Rail travel in Poland Voyage Tips and guide

Poland has an expansive rail network of over 18,000 km of track. Rail travel is usually a reasonably timely and affordable means of getting between cities. However, unlike its western neighbour Germany, the quality of rail tracks are far worse than, and average speeds too – the fastest rail corridors max out at only 200 km/h, and only on a limited set of corridors.

• EIP (Express Intercity Premium), EIC (ExpressInterCity), EC (EuroCity), and IC (Intercity) - express trains between metro areas, and to major tourist destinations. Reservations are usually required. Power points for laptops are sometimes provided next to the seat. Company: PKP Intercity.
• TLK (Twoje Linie Kolejowe) - discount trains, slower but cheaper than the above. Not many routes, but a very good alternative for budget travelers. Reservations are mandatory for 1st and 2nd class. It uses older carriages that are not always suited to high-speed travel. There are also several night trains connecting southern Poland with the north. Company: PKP Intercity.
• RE (RegioEkspress) - cheaper than TLK and of an even higher standard, but only 3 of these type are running: Lublin - Poznań, Warsaw - Szczecin and Wrocław - Dresden. Company: Przewozy Regionalne.
• IR (InterRegio) - cheaper than TLK and RegioExpress but most routes are supported by poor quality trains. Company: Przewozy Regionalne.
• REGIO/Osobowy - ordinary passenger train; usually slow, stops everywhere. You can also buy a weekend turystyczny ticket, or a week-long pass. Great if you are not in a hurry, but expect these to be very crowded at times. Company: Przewozy Regionalne; other.
• Podmiejski - suburban commuter train. Varying degrees of comfort and facilities. Tickets need to be bought at station ticket counters. Some companies allow you to buy a ticket on board from the train manager, in the very first compartment. A surcharge will apply.
• Narrow gauge - Poland still retains a number of local narrow-gauged railways. Some of them are oriented towards tourism and operate only in summer or on weekends, while others remain active as everyday municipal rail. See Polish narrow gauge railways.

Tickets can be searched or purchased online via the following:

• PKP Intercity website information: +48 22 9436, international information +48 22 5116003. (in English, but station names in Polish). PKP Intercity serves express connections. Tickets can be bought online and printed or shown to the conductor on a smartphone, laptop or similar devices. If you book through the website, a page will appear after you have paid headed "Ticket" that is not actually the ticket. The ticket must have a QR code and will be found in your email inbox.
• Polregio (Przewozy Regionalne) tickets for Regio, RE and IR.
• Koleo domestic route and ticket search engine across all operators. Smartphone app is available. Tickets can be shown in the app or exported as PDF for storage on other devices or printing. As of April 2022 it is not possible to book sleeper or couchette cars, get those from PKP intercity.
• Polrail Service offers a guide to rail travel in Poland and on-line purchase of tickets and rail passes for Polish and international trains to neighbouring countries. There's a fee of around 22 zł for every ticket.
• PolishTrains allows to search, book and buy train tickets to numerous Polish and European destinations. Comparison of many train carriers allows to choose the best travel solution and purchase ticket online in the best price.
• Traffic info about all moving trains [1] - check, if the train has a delay
• SkyCash
• IC Navigator (on mobile), Bilkom2 or via e-IC.

Major stations will also have a ticket office or self-service machines available. At smaller stations, there are no ticket counters or self-service machines. In these cases, you need to buy your ticket from the conductor immediately after boarding. They usually stand at the front of the train near the driver's cab when they are not checking tickets. Tickets cannot be purchased on board the EIP (European Intercity Express) train, which requires reservations. It is advisable to carry sufficient cash, even though there are now card readers for Visa and MasterCard. Train conducts in Poland have a reasonable English proficiency.

Fare evasion on PKP trains comes with a fine starting at 52 zł (~€12), but this can increase if paid by bank transfer, and can rise to 260 zł if not paid. This also applies if you do not have a valid bicycle ticket. Generally, fare evasion on public transport will cost you between 100 and 300 zł (~€25–70).

An important factor to keep in mind is that long-distance regional trains do not give you additional local or regional travel along the same route. They also cannot be through-booked and must be purchased separately.

If you travel in a group with the Regional, you should get a 33% discount for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th person (offer Ty i 1,2,3). Groups of at least 11 people must register online (and will also subsequently receive a 15-20 per cent discount).

