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= Office of Rail Transport (Poland)=

The President of the Office of Rail Transport (Urząd Transportu Kolejowego, UTK) is Polish non-ministerial central government administration offical responsible for regulation of rail transport. The President is appointed directly by the Polish prime minister and their Office is independent from any ministry within the government of Poland. The Office ensures safety, enforces standards, legal regulations and licenses railway operations troughout the country.

History
In 1997 the General Rail Inspectorate (Główny Inspektorat Kolejnictwa) was established for engineering supervision of railways and railway vehicles to ensure safety of railway operations. The Inspectorate also performed special costruction supervision of contructions on railway territories. In 2003 as new Act on Rail Transport was passed it was restructured into Office of Rail Transport headed by the President who was subordinate to a minister resposible for transport. The Office gained authority over regulating rail transport market as begining in 2000 it was comercialised to meet European Union.