Marcin Bogdan: Megalomania

What is megalomania? Megalomania is “grandeur delusions, intellectual disorders that manifest unwarranted self-esteem, possibilities and meaningIt’s okay. ” So knowing what megalomaniac is, let's look at the facts. The CPK, in a version so criticized by the opposition at the time, was to be the 10th (literally tenth) largest airport in Europe. Poland, which should not be secret knowledge, is the 8th largest country in Europe and the 5th largest country in the European Union (in words, fifth) (counting an area without inland waters). In terms of population, we are the 8th country in Europe and the 5th country in the EU. If the construction of the 10th largest airport in Europe by the 5th largest country in Europe is megalomaniac, what is it to accept that the largest Polish airport, Chopin Airport, is 28th in Europe in terms of the number of passengers served? possibly this. micromania, or inferiority complex and deficiency of religion in your own strength. How about a teacher of shame?

After the coalition took power on 13 December, work on the CPK slowed down, even slowed down. The project, which presently has mediocre chances of implementation, has been cut to the absolute minimum. The concept of the alleged "speaker" was completely withdrawn, i.e. 10 high-speed railway lines, up to 250 km/h, which were to communicate with most urban centres in Poland. alternatively of spokes, the alleged ‘Y’ was proposed, i.e. 2 railway lines connecting the airport with only 4 major cities: Warsaw, Łódź, Poznań and Wrocław. It's a complete ruin to the first plans. So much ruin that Karol Nawrocki, in order to save the CPK concept, submitted to the Sejm the presidential task to match the first task from the period of the regulation of the United Right. Donald Tusk, in order to save the damaged reputation of the government, after all, the majority of the public supports the first CPK project, at the Cabinet Council meeting, addressed to the President: "You limit this ambition for high-speed railways to 250 km/h. In our project, and we are implementing this task alternatively than telling it, this operating velocity is 350 km/h, which in practice means the fastest railways in Europe."

Now, let me ask you, isn't that megalomania? Isn't the ambition of having the fastest railways in Europe the emanation of megalomaniacs? Indeed, a railway with a velocity of 350 km/h would be the fastest railway in Europe, as confirmed by the following statement:

• TGV (France) - operating speed: 320 km/h
  • ICE (Germany) - operating speed: 300 km/h
  • AVE (Spain) - operating speed: 310–320 km/h
  • NTV (Italy) - operating speed: 300 km/h

Note: Frecciarossa 1000 and Italo AGV trains were tested at 360 km/h, but by decision of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport due to safety and operating costs their maximum velocity was limited to 300 km/h.

What about the world?

• Shinkansen (Japan) - operating speed: 320 km/h
• CRH (China) - operating speed: 350 km/h

Even in Japan, which has a rich tradition of high-speed railways, the first regular line was put into service as early as 1964, trains do not scope 350 km/h. It is worth adding that Shinkansen is the safest high-speed railway in the world. Since the beginning of operation, since 1964, there has been no accident with fatalities among passengers caused by derailment, collision or train failure. There are trains in China at 350 km/h. But there, the way connecting the 2 largest Chinese cities, Beijing and Shanghai, is 1318 km long and is travelled in 4.5 hours. And it's not about saving time on specified a long distance. It's a purely method problem, a real anticipation of speeding the train up is this velocity and then braking. The train to the velocity of 350 km/h runs at 40 km!!! The distance in a consecutive line from Warsaw to CPK in Baranów is 38 km and from CPK to Łódź 115 km. How does a train run up to 350 km/h on specified short routes? Tusk 1 knows...

To a velocity of 250 km/h trains run on a much shorter distance of 10 km. Why the difference? With the increase of velocity to specified large values accompanying this phenomenon, they do not grow linearly only geometrically. And this is not just about speeding up or braking, but besides about another method issues specified as the way profile, the mitigation of arches and incline, the kind of traction, or the way the power is taken, besides the amount of energy consumed. Thus, the cost of building and operating specified high-speed railways as 350 km/h is besides increasing, not linearly and geometrically, and consequently the prices of future tickets are besides increasing. What do we get in return? Illusory time savings. On the 300 km long it will only be a fewer minutes. And 300 km is simply a typical distance between large cities in Poland. From Warsaw is approx. 300 km and to Gdańsk and Poznań and Wrocław and Katowice, and Krakow or yet Rzeszów. An additional consequence of specified advanced speeds will be the exclusion of the communication of millions of people surviving in medium-sized cities. If we find even 1 and even 2 intermediate stations on a 300 km stretch, it will take more time to run and halt trains than real driving at 350 km/h.

So let me repeat the question put before, isn't this just a real megalomania? I'm afraid not, however, that Tusk is not guided by megalomania. There may be 2 reasons for its announcement of an increase in operating velocity from 250 to 350 km/h. The first is pure PR, public relations. Donald Tusk will not let the construction of the CPK in any form, even the truncated one, but in order to hide it from the public, he is spreading bright visions, which in itself will in future be the reason for the withdrawal of this project. The second reason is to make a cover for the transfer of immense money to Germany. No Polish company has the technology needed to produce specified high-speed trains and associated infrastructure. There are fewer companies in the world, especially German companies. An effort to carry out the CPK task with a high-speed railway with an operating velocity of up to 350 km/h will consequence in the majority of the work being commissioned to German contractors and it will be to them that will be paid in billions of PLN. Finally, as was the case in Italy, individual will decide to limit the expected operating velocity due to the safety and cost of running.

It can so be assumed that the proposal for the highest operating velocity of 350 km/h for the Polish railways in Europe is not a question of megalomania but it is simply a betrayal of Polish interests.

Mr Bogdan