Submitted by Jakub Bobrowski, who says:

This is a short film made using the QGIS and TimeManager, which presents the development process of rail public transport in Warsaw in the last 107 years.

The animation shows the construction and decommissioning of tram tracks, underground, Warsaw Commuter Railway (WKD) and Fast City Rail (SKM) between 1908 and 2015. Additionally, the map showing a riverbed of the Vistula River and the changing administrative borders of Warsaw.

This film is a result of group project realized during the UNIGIS Krakow study program.

I do love a good timelapse of rail infrastructure! Of particular note is the almost total destruction of the tram network and the city of Warsaw itself in the latter days of WWII and its subsequent rebuilding after the war – although never to the previous levels. 

From the late 1970s through to the early 1990s, almost nothing changes at all – but from 1995 onwards, things proceed apace, with the opening of the Warsaw Metro in stages and the introduction of the SKM lines shortly thereafter (the line that disappears after just a year or so of operation interests me!).

A fascinating look at Warsaw’s evolving rail system over the years – nicely done, Jakub and team!