Poland train tickets - Can’t Cut it Close

It’s quite possible that the clerks at the train station are required to cut off ticket sales to a train that is scheduled to leave in two minutes. Think about the scenario of the train ticket being sold 90 seconds before the train departs and the ticket-holding passenger misses the train after they were sold the ticket. They then have grounds to get a refund. And I think that is why the national train company cuts off ticket sales.

That must be it. It’s just unfortunate that the next train wasn’t coming for quite a while. After I bought tickets for it. and as we waited for it, I had time to theorize why the tickets were not available. I’d thought maybe it had something to do with customer satisfaction, not disappointing someone who couldn’t actually make a pending journey. But then, not for the benefit of the customer, but for the benefit of the rail company, and not having to issue a refund.

This was such a small station, and it didn’t seem completely unreasonable to try to make a train that hadn't yet come. That was disappointing, after the stressful attempt to try and reach the station on foot, and this, following a grueling visit to the nearby castle. And then, the train that we actually later took had a whole other set of problems onboard, which just furthered the frustrating ordeal of it all. Ah, public transportation.

For future reference: The website PolRail says “Except for (high-speed) Express Intercity Premium trains, you can buy train tickets in Poland on board the train from the conductor. There may be a surcharge for this.”

I don't understand. Trains between Malbork and Gdańsk are very frequent (like every 20 minutes)- there are also trains operated by Polregio, not only PKP. You can't board EIP trains without a ticket, but on all the other trains it's possible to buy tickets from the conductor (board via first door to find him)
https://koleo.pl/en/

I believe both Spain and Italy cut off ticket sales 5 minutes before scheduled departure time. After that point, I don't think you can buy online or through a ticket machine. I'd guess staffed counters have a similar restriction.

Yeah, 5 minutes must be a magic timeframe.

It’s great if you can get tickets onboard, although that might be on a much, much slower train. Remembering a problematic encounter with a Danish conductor a few trips ago, who thought we were trying to freeload when we hopped on a train about to depart, anticipating to be able to purchase tickets once onboard, I’m hesitant to ever expect that again. Poland is more accommodating than Denmark, it appears.

And the trains, at least this week, are only 2 per hour. But it’s not every 30 minutes, more like wait for 15 minutes for one train, then 40 for the next, then Yesterday, we eventually waited for the later-departing trail, but it arrived back at Gdańsk station faster than the previous one.

Waiting, though, can sometimes get you back earlier, depending on how fast that train is, and how many stops it makes along the way, compared with an earlier, albeit slower train.

silver lining

I don't know about Denmark, but as I said, In Poland to buy tickets onboard you have to board via first door and either wait and walk down the train from there to find the conductor. If you board through any door and sit down, you will be treated as a fare dodger when the conductor comes. Basically, you have to find the conductor before he finds you. The rule does not apply to the disabled, people >70 years old or people travelling with children under 4 (proof of age or disability required to avoid a fine). It also does not apply to EIP trains- if you board an EIP train without a ticket and seat reservation you will be hit with a massive fine.

I tried the hop-on-and-find-the-conductor technique in Italy in 2023 when I missed the 5-minute cut-off for buying a ticket online. The very kind conductor explained he couldn't sell me a ticket without charging me a 50-euro fine. I was taking quite a short trip on a regional train; I don't know what the fine would be on a Freccia train.

every seat on a Freccia is reserved - no jumping on, no open seating, no standing

So you ended up getting back to Gdansk earlier than if you had been able to take the train you had hoped for ?

Kim, there were 3 trains involved. The first one, which we seemingly could’ve taken, except actually couldn’t.

Then the very next train available, but it was slower, so we let it go, without getting tickets.

Then the next train, which got us back to Gdańsk earlier than if we’d taken the second. It meant sitting around the Malbork station for a longer time, though, and at that point I was ready to get out of there without much further delay.

I also did some googling - 5 minute cut-off for ticket sales is in the terms&conditions of PKP Intercity. Even apps that generally allow 3 minutes like koleo can't bypass that, so for Intercity trains it's 5 minutes. Time to buy tickets at the station vary depending on how far the ticket counter/ticket machine is from the platforms. The rule is the passenger should be able to get there with time to spare so every station is different.