Rail transport as an element of the national defense security

One of the main areas of national security is defense security. Its provision requires many various activities of a political and military nature. An important role is played by the ability to move forces and resources at the army's disposal within the territory of the country and outside it by various modes of transport. From the perspective of current conditions, the expansion of transport networks of all modes of transportation is necessary to ensure the required conditions for the movement of people and the transport of armaments and military equipment, meet the living needs of the population and the possibility of its evacuation, support the Polish Armed Forces and allied forces in the event of a crisis or war. A modern railway network enables the development of the Polish economy and strengthens its link with the world economy. It is also an essential component of national security, the national defense system, and the territorially balanced development of the country. Modern transport infrastructure, modernized rolling stock, and integrated transport management systems reduce costs in the economy while lowering the pressure on the environment. Systematic improvement of transport infrastructure is one of the primary challenges for the nation's development, not only from the economic perspective but also plays a priority role concerning national defense security. The aim of the article is to identify the essence and importance of rail transport for ensuring national defense security. The research problem undertaken has been specified in the following form: To what extent does the development of rail transport affect the national defense security, and what actions should be taken to improve military mobility in rail transport? The material uses several research methods, the leading of which were: literature query, analysis, and synthesis, abstraction, and inference methods. The adopted approach made it possible to obtain a cross-sectional character of the considerations while providing the basis for further, extended research on this highly complex problem.