infrastructure of the Warsaw Railway Junction, especially the cross city line with its over 2 km long tunnel running under the city center and conveniently located underground station, as a cheap substitute for a badly needed second metro line.

Newag 14WE EMUs in the original blue and orange livery and present-day yellow and red of Warsaw public transit

One of the stations - Warszawa Stadion

Train on S9 line

In order to implement this the Mayor of Warsaw Lech Kaczyński established in 2004 the municipally-owned company Szybka Kolej Miejska Sp. z o.o. The company was originally incorporated as a joint venture between the City of Warsaw with 50% shares and the companies Metro Warszawskie Sp. z o.o. with 49% shares and Tramwaje Warszawskie Sp. z. o.o. with 1% shares, both owned entirely by the city and responsible respectively for the Metro and Tram system. As such the company was notably completely independent from the national rail operator PKP Group, unlike Koleje Mazowieckie established by the Masovian Voivodship at around the same time.

The newly formed company was equipped with six Newag 14WE EMUs which were extensive modernizations of the PKP class EN57 EMUs, with a modern looking body but retaining the old mechanical components.

A year and a half after being established the SKM initiated its operation with its first trains, opening a line from Warszawa Zachodnia along the cross city line to Warszawa Wschodnia and along the Vistula river to Warszawa Falenica. The new service failed to deliver on its promise to serve as a viable replacement due to the poor state of the rail infrastructure. Passengers within the city center preferred the more accessible trams system and few people wanted to use the trains in the southeastern districts of the city. Additionally, while the integrated fare system of the Warsaw Transit Authority offered a large convenience the modern look and relative cleanness of the rolling stock sharply contrasted with the standard found in the Polish railroad, during rush hours most of the slots on the tracks were taken up by regional traffic and the new EMUs suffered from the same technical problems as the ones they were based on.

Due to the initial low popularity of the line the original concept was somewhat altered in 2006 with the line extended outside the administrative borders of the city through the Ursus district into the town of Pruszków to the west and diverted to the district of the Wesoła and the town of Sulejówek to the east, turning the service into a suburban commuter train which allowed people in the metropolitan area to quickly reach the city center and conveniently transfer within the city's public transit system. The revised formula proved to be very successful leading the city to take the purchase of all the shares of the company and purchase two more Newag 14WE EMUs. The popularity of trains run the SKM was also instrumental in the city negotiating a deal with the Masovian Voivodship to have Koleje Mazowieckie honour long term tickets of the Warsaw Transit Authority, first along the route of the SKM and eventually within the entire area served by the city's public transit system.

In 2010 the company purchased four brand new Newag 19WE EMUs and opened a new line to the town of Otwock. Additionally, the Warsaw Transit Authority signed a contract with the Koleje Mazowieckie to operate a line between Warszawa Gdańska station on the Warsaw Circumferential Line and the town of Legionowo under the branding of the SKM, and since 2012 taken over by the company.

In 2011 13 new PESA 27WE 'ELF' EMUs (2011–2012) were purchased. In 2012 a new connection was created running through the Służewiec office district and a newly opened 1.5 km rail tunnel to the Warsaw Chopin Airport.

• (in Polish) Official site

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• Official website