If you are a weekend traveller think about weekend offers, which are valid from Friday 19:00 until Monday 06:00:

• for all Intercity trains (E-IC, Ex, TLK) Bilet Weekendowy (from 154 zł, reservation not included)
• for TLK Bilet Podróżnika (74zł) + Regio Bilet Plus (from 17 zł)
• for all Regional trains (REGIO, IR, RE) Bilet Turystyczny (from 79 zł)
• only for Regio trains Bilet Turystyczny (from 45 zł)

If purchased for a long weekend due to a national holiday, the ticket will also valid for the whole long weekend.

Travellers under 26 years of age and studying in Poland are entitled to 26% discount on travel fare on Intercity's TLK, EX and IC-category trains, excluding the price of seat reservation. PKP Intercity trains offer a 30 per cent discount for seniors aged 60 and over. On Polregio local trains, seniors (with proof of age 60 or over) receive a 25 per cent discount on single tickets.

PKP Intercity also offer a 10-30 per cent discount on long-distance trains for advance bookings with train-specific reservations, depending on the booking deadline (usually 7–15 days before). In addition, there are limited promotional offers for specific routes and trains.

Interrail and Eurail passes are valid in Poland; however, if you're exclusively travelling within Poland, an Eurail/Interrail pass is rarely worth it due to the low ticket prices in the first place. Some trains may need an additional reservation, usually for €4 or 17 zł – these are usually marked with an "R" on the timetable. Usually, this includes international trains (from Berlin, Prague, Vienna and Vilnius), EIP trains, and night (NJ) trains (the latter having a much higher reservation fee). Reservations are best made on the PKP Intercity app or website, but can also be made at some stations. The Eurail/Interrail Planner app in theory allows you to make reservations, but this seldom works, especially when reserving weeks in advance

The Intercity Card (Karta Intercity) is a rail pass valid for one or more months on PKP Intercity (PKP-IC) and Polregio trains and their partner operators. It is relatively expensive compared with other special offers. The regional-only equivalent is the Network Ticket (Bilet sieciowy).

A weekday multi-day pass is available as the personalised REGIOkarnet. For 93 zł, it allows unlimited travel on three calendar days of your choice within two months on regional trains operated by Regio, Arriva RP, KS, KW, KMŁ and ŁKA (but not KD, meaning it is not valid in Lower Silesia or in the Warsaw metropolitan area). The “Mini” version costs 80 zł and is valid only on Regio trains.

For weekday long-distance travel from Tuesday 00:00 to Thursday 24:00, PKP Intercity offers the Bilet Multiprzejazd (Multiprzejazd Ticket) for 119 zł, valid on IC and TLK trains. The “MAX” version, which also includes EIP high-speed trains, costs roughly twice as much.

You are allowed to bring bicycles with you on the train, but the price depends on the transport company. With PKP Intercity, a bicycle ticket costs 9.10 zł (approx. €2.10), and with Polregio, it costs 8.50 zł. Regional railway companies have their own fares – for example, bicycle transport is free with Koleje Mazowieckie, costs 6 zł with Koleje Małopolskie, and 8.50 zł with Koleje Dolnośląskie.

Bicycles are only permitted in designated carriages, which is always in 2nd class.

Small animals in appropriate carriers can travel free of charge. Larger dogs must be leashed and muzzled. They require a ticket, which costs 15.20 zł (2024) regardless of the route on PKP trains. A surcharge also applies if the ticket is purchased from the conductor. Regional trains have their own fares for this.

For single journeys from Germany, there is the limited-availability Super Saver Fare Europe, which can only be booked online and requires the use of a long-distance train (usually EuroCity). The Polish equivalent is called SparDay.

Those travelling with German regional or weekend tickets can travel free of charge up to the first Polish border station. This does not apply to the "Oderlandbahn" (RB26) operated by Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn, which runs hourly between Berlin-Lichtenberg and Kostrzyn (Küstrin).

The Usedom resort railway connects Stralsund main station via Züssow and Swinemünde Centrum (Świnoujście).

In the German-Czech-Polish border region, there is the Euro-Neisse ticket, valid for one or three days, for 1-5 people.

There are two passenger trains from Warsaw to Vilnius, with a transfer at Mockava (at the Lithuanian border) due to the differing rail gauges.

Rail Baltica, a future 249 km/h high-speed rail line connecting the three Baltic states with Poland, will soon change travel between the Baltics and Poland very differently, but is not expected to open until 2030 at the very earliest.

