Grodzisk Mazowiecki revisited

Back after nearly five years in Grodzisk Mazowiecki, I pass through its lovely railway station on my way to a business meeting. And on my way back, I stop to take some shots to see how the place has changed. Worth noting that according to official stats, registered unemployment for the Grodzisk poviat (district) was 8.1%. Today, it's 3.2%. Local employers - big-name foreign investors, household-name brands, are resorting to advertising job offers on billboards - the labour market is running dry. Local people have more money in their pockets - and this can be seen in the shops and cafes. The local authorities have more tax revenue, which is spent on making this town of 30,000 inhabitants look much better.

Poland has some lovely examples of railway station architecture. Here is Grodzisk Mazowiecki station, along Line No. 1 (Warsaw-Katowice). Some 30km from W-wa Centralna. The current building replaces the original station (opened in 1845), which was badly damaged during WW1. Built in the early 1920s, its architectural style is Polish Dworkowy, the dworek being the manor house beloved of the landed gentry.

Below: front facade facing ul. 1 Maja, July 2018.

Below: August 2013.

Below: platform-side view, seen from modernised footbridge, July 2018.

Below: August 2013. The new electrical gantries are prominent in the current view, as are improvements to the platform and trackbed.

Below: booking hall, July 2018. Proper electronic signage.

Below: general view of the interior, August 2013.

Below: waiting room, July 2018. Very contemporary.

Below: waiting room/booking office, August 2013. Shabby and tired.

The main railway line between W-wa Zachodnia and Grodzisk Maz is currently undergoing refurbishment - the slow line for suburban trains has been lifted and is being replaced with new track. At the moment, the suburban train from Warsaw out south-west to Żyrardów and Skierniewice bypasses all intermediate stations between W-wa Zachodnia, first stop Grodzisk Maz. The upside for passengers travelling between the two is just 19 minutes (not bad for a 26km journey!). No driver could do that in a car. The downside for Grodziskians heading to town is that this state of affairs will not last forever; once the remont is complete, the suburban trains will once again call at Milanówek, Pruszków, Ursus and Włochy.

This time last year:
S7 extension - last summer of quiet (not true, as it happened!)

This time two years ago:
Getting out of Mordor

This time eight years ago:
Ćwilin, conquered

This time nine years ago:
Sunset across the tracks, Nowa Iwiczna

This time ten years ago:
The storm the forecasters missed

This time 11 years ago:
Peacocks in the Park

Grodzisk Maz and its pretty station

Poland has some lovely examples of railway station architecture. Here is Grodzisk Mazowiecki station, along Line No. 1 (Warsaw-Katowice). Some 30km from W-wa Centralna, Grodzisk Maz. as a town exudes more wealth than other places a similar distance from Our City, wealth created recently on the influx of manufacturing plants and distribution centres.

The current building replaces the original station (opened in 1845), which was badly damaged during WW1. Built in the early 1920s, its architectural style is Polish Dworkowy, the dworek being the manor house beloved of the landed gentry. A style that made a come-back in the 1990s, but is now less in favour among architects and their clients. However, in this guise, it is a style most befitting a railway station serving an exurban community of 30,000 with strong transport links to the capital.

Below: the front elevation, seen from ul. 1 Maja. A balanced composition, pleasing to the eye. I like deep attics that have more than one floor; I wonder what's up there in the station attic? The steps leading up to the main entrance are wooden. Awaiting replacement, or simply wooden steps?

Below: the elevation facing the tracks. Note the 1930s shelters, similar to those that grace the platforms of the stations on the line running towards Otwock. And the metal-plated clock tower, and buttressed end wall. We can't see the typeface of the station name carved in stone above the main platform entrance; it is early 1920s and a gem of Polish typography.

Walking in from the street towards the platform, we pass though an airy vestibule (below), reminding me of Polish public buildings from the 1920s, such as Poznań's city hall. As I took this photo, a lady popped out from the buffet (to the left) and asked me to photograph the damp on the ceiling caused, she said, by water dripping down from the blocked-up gutters. Sadly, I had to explain that I was a mere amateur of railway architecture and not working for the local newspaper...

Below: the main ticket hall-cum-waiting room. Note lack of any electronic signage, and the (closed) booth selling PKS bus tickets. But compared to many Polish small towns of its size, I felt a certain confidence about the people in and around the station.

Certainly one of he nicer stations I've passed through; two half-hour long waits here proved Most rewarding. I feel some more Polish inter-war architecture should come to my readers' attention before too very long...

This time last year:
Exorcism by the President's Palace

This time two years ago:
The raging footsoldier - a story about anger

This time three years ago:
Graffiti and street art