What is #NaszaKolej?
The momentous double jubilee—marking 200 years of railways on Polish soil and the centenary of Polish State Railways (PKP)—coincides with unprecedented investments in rail infrastructure: from station modernizations and track revamps to acquiring and refurbishing rolling stock.
Despite the passage of time and the rise of alternative transport methods, trains remain the primary choice for millions of Poles commuting to work, school, vacations, or business trips. Across every corner of Poland, rail transport is rapidly evolving. However, there was no single, unified digital hub where citizens could access comprehensive updates: verify infrastructure progress, compare line developments, and explore transit opportunities between towns across every voivodeship.
Until now.
The Nasza Kolej portal was created to help users rediscover train travel as their go-to mode of transport. The government draws a bold, symbolic parallel: this railway revolution represents progress on a historic scale, akin to the construction of Gdynia a century ago. It is anchored in three pillars of modern rail transit:
- Comfort
- Accessibility
- Speed
When tasked with building a modern, visually compelling portal that instantly engages audiences through clarity, high performance, and refined aesthetics, Wise People boarded the train and immediately picked up full steam ahead.
NaszaKolej is one of the pivotal communication initiatives spearheaded by the Polish government. The guiding idea was to highlight the true scale of changes and tangible benefits citizens can expect from public investments. Delivering maximum informational efficiency while serving the public interest was our primary challenge.
Maciej Kaleciński, Expert Chancellery of the Prime Minister
Discovery Workshops and Design Approach
Collaborating closely with project coordinators (including representatives from the Chancellery of the Prime Minister), the Wise People team ran Discovery Workshops to define:
- Core project goals: Establishing an authoritative knowledge hub on Polish railways, building positive industry sentiment, and combating disinformation.
- Target audiences: A broad demographic spectrum addressing the everyday informational needs of millions of citizens nationwide.
- Key project values: Informational, communicative, and emotional dimensions.
- Detailed information architecture: Core functional specifications and technological requirements.
- Stylistic UI moodboard: Defining the visual direction and scaling the previously established #NaszaKolej branding.
Thanks to mutual commitment, the portal was designed, developed, and thoroughly tested in just a few weeks. We paired our proprietary design methodology (custom design system) and development framework (proprietary starter themes and engine) with the reliability and editorial convenience of WordPress CMS.
Working on this project was an exhilarating journey. From day one, we knew we had to break away from the static mold of typical public sector websites. Our main objective was to translate the sheer dynamism and real-world momentum of Poland’s rail revolution directly into a modern UI and compelling user experience.
Close collaboration across cross-functional teams enabled us to build far more than a standard news bulletin. We delivered an interactive knowledge center whose accessible format opens the world of railway transit to an entirely new audience.
Paweł Szpakiewicz, Product Owner Wise People
#NaszaKolej – How it works and what sets it apart
The new naszakolej.gov.pl platform introduces several key features engineered for seamless user adoption and long-term communication goals:
Interactive Investment Map
The flagship feature of the portal is the custom, interactive railway map embedded on the homepage. Users can quickly explore:
- High-speed modern rail corridors (complete with maximum operating speeds).
- Reinstated local connections (including routes restored after decades of discontinuation).
- Planned line extensions and ongoing modernization tracks.
- Modernized railway stations across the country.
- Strategic rolling stock manufacturing and refurbishment facilities: PESA (Bydgoszcz, Mińsk Mazowiecki), NEWAG (Nowy Sącz), PKP Intercity REMTRAK (Opole, Opoczno), ALSTOM (Chorzów), and STADLER (Siedlce).
The map features intuitive pan/zoom capabilities and is fully responsive across mobile devices, blending naturally into the broader design system.
Modular, Readable Content
We prioritized readability over dense text. The layout relies on reusable components for key statistics, bite-sized copy blocks, and high-impact visuals. This modularity ensures an engaging reading flow while optimizing the site for generative search and AI models (GEO).
Multimedia & Real-Time News
The portal delivers a media-rich experience with photography and video documentation tracking infrastructure updates nationwide. Articles include sticky tables of contents, key takeaways, one-click social sharing, highlighted quotes, and contextual CTAs. An interactive “before/after” slider also allows citizens to inspect modernized stations firsthand.
We know the rail sector intimately—not only through client partnerships like NEWAG S.A., but as dedicated passengers who rely on trains ourselves. NaszaKolej proves that public sector initiatives have ample room for creativity and disciplined engineering. Transparent, accessible communication on public infrastructure is a standard every citizen deserves.
Robert Szarata, CEO & Founder Wise People
Summary
At its core, #NaszaKolej documents real, ongoing progress across Poland’s rail network—from station renovations and revived lines to dispelling myths and delivering verified transit updates. For Wise People, this marked another rewarding chapter in rail sector digitization following our work on newag.pl. We are proud of the trust placed in our team and look forward to accelerating down the track—just like #NaszaKolej.
#NaszaKolej is fundamentally a story of real improvements that passengers can witness and experience in their daily travels. That’s why we prioritized clear, modern, and human-centric communication from day one. Partnering with Wise People translated this vision into an engaging digital language that organizes information, reveals the scale of change, and builds widespread awareness.
Jan Krukowski, Promotion Team Coordinator Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Poland (KPRM)
FAQ
Curious about what goes into engineering a high-performance public portal for millions of citizens? Below, we address key questions regarding our choice of WordPress CMS, the role of Discovery workshops, and building a modular, AI-ready (GEO) information architecture.
WordPress was selected for NaszaKolej.pl because it pairs flexibility and rapid deployment with intuitive multimedia management. Through Wise People’s modular coding architecture, the platform provides:
- High performance and security: Optimized caching layers to withstand sudden traffic spikes (preventing Slashdot/hug-of-death effects).
- Editorial independence: Reusable custom blocks allow communication teams to publish articles, data tables, and metrics without involving developers.
- AI & LLM-friendly structuring (GEO): Semantic markup and structured content blocks enable AI search engines to accurately index, parse, and cite official updates.
Wise People’s structured Discovery process was critical in delivering the NaszaKolej.pl platform in just a few weeks. Dedicated joint sessions with coordinators established the full information architecture, visual UI moodboards, and technical specs upfront. This unified technical direction early, eliminated guesswork, and prevented costly development delays.
The portal serves as a central, authoritative single source of truth for Polish infrastructure investments. Wise People structured the platform so that verified facts and verified fleet modernization milestones are front and center. Integrated with instant social distribution modules, the portal equips communications teams to dispel fake news immediately and deliver verified updates to citizens and media outlets alike.