Railway lines do exist between Poland and Kaliningrad Oblast, but they've been indefinitely shut for passenger services (only being used by goods trains).

Poland has many narrow gauge railways – these are mostly short sections of old sand-, beetroot-, mine- or simply commuter railways constructed mostly at the turn of 19th and 20th centuries.

Due to economical changes in 1990s, many of the lines have been closed or even dismantled, however some of then are still operating. As - generally speaking - Germans used to be more fond of railways (while Russians and Austrians less) most of the narrow gauge lines had been built in what is nowadays the western part of Poland. The region that owns most of the still working lines is Wielkopolska. In most cases at least one station of a narrow gauge railway is next to a normal-gauge one, so it is easy to start a narrow-gauge adventure getting there by regular train.

Many local narrow-gauge lines operate only in summer (May-September or even the end of June till the end of August) and during some weekends, so they aren't used for regular passenger traffic any more. But there are still some operating daily, or at least on schooldays.

Public lines:

• Upper Silesia line (Bytom - Miasteczko Śląskie) in Upper Silesia region [2]
• Gryfice Commuter Line in West Pomerania [3]. Operates regularly in summer (from Gryfice to Rewal, connecting several sea resorts) on the distance of 41 km.
• Gniezno line (Gniezno-Witkowo) in Wielkopolska region. [4], phone : +48 61 426 11 30. Trains only on summer Sat and Su, but more can be requested.
• Kalisz line (Opatówek - Turek) in Wielkopolska region. Only freight trains are regularly operating, but passenger trains can be launched on request at any time.
• Śmigiel line (Stare Bojanowo - Śmigiel - Wielichowo) in Wielkopolska region [5], phone : +48 65 518 00 10. Regular all-year trains from Stare Bojanowo to Śmigiel, additional trains (as well steam trains) of that section and to Wielichowo - on request.
• Środa line (Środa Wielkopolska - Zaniemyśl) in Wielkopolska region. [6]^{[dead link]}, phone : +48 61 285 82 98. Owned by local authorities, operates on summer Sat and Su from Środa Wielkopolska (where the trains are coordinated with the ones from Poznań to Zaniemyśl. Additional trains on request.
• Pleszew line in Wielkopolska region. Few daily trains from the centre of Pleszew to nearest normal-gauge line, additional trains on request.
• Białośliwie line in Wielkopolska region [7]. Irregular trains from Bialosliwie (on the normal-gauge line Piła - Bydgoszcz), additional trains on request.
• Żnin lines (Żnin - Wenecja - Biskupin - Gasawa) in Kujawsko-Pomorskie region, [8] ^{[formerly dead link]} , phone : +48 52 30 20 492. Regular courses several times a day from Znin to Gasawa, calling at Wenecja (a narrow-gauge open-air museum) and Biskupin (the excavations of an old settlement from 5th cent BC). Be prepared for kid groups :)
• Żuławy Commuter line (Nowy Dwór Gdański - Sztutowo) in Pomerania [9]
• Rogów commuter line (Rogów - Rawa Mazowiecka) in Łódzkie region [10]
• Piaseczno narrow-gauge line in Mazowieckie region [11]
• Sochaczew museum line (in the narrow-gauge open-air museum) in Mazowieckie region [12]
• Mława line in Mazowieckie region
• Starachowice - Iłża line in southern parts of Mazowieckie region [13]
• Ełk Narrow-Gauge line in Warmian-Masurian Voivodship [14] ^{[dead link]}
• Nałęczów - Opole Lubelskie line in Lubelskie region [15], 50 km
• Jedrzejów - Pińczów Commuter Line in Świętokrzyskie region [16]
• Przeworsk Commuter line (Przeworsk - Dynów) in Podkarpackie [17] ^{[dead link]}

Forest lines:

• Bieszczady forest line in Podkarpackie, 33 km [18]
• Białowieża forest line in Podlaskie region, 17 km
• Kozienice forest line in Mazowieckie region
• Wigry forest line in Podlaskie, 10 km [19] ^{[dead link]}

Park lines:

• Hel in the Museum of Coastal Defence [20]
• Malta children line in Poznań [21]. Regular trains from April to October, in spring and autumn only on Sat and Su, during summer : everyday. Links one of the main public-transport centres in Poznań with the new zoo.

• Rail travel in Europe
• Rail travel in the Czech Republic
• Rail travel in Germany