Train travel in Poland

By train it's over 25 hours with a minimum of four connections. For detailed timetables go to the German Rail site. After you get summary timetables for Warsaw-Rome, click on "Show details for all" to see the connecting points.

You can fly non-stop on the budget airline Wizzair for under 50 EUR.

Thanks. I'm looking forward to a long train trip to catch up on some sleep and don't mind a 24 hour rail ride. I was hoping for some insight into the experience of train travel in Poland from someone who has had the experience.

Hi Alan,

So you're thinking of braving the PKP - Polskie Koleje Panstwowe. May God have mercy on you. Just kidding, it's really not that bad. They have seriourly improved over the last few years, but old railcars are still in use for inter Poland travel (and they're pretty nasty). My one really bad experience was about 10 years ago when I did a trip from Prague to Oswiecim to Krakow to Budapest. On the first leg of the journey, the car conductor tried to shake me down for more money claiming I had a bad ticket. Luckily, a young Pole who spoke perfect English stepped in and saved the day after a heated argument. In Krakow, I purchased a "first class" ticket for my journey to Budapest ( about 30 extra zloty) for a train that didn't have a first class car. The conductor on that train roared with laughter when he saw my ticket (the ticket vendor pocketed the difference). To add insult to injury, or vice versa, the overhead vent cover in my car fell off the ceiling and cracked me on the head just after I got settled in. Back home that would be a lawsuit, here I just hoped I didn't bleed to death (ended up w/5 stiches when we got to Budapest). The conductor said sorry, handed me a paper towel and walked away laughing.

I went back to Auschwitz a couple years ago and the experience was much better. A Polish gentleman from Warsaw did warn me that corruption is still rampant within the system and "shakedowns" of solo and non-Polish travelers is not uncommon. Personally, I'm looking forward to my next rail venture on the PKP. Some segments still use steam locomotives. Next time, I'm going past Warsaw and on to St. Pertersburg. Have a great time. p.s. - no such thing as "no smoking" rail cars in Poland.

Hi Alan, I made several trips by rail in Poland about 5 years ago. I never experienced a “shakedown” and had generally positive experiences- certainly more positive than poor Ed. Yes, some of the trains are (were when I went) pretty old, but still okay except for the “facilities”. Yikes! Let’s just say, don’t drink too much before you leave. The night trains I took round-trip to Budapest and Prague from Krakow were older trains that did double duty pulling freight which means that they stopped a lot along the way. If you’re a light sleeper, that can be a problem; you just drift off to sleep, when, SCREECH, the train breaks for yet another stop and there’s a lot of shaking and clonking as they unhook and rehook cars. But on the six night train trips I took, I was never in a compartment that was filled to capacity, be it 4 or 6. So in that way it was fairly comfortable. They provided clean sheets, a blanket and a pillow for the night, and breakfast of a chocolate-filled croissant (no, not fresh, but pretty tasty anyway) and coffee. The “diner car” was pretty basic. I think a lot of people take their own food.

My favorite thing during the international trips was the passport check at border crossings. There’s one guy with a modern little gizmo that he slides passports through, he punches a few buttons then…here’s the weird thing…he hands the passport to a second guy with an ancient book. It’s so well-thumbed and frayed that the book can’t be closed flat anymore. The second guy flips through pages back and forth, frowning at your passport like he’s trying to find information on you in particular. I don’t know what information that antique has that the computerized device doesn’t, but your passport doesn’t get stamped until the man with “The Book” says so.

Anyway, the train’s not that bad, but it still gives you a feeling of adventure:)

Wow, compared to Ed's story, I feel now like I was handled with kid gloves on Polish trains. But yes, I was shaken down on one, too. In fact, I just wrote the story the other day for another post, so I am copying and pasting the particulars from that thread here:

"I was on a train from Wroclaw to Dresden when [a Polish police officer] asked for my passport. I thought he was border patrol (this was 2005, no open borders between Poland/Germany yet). Turns out he wasn't, and once he had my passport I found myself in the unfortunate position of having to buy it back with any leftover zloty I had. It was my first trip to Europe and a very valuable $27 lesson."

