Integration of transport subsystems in transfer nodes of public transport in Poznań based on city railway stations, Poznań, being one of the strongest urban centers in the country, has a significant zone of impact (functional area). A natural consequence of this development model are significant communication issues caused by dynamic development of the suburban area. The solution of those issues is assumed to be basing the public communication system on a railway junction and, on its basis, creating the Poznań Metropolitan Railway. However, to ensure efficient functioning of such a system the need arises to integrate it with other systems of transport using transfer nodes. The aim of this article is to illustrate the potential of creating a polycentric system of multi-modal transfer nodes, based on existing city railway stations (district stations). The study focuses on the perspective of the passenger and the primary research method is the in-depth interview. This enabled to learn the opinion and identify the needs of passengers who use the facilities which are the subject of this study. The study also concentrated on analyzing thee communication behaviors of passengers and analyzing thee functioning of city stations themselves. Additionally, information was also acquired regarding the approximate destination of the passengers’ travel, which further allowed to specify the hypothetical impact range of individual city stations. Results of the study allowed to develop a range of recommendations intended to optimize the functioning of selected city railway stations, from a technical, as well as organization and management perspective. They have the potential to become a basis for developing a concept of sustainable public transport with a metropolitan reach.

Due to different reasons a significant modal shift from railway to road transport took place over last decades. The basic reasons are pointed in the paper introduction together with contradicting transport policy taking into account environmental and economical challenges. Political vision to stimulate modal shift from road and air to railway cannot become true without achieving railway technical and operational interoperability. Paper describes wide range of technical barriers between individual intraoperable railway systems in civil engineering structures, traction power supply, control command and signalling and the ways, which are being applied to ensure stepwise converging of the technical solutions taking into account safety and technical compatibility, as well as other essential requirements, namely: reliability, accessibility, health and environment.