Making Journeys in Poland

[joke2711]

Hi

Once again I am seeking your expert advice.

Hopefully will be travelling from Poznan to Torun on Saturday 1st October and then from Torun to Warsaw on Sunday 2nd October.

Should travel be booked in advance? Are there any discounts available i.e. Advance Fares?

Where is the best place to view timetables and to book tickets if required??

Many thanks

Jonathan

 

[gordonthemoron]

check out www.pkp.pl

 

[30907]

I think you will need to use services operated by PKP InterCity for both legs. Check times on www.bahn.com but double check against http://www.intercity.pl/en/ as Polish timetables change at short notice.

You can book online - you used to have to register to book, but that may no longer be so.

As has been mentioned on this forum only yesterday, the English pages of the site may not be up to date. The trains you will use are categories TLK (cheap and cheerful, typically ancient compartment stock) and IC (more modern stock) - both require reservations even at last minute.

You might also find http://www.polrail.com/en/rail-travel-guide-introduction useful.

IIRC there is a weekend offer on PKP-IC - Bilet Weekendowe, PLN79.

 

[bradford758]

Prices for rail travel in Poland are reasonable, even for first class.
TLK tickets are not valid on IC & vv.
You should be OK from Poznañ to Torun.
I have travelled from Torun to Warszawa on the IC, and note the following advice: first class must be booked by the day before, including a reservation and standard class is non-reservable. Unfortunately, I hadn't booked as I wasn't sure if I'd make the train, so had to stand all the way as seats were completely filled in standard class!

Sent from my 4009X using Tapatalk

 

[Bletchleyite]

Reservations are compulsory on all PKP IC services including TLK (the latter I believe was a recent change, hence the conflict with the previous posting) so you may be well advised to book in case the train you want is full.

 

[Blillpers]

I've a´lso Heard that TKLs have recently been made all reserved. When travelling in Poland, I've either had an Interrail pass or bought tickets in the office no more than a day before travel. Fares are cheap, especially on the TLKs. When I had a interrail pass, nobody seemd to care or even notice I didn't have a seat reservation, even on the Express Intercity.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I have a feeling they will sell on board subject to availability at a slight premium...but once you're on...

This does *not* apply to the Pendolino (EIP), for which there is a hefty fine.

 

[TravelDream]

I find this website to be the best to search for timetables - http://rozklad-pkp.pl/en/

There are a number of categories as stated above
EIP - The nicest and fastest services. Operated by new Pendolino trains. 'Much' more expensive than other trains in relative terms.
EIC - Express Intercity. Not sure if there are many left as these are being replaced by EIP. Basically IC, but slightly faster.
IC - Intercity. Fairly nice, modern stock. A good option if it's available.
TLK - The cheapest intercity trains. I've been on lots of these and the stock varies a lot. Some are reasonable, if a bit dated. Some are ancient and dirty, or 'cheap and cheerful' as someone pointed out above :P

All trains have to be booked with reservations and this has been the case for quite sometime. I found I could often book trains on the day, but don't rely on this. Torun is an easy weekend away from Warsaw and I imagine Sunday evening trains could be busy.
You can buy a ticket onboard only if you board from an unmanned station, or you have to pay a fine. The conductor's compartment is normally at the front of the train.

There are also regional trains, which strangely often go very long distances. Some are operated by the national company PR but others are operated by regional governments. These don't have reservations and tend to be fractionally cheaper than TLK trains. Trains operated by PR tend to be old, run-down and pretty dirty. Other regional operators have newer, modern trains which are much nicer. They only have second class.
On regional trains you can buy tickets onboard, but you have to go and find the conductor. If he/ she finds you, then you have to pay a fairly substantial fine.

 

[oldman]

You can buy a ticket onboard only if you board from an unmanned station, or you have to pay a fine. The conductor's compartment is normally at the front of the train.

Except EIP you can buy on board for a small fee of PLN 10, but you must approach the conductor straight away, except on EIC. The advice is to board at the front or approach the conductor on the platform. Link - the Polish version is slightly different from the English.

