Editing Lesser Poland (section)

=== Railroads ===
Railroad network of Lesser Poland is very unevenly distributed. It is very dense in the west, along the border with Upper Silesia, and sparse in the east, especially along the Vistula, and around Lublin. All major cities of the province are connected with each other, however traveling from Kraków to Lublin is time-consuming, as trains have to take an extended route, via Kielce, Radom, and Dęblin. Also, there is no direct connection between Tarnów and Kielce, as these cities belonged to different countries before 1918. Underdevelopment of the railroads in northern and [[Eastern Lesser Poland]] is the result of the policy of the Russian Empire. For military reasons, the Russians were not interested in construction of a dense network of lines along the border with Germany and Austria-Hungary, allowing only the construction of narrow-gauge connections.{{sfn|Jezierski|Leszczyńska|2003|p=197}} Along the Vistula, between Kraków and Dęblin (the distance of some 320 kilometers), there are only four rail bridges – in Dęblin (rebuilt after the war, in 1947<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mostypolskie.pl/most/most-kolejowy-deblin,226,.html |title=Most kolejowy |publisher=Mostypolskie.pl |access-date=8 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011022039/http://www.mostypolskie.pl/most/most-kolejowy-deblin,226,.html |archive-date=11 October 2012}}</ref>), in Sandomierz (built in 1928<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mostypolskie.pl/most/most-kolejowy-sandomierz,228,.html |title=Most kolejowy |publisher=Mostypolskie.pl |access-date=8 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011022057/http://www.mostypolskie.pl/most/most-kolejowy-sandomierz,228,.html |archive-date=11 October 2012}}</ref>), in Tarnobrzeg-Nagnajów (built in 1961, together with a road bridge<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mostypolskie.pl/most/most-drogowy-nagnajow,231,.html |title=Most drogowy |publisher=Mostypolskie.pl |access-date=8 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011022046/http://www.mostypolskie.pl/most/most-drogowy-nagnajow,231,.html |archive-date=11 October 2012}}</ref>), and in [[Zaduszniki, Subcarpathian Voivodeship|Zaduszniki]] (built in 1979 for the [[Broad Gauge Metallurgy Line]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mostypolskie.pl/most/most-kolejowy-lhs-zaduszniki,230,.html |title=Most kolejowy LHS |publisher=Mostypolskie.pl |access-date=8 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011022051/http://www.mostypolskie.pl/most/most-kolejowy-lhs-zaduszniki,230,.html |archive-date=11 October 2012}}</ref>). In Kraków itself, there are three rail bridges over the Vistula.

Among rail hubs of Lesser Poland, there are Bielsko-Biała, [[Chabówka]], Częstochowa, Dąbrowa Górnicza, Dębica, Dęblin, Jaworzno-[[Szczakowa]], [[Kalwaria Zebrzydowska Lanckorona (PKP station)|Kalwaria Zebrzydowska Lanckorona]], Kielce, [[Koniecpol]], [[Kozłów, Subcarpathian Voivodeship|Kozłów]], Kraków, Lublin, [[Łuków]], [[Muszyna]], Nowy Sącz, Oświęcim, Siedlce, [[Spytkowice, Wadowice County|Spytkowice]], [[Skarżysko-Kamienna]], Stalowa Wola, [[Stróże, Nowy Sącz County|Stróże]], [[Sucha Beskidzka]], Radom, Tarnów, [[Trzebinia]], [[Tunel (railroad station)|Tunel]], Zawiercie, and [[Żywiec]].

In the late 1970s, the Communist government built the broad-gauge [[Broad Gauge Metallurgy Line]], which crosses Lesser Poland from west to east along the Vistula.