On the flip side, the train from Krakow to Wroclaw seemed sleek(ish) and modern(ish), even having a steward to come around offering complimentary drinks. The train between Wroclaw and the German border (on which The Incident occurred) was a slow, dirty, old milk-run.

But who knows, it was all 5 years ago... things can change, right?

Man, what am I getting myself into? Sounds like I'll be sleeping with one open, if I get to sleep at all! Somebody tell me something that sounds even mildly reassuring because my wife has read these posts and is ready to take an airplane rather than the train.

We just did the night train from Ams to Poz acouple of weeks' ago, and it was fine, however, it was not Polish Rail.
Have done PR from Poz to KRK first class, and it was dirty and tired and long--7 hours from Poz to KRK.
Certainly would not do that at night because of car condition and security. I would think you could do Warsaw to somewhere and then on to Rome, however, with the expense involved I would fly and rest in Rome.

Yes, this post does not paint a pretty picture. BUT, I would wager a guess that there have been thousands of foreigners who've ridden Polish trains without incident (and who don't post), you may have just stumbled upon a couple of us who've had a bit of troubles and shared our stories. In other words, I don't think this post statistically reflects the odds of running into issues.

A word of advice: IF you are approached by an official-looking person who wants to see your passport, ask to see their identification first (even if you don't really know what you're looking for/at - it might put them on their toes). And if they tell you you've done something wrong and are being fined, ask for a receipt before you hand over any money. My understanding is it's the law to produce one, and a corrupt person might not be able (or want) to do as such. And don't be afraid to make a fuss.

Again, many people have traveled around Poland without incident, but it's wise to be aware of corruption scams like these so that in the unlikely event something happens, hopefully you'd come out with wallet intact.

For the record, I wouldn't hesitate for a second to travel via train in Poland again.

Hi Alan,
Lodz to Rome is quite doable, but you're not going to get much sleep I'm afraid. Did a similar trip about a year and a half ago (Auschwitz/Katowice to Siena) and ended up doing about three different transfers. From Katowice to Munich then to Milan and on to Florence. You should be able to go directly from Milan right into Rome's centrally located Termini station. Twenty hours plus at a minimum, but a wonderful journey.

Please don't be put off by any of the stories you've read, though I'm sure if anything they've been understated. I've been blessed with the opportunity to travel throughout Poland (wife's relatives) and unfortunately govt. corruption is real and widespread, although not as bad as the former Soviet Union. Maybe this helps explain why Rick spends so little time in Poland and none in the east. You could fly, probably cheaper, but I prefer traveling by rail within Europe.

One thing to consider is that anything ten years ago is half a lifetime for the new capitalist system. The situation is changing rapidly in Poland. I rode a night train from Berlin to Gdynia last summer and the third person is our compartment was very wary of us because of "old times". She locked the door and was very concerned for safety. The trains we rode on were very nice and they are making high speed upgrades all around the route.

The biggest problems we had were the delays due to construction for the upgrades. I made all reservations while in Poland at travel agents. The train station ticketing agents were not willing or able to communicate.

I would be wary of tight connections, especially on long trips. We lost 20 minutes on our 10 hour journey from Krakow to Berlin and almost missed the connection. Best of luck.

Go from Lódz to Warszawa and take the train from there to Wien. I think there is a night train as well. Its probably your best choice not to have to make too many connections.

Sleeping cars and couchettes are great on the night trains, just be sure to book them in advance. Train stations in every major city have an InterCity office where you can find English speaking employees. Make sure you get on the EXACT train you bought the ticket for and you will not have any problems with the conductors telling you that you need a different ticket.

Some of the trains are older, some are newer. On Euro trains and InterCity trains (the newer nicer ones) you do get a free drink and a biscuit. The next level of quality down would be the TLK pospieszny trains - most are still just fine. Do not take the osobowy train unless you absolutely must - these are the oldest and cheapest, and they stop every other kilometer or so it seems!

I've not heard of people having bad experiences unless they bought the wrong ticket. Of course, sometimes things go wrong - once this winter the heat in my compartment didnt work, but you can almost always get up and move.

Personally I would prefer the train to WizzAir- much more likely to run into extra fees or cancellations there!