At the time the current system of combined ticket and reservation - po prostu bilet - was introduced, PKP stated that (except EIP) if no seats remained they would still sell you a ticket for that train. I don't know if that is still the case - there is no longer a link to the page that explains it.

 

[TravelDream]

Except EIP you can buy on board for a small fee of PLN 10, but you must approach the conductor straight away, except on EIC.

That's the fine I was talking about! haha.
I thought it was a bit more than 10 zloty though. Good to hear it is so small.

 

[dutchflyer]

1.follow these steps: about 1month before-30 days is the common largest advance term-it may even be shorter due to works or whatever-check what prices are in PLN.
IF you happen to be a senior-in PL thats >60, you can get the 30% discount=uwaga seniorem, ditto for genuine students in PL (in fact even more).
2.as you travel on sat+sun you might also consider the weekend-ticket (valid on all PKP-IC) or even, IF both trains are TLK- the cheaper bilet podroznika (=traveller), for (I think) 69 PLN, maybe 75 now. Daytime REServations on TLK are free (and no, trains are not ''sold out'' weeks before), with the weekend ticket you may have to pay a few zloty for the RES on the newer (up to west-Eur standards) IC or etc. trains, IF they run there and IF on times you fancy. Plus that you could fit in any other TLK or IC-train you can manage on that weekend, even from FR 19.00. Thats why you have to know first the advance fares to see if it works out cheaper.
These tickets you simply buy from a human being behind a glassed window when in PL-incl. the wanted REServations. You have to write your name=imienny+ID-nr=dokumenta on them (dotted lines somewhere in the middle). But if this uncertainty drives you mad, it seems its now even possible to make RES on intercity.pl for these tickets-I do not know if that involves payments to be made.
I was in Torun last year and then-due to too many cars not renovated on time-these trains-quite short TLK: loc+3 coaches Bydgocscz-Torun-WAw-Lublin had ex-CD (czech) cars.
3.for cheap-oh-the-cheap: Stagecoach, Mr Souter, runs also POlskibus.com, big red DD-coaches the very same way as megabus-fares from 1 PLN+ 50 groszy for the booking fee. For Torun-WAW they are quicker as trains, but end somewhere in the north of WAW beside a metro-station.

 

[181]

Seat61 recommends this site for train times: http://rozklad.sitkol.pl/bin/query.exe/en, and it seems fairly user-friendly. Pdf timetables are available at https://portalpasazera.pl/en/Tablice.

Can I ask a few questions of my own?

I understand that there is a fairly rigid division in terms of ticketing between PKP Intercity and PR. If you buy a ticket at the station for a journey involving both operators, will you be sold a through ticket, or sold separate tickets for each leg of the journey, or told to rebook at the station where you change operator?

Is there a similar division between PR and the various regional operators, or do they count as one for ticketing purposes?

Are stations (or indeed on-train staff) usually able and willing to sell tickets for journeys starting at another station?

It appears to me that online bookings can only be made for one train at a time (i.e. if you change trains you have to make two bookings), and (less surprisingly) are only available for PKP Intercity; is this correct?

If you miss a train (either because you're late getting yourself to the station or because your incoming train is late), I presume you have to wait for the next one run by the same operator (unless you buy a new ticket); is this correct, and are exceptions made when there is disruption? What happens about reservations? Can you upgrade to a more expensive type of train or downgrade to a cheaper one?

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

It appears to me that online bookings can only be made for one train at a time (i.e. if you change trains you have to make two bookings), and (less surprisingly) are only available for PKP Intercity; is this correct?

I have booked online e-tickets for PR, using a UK credit card.
I booked Katowice-Krakow and Krakow-Oswiecim, but couldn't book the last lap to the Czech border (Oswiecim-Zebrzydowice) so had to buy that at Oswiecim station.
So it seems not all journeys can be booked online.
From memory the booking horizon is quite short.
http://rozklad.sitkol.pl/bin/query.exe/en
If you are lucky, a "buy ticket" message appears in the journey planner.

Not handling changes of train is common to a number of European sites, including RENFE and MAV. Very irritating!