Derailed station
First-time visitors to any major city are usually greeted by the sight of an airport or railway station. These places serve as gateways to the city and, as such, ought to make a good impression.
Railway stations in particular, by virtue of their generally central locations, present a prime opportunity for a municipality to warmly welcome visitors. Thus many - if not most - major railway stations in Western Europe have become vibrant, elegant centers of business and retail activity, places where public and commercial functions coexist in harmony.
For one reason or another, this model has failed to fully materialize in Poland. And Warsaw's Central Railway Station, Poland's largest and most important, is one of the most glaringly obvious examples of this failure.
Built in 1975 according to a design prepared by Polish architects Arseniusz Romanowicz and Piotr Szymaniak, the station has fallen into relative disrepair and earned a reputation for violence and squalor. In a ranking of 23 major Polish railway stations published this summer by Gazeta Wyborcza, the Central Railway Station in Warsaw occupied 20th place.
Half-hearted efforts
Polish State Railways (PKP), which owns the Central Railway Station, has seriously considered renovating or replacing the structure on a number of occasions. In 2000, for example, PKP was looking for a financial partner to help it carry out such a project.
The company asked a number of potential investors to present visions of what could be erected on the site of the existing railway station. Among the firms invited to present ideas were large international developers including Tishman Speyer Properties and ING Real Estate. Yet when concrete plans for the site's re-development were finally submitted, PKP suddenly changed its mind and apparently lost interest in the issue for a couple of years.
The need for change, however, has become increasingly visible as time has passed, especially since the opening of the ING-developed Złote Tarasy shopping center, which sits next door. In comparison, the Central Railway Station resembles the proverbial ugly step-sister.
In 2005, PKP decided to tackle the problem again, this time opting for renovation rather than demolition of the existing building. An architectural design for the modernization project was prepared by the Epstein architectural studio, which was also involved in the Złote Tarasy project. These plans, however, were also soon shelved. PKP was apparently not ready to spend the approximately zł.20 million required to carry out the work.
Slow changes
These abortive attempts to resolve the Central Railway Station problem have been accompanied by a public debate on whether the building, viewed by some as a valuable example of communist-era architecture, should actually be demolished.
However, according to Michał Wrzosek, a spokesperson for PKP, the company has finally made up its mind about the station's future.
"The Warsaw Central Railway Station will undergo a partial renovation prior to 2012 that will cost more than zł.10 million. After that date, the building will be demolished and a completely new station will be constructed," said Wrzosek.
He explained that the schedule was determined by the fact that the capital's other large railway stations, Warsaw West and Warsaw East, would be replaced before the Euro 2012 soccer championships and thus nothing more could be done without completely disrupting rail transportation in the city.
The new Warsaw Central Railway Station building would be a mixed-use facility, Wrzosek said, and would likely be constructed in cooperation with a private investor.
Whether PKP's plans succeed or fail this time remains to be seen. Real estate analysts and developers, for their part, say the plot has considerable value and could host a high-rise building.
"In terms of development, the plot's value depends solely on the technical parameters regarding underground railway infrastructure and the planned [second] subway line, as well as rules pertaining to concentration and height of [downtown] build-up. Taking the location and the neighboring buildings into account, however, one can assume that a very tall, more than 30-storey, building would be erected," said Andrzej Brochocki, a managing partner at real estate agency Kancelaria Brochocki Nieruchomości. He added, however, that the property's value would be even higher if the site's present function did not have to be preserved in the new structure.
According to Andrzej Mikołajczyk, plenipotentiary of the management board of PoleczkiBusinessPark, a large office project being developed by UBM and CA Immo International in Warsaw, any future investment on the site is bound to attract private investors.
"If PKP and the City of Warsaw defined their plans concerning the site and decided to cooperate with private investors, many companies, including CA Immo International, would be willing to participate, even though a public-private partnership of this kind may be risky," said Mikołajczyk. He added that, "this is hugely valuable and undoubtedly one of the best, if not the best, single location in Warsaw."
Inspiration from abroad
While no major changes to Warsaw's Central Railway Station are expected for years, there is sincere hope that, this time, the issue will be dealt with. Certainly, there have been similar projects in other countries from which inspiration could be drawn.
The Berlin Hauptbahnhof railway station is a good example and, ironically enough, the results of the project were on display at the Central Railway Station in 2006. Passengers waiting for their trains in the Warsaw station's main hall could see photos, renderings and an electronic presentation of the new station, which was at that time nearing its completion.
The Berlin project was erected on the site of the former Lehrter Bahnhof, close to the city center and key government buildings, and is now one of the largest and most modern railway stations in Europe. The station provides some 15,000 sqm of retail space on its three floors and houses numerous shops, service facilities and catering outlets, serving approximately 300,000 travelers and visitors every day. Delivery of the Berlin Hauptbahnhof also proved a catalyst for the development of the entire neighborhood, with new office and residential projects now being planned nearby.
The construction of new railway stations or modernization of existing ones has begun in other major European cities as well. The Prague Central Train Station is currently being refurbished by Italian firm Grandi Stazioni. Upgrade work on the station started in 2006 and in 2007 the first new commercial areas were opened to the public.
Vienna, for its part, is planning the construction of the Wien Hauptbahnhof rail station, in whose vicinity extensive office, retail and residential space is expected to be delivered.
