In consequence to acts of sabotage and Russian attempts to destabilise the Polish railway operations “Tor” and “Horizon”. The joint patrols of WOT soldiers, police and SOK oversee thousands of kilometres of trails around the clock. 600 territorials are active throughout the country. Services guarantee the safety of 1 million passengers, protecting railway infrastructure from diversion.
Every day more than 1 million Poles usage the railway, which makes safety on the tracks 1 of the most crucial social agreements between citizens and the state. erstwhile we get on the train, we don't gotta wonder if we're gonna get there. The Russians tried to deprive us of that certainty...
Rudna Wielka is simply a village in Podkarpackie Voivodeship. There is simply a railway way No 91 from Krakow to Medyka. Local trains drive through here, and there are intercity trains, both individual and freight trains. A twelve years ago, the line underwent modernization, present the warehouses can decision on it at 160 km/h. With this momentum, derailment would mean disaster.
In mid-November 2025, railway lines in Poland reached acts of sabotage. On 1 of the sections of the East Warsaw–Dorohusk way (railway 7), An explosive device explodedBy damaging the track. A fewer days later, on the same communication line, a metallic arm attached straight to the rail was discovered – a simple plan that at the appropriate velocity of the train could lead to derailment. A device filled to the brim of the individual lineup has managed to brake...
Prime Minister Donald Tusk shortly identified the perpetrators – 2 Ukrainian citizens were behind the acts of diversion, recruited by Russian peculiar services. In fear of further acts of sabotage, intensive protective measures have been launched. On 21 November 2025, a police operation “Tor” was launched and with it a military operation was launched Operation Horizon. The coordinated efforts of the 2 institutions – supported by the Railway Protection defender – aim to strengthen control of railway routes and railway infrastructure.
Joint patrols
At national level 600 territorial defence troops are active in Operation Horizon. In the area of work 3 Sub-Carpathic Territorial Defence Brigade each 24 days of 14 territorials (seven by day and 7 by night) take part in 12-hour patrols, conducted jointly with the police. Their composition is always the same – 1 soldier and 2 officers. Police officers are equipped for patrol service, including short arms, and a soldier goes out into the field with a complete equipment, including long weapons with ammunition and optoelectronics specified as night imagination and thermal vision.
– A police officer is in charge, but the military have the same powers – notes Lt. Magdalena Mac, press officer of 3 PBOT. “They can, among another things, legitimize, stop, usage means of direct coercion,” says the spokesman. Any patrol associate can do the same thing as simplifying action and shortening decision-making time. “We draw attention, among others, to people who have been observing the surroundings of platforms, stations and railway lines besides long”, he explains to the horseshoes. Magdalena Żuk, Press Officer of the Municipal Police office in Rzeszów. It's usually adequate to talk to individual like that and check their identity.
What doesn't fit
One of these patrols just arrived at the railway station in Rudna Wielka. The squad first checks to see if everything is okay on the platforms. Then it goes along the tracks. There are no overpasses in Rudna, but where they happen and they are checked. The squad – whose work we observe – has a full of 4 points to check located in Rzeszów and surrounding areas. And it's not about uncovering dangerous cargo from a sensational film.
– Attention is drawn to elements that do not fit the environment – those that rise doubts, appear unnatural or disagree from what is usually in a given place – says por. Mac. In Rudna Wielka snow covers the track with a thin layer of white. That's good news for patrol. Anyone who wants to plant something in here would have stepped on the path. Its view would be a informing signal for the team.
The procedure is clear: first visual observation, without approaching, without touching. In case of uncertainty and need, contact the police on duty. – In 3 PBOT we besides have our on-call officer and crisis consequence team. Their shifts last 24 hours a day – explains Lt. Magdalena Mac. Details of communication stay classified, it is adequate to compose that there is besides the Railway defender in the information exchange strategy and any decisions – for example about sending a tracking dog or pyrotechnics – fall within the framework of common arrangements. – But this is the last component of the chain, the key is the first verification – points out Lieutenant Mac.
St. wide specialist Rafał [WOT Command does not specify the names of soldiers active in Operation Horizon] is perfect for this task. In 3 PBOT has served for 5 years, but has been associated with the army since 1996. “I was a T-55 tank driver, later, as part of the overtime service, I worked in a mine patrol,” he says. He's training another Minerian soldiers today. “ Fortunately, I haven’t found any dangerous packages yet,” he says.
But there were mixed situations. 1 time a patrol came across 2 electrical boxes between the tracks, by the viaduct. 2 days before that, they were gone. After checking, it turned out that they had installed it to the railroad assemblers. Patrol teams see everything, but they must besides be visible. All 3 of them wear retro-reflective vests – the track is simply a space where peculiar care should be taken – says expert Rafał. – Before the patrol we have, among others, a briefing at the office of the SOK, where there is simply a wellness and safety instruction. We track the timetables of the trains, pay attention to the signaling, but you can never be besides alert – he adds.
The rail line of defense
Patrol movements are mapped on digital maps – both policemen and soldiers were equipped with locators. These update all fewer seconds. The faculty knows precisely where the squad is. – This solution works large erstwhile the service receives a notification from a afraid passenger or walker. Then you can direct a patrol to the indicated place, which is closest, which increases the efficiency of the operation – says Lt. Magdalena Mac.
But this visibility has a different dimension. The moving police-military patrols are becoming increasingly active in local landscapes. Residents get utilized to them. “We are encouraging affirmative reception, besides due to the fact that we are giving a sense of safety with our presence,” claims the spokesperson 3 PBOT. It is actual that, contrary to the concerns of respective weeks ago, acts of sabotage did not influence the communication elections of Poles.
The carriers did not announcement a decrease in the number of travellers, the railroad drives as it rode. It is besides the consequence of a joint effort by the services that care about the safety of these journeys. In a planet where war begins little and little frequently with firing, and increasingly with insignificant interference in everyday life, a line of defence can be thin as a rail rail. However, as long as individual watches over her – day after day, night after night – remains real.
