Poland won’t let you cut it close for train tix

Cyn, I am sorry about having to wait for the next train. But your story really made me smile because of the memory it brought: same station, same journey, opposite dilemma in 2022. I could so clearly picture you at the ticket window. Here’s what I wrote then.

“Coming back from Malbork, I walked into the station to find my IC train was delayed by an hour. I saw there was a regional train 4 minutes after my scheduled IC, so I went to the window and showed her my ticket on my phone. She pointed to the regional train, I said yes, and she promptly filled out a piece of paper, stamped it, and off I went (again, very little actual language involved but it was efficient and pleasant and easy). I boarded the train and very soon the conductor came through to scan tickets. I showed her the piece of paper, watched her face register incomprehension, showed her my original ticket on my phone, she looked at the paper again, then dropped it on the seat beside me and moved on - in utter disgust. (insert laughing emoji) I did not have the sense it was really disgust with me - more likely at the system or whatever had been done to put me on the train. Who knows. :) But I had a seat in an unoccupied train and got back to Gdansk about the time my delayed train would have left Malbork. :)”

(In Poland, you can buy train tickets directly from the conductor on board the train for an extra ticket fee.
The only trains where this is not possible are the high-speed Intercity trains which make you present the ticket prior to boarding).

There is no real reason not to have bought the ticket earlier. A Malbork - Gdanks ticket is good for any train on the day, (except for the EIP ones) so there was no need (as usual) to wait till the last moment.

As I originally said, that was the short version of the story. Longer story, we didn’t have definite plans whether we were even going to Malbork u til we did, and once we reached Malbork, I didn’t know what my energy level was going to be for the day, so how long chewed stick around. We were keeping options open for what to do, when, and also in what class we be riding.

If you’re structured and organized, having all your transportation set up early could be nice. But it does take some coordination and effort to have everything lined up. Yesterday wasn’t one of those days.

Yeah, but if you were doing a daytrip to Malbork from Gdanks you would just have bought a return ticket Gdansk - Malbork, and then you would still have been able to just return whenever you felt like returning.

I still get the impression that a lot of people believe that a train ticket is "a place in a particular train", whereas the default is that a train ticket is just a receipt that proves you have paid to be permitted on board trains on a particular route. Tickets are for a route, not a train.

It is only for premium trains with compulsory reservation that you need to worry about having a reservation for a particular departure.

I still get the impression that a lot of people believe that a train
ticket is "a place in a particular train", whereas the default is that
a train ticket is just a receipt that proves you have paid to be
permitted on board trains on a particular route. Tickets are for a
route, not a train.

WengenK, i believe you are incorrect because you overly generalized without regard to ticket type (full fare vs discount). I am also not confident that there are not national train companies in Europe with exceptions to the concept.

I wasn’t organized or focused enough to buy tickets for both directions at the same time.

And both going to and from Malbork had reserved seat numbers, on a particular car, for that specific departure.

Oddly, although each ticket was Second Class, the car for the return was a First Class style car, but was designated as being Second Class.

I believe that with a full fare ticket (often twice the cost of the discount fare tickets ... +20 or 30 euro often) you are able to get on a later train using the earlier train ticket with many, maybe most, maybe even all the EU national train companies (I never did the research to say with any certainity), I have seen tickets with a validity period too ... if memory is correct, it was a few days, but I could be wrong. You will have to buy a new seat assignment, and I have seen that opportunity close a day prior to the departure wuth one company. Without the reserved seat, you could end up playing musical chairs at each stop ... I watched it happen to a poor soul once last year.