hidden europe 43

Cross-border links in the Carpathians

by Nicky Gardner

Picture above: No trains to Nowy Lupków. This remote railway station in south-east Poland was closed in 2010 when an important cross-border rail link from Slovakia was axed (photo © hidden europe).

Summary

New cross-border roads have enhanced communications across the Polish-Slovakian border, two countries which have greatly benefited from becoming part of the Schengen region. The new roads are good news for private motorists, but those who rely on public transport are mourning the demise of cross-border rail routes in the same region.

The accession of both Poland and Slovakia to the European Union (EU) in May 2004 and the admission of both countries into the Schengen area in December 2007 has had repercussions on communications between the two countries (and between them and their eastern neighbour, Ukraine). We take a look at what it has meant in just one area, namely the Carpathian region explored in the opening feature of this issue of hidden europe. The tale we tell here has echoes of developments elsewhere in the countries that joined the EU ten years ago. It is a story that surely raises salutary lessons for crossborder transport policy.

On the face of it, the opening up of the Polish-Slovak border should have greatly facilitated contact between communities on either side of the main Carpathian mountain chain which divides the two countries east of the Tatras. But how has this panned out in practice?

Prior to Slovakia and Poland entering into negotiations to join the EU, the only all-weather road capable of carrying heavy trucks through the hills was Dukla Pass, which crosses the Carpathian ridge north-east of the Slovakian town of Svidník. It is a gently graded modern highway, so it is no surprise that it has featured centrally in bitter conflicts as opposing armies clashed in efforts to secure control of the Carpathian region. Indeed, the southern approaches to Dukla Pass are ‘decorated’ with some striking debris from the 1944 Battle of Dukla Pass, when the Red Army pushed south from Poland over the Carpathians in a bid to support the insurrection by Slovaks against the Nazi forces of occupation in their country.

Dukla Pass remains today by far the most important north-south road link over the hills, but new roads have been built to enhance cross-border connectivity.

This is just an excerpt. The full text of this article is not yet available to members with online access to hidden europe. Of course you can read the full article in the print edition of hidden europe 43.
Related article

Marking Time: New Train Services for 2020

The hidden europe award for ingenuity in creating new European rail travel opportunities is awarded to Austria's state rail operator, Österreichische Bundesbahnen (ÖBB). We look at what ÖBB will offer anew for 2020, and examine too what's new on the rails in Russia, Germany and elsewhere across Europe.

Related article

Making Tracks for Sweden

As winter slipped slowly into spring in 1917, Lenin passed through Berlin on his journey back to Russia from Switzerland. His onward route from Berlin took him by train to Sassnitz, then on by ferry to Trelleborg in Sweden. These days it's still possible to follow the route taken by Lenin, using the occasional direct trains from Berlin to Sweden.

Related article

The slow train

evoking the flavour of a hot summer afternoon in the Bohemian hills, hidden europe takes the slow train from Liberec to Decí­n