These days, PKP has been dragged screaming and kicking into line with European norms, a monolith dismantled into various operating companies, awaiting privatisation. Local trains around Warsaw are now Koleje Mazowieckie, regional services are operated by local authorities, and new brand names (InterRegio, Tanie Linie Kolejowe) have appeared, offering "competition" to existing brands like InterCity. Except your average travelling public is not, as yet, quite au fait with who does what, from where to where, and for how much.
Late last year, I had a guest speaker turning up two hours late at a conference because he boarded an InterRegio train to Warsaw from Kraków rather than an InterCity one. And yesterday, in Kraków, Eddie and I made that swift and easy connection from the bus station to the railway station to discover... that the ticket office at the end of the connecting subway only sold tickets (and gave information) about InterRegio trains. So we had to march 400 metres with luggage to the main station building (now a long way from where the platforms are) to buy InterCity tickets. And march 400 metres back to Platform 5 for the Warsaw-bound train.
And InterCity... a total lottery when it comes to service. I've pointed out in past posts that power sockets for laptops are either available by every single second-class seat - or not at all (not even in first); or that you can get proper old-school compartments or bus-style seating in open carriages. Eddie points out that in some carriages you get a green button to press to effortlessly slide the door open; on others you have to wrestle with latches, and use brute force to open the wretched thing to let you off the train before it moves off. And Wars, InterCity's crowning glory - in some trains (like our one to Kraków), elegant tables, with lamps; ceramic plates and metal cutlery; on others, paper plates, plastic cutlery (same prices!) and all the ambience of a fast food outlet in Skarżysko Kamienna (the one by the station advertising 'Hod Dogs'). Put it another way - our journey to Kraków by PKP Intercity was excellent (albeit without laptop power points in first); the journey back was by contrast disappointing. Both, however, were on time, and to the minute. Which makes a change. Indeed.
When will Poland be able to boast as many railway operators as 1940s America?
“I know you heard of the Chatanooga choo-choo,
The Rock Island, the New York Central,
The New Haven and Hartford, the Pennsylvania,
The Missouri Pacific, the Southern Pacific,
The Northern Pacific is terrific, ah, but Jack,
You’ve heard of the IC and the Santa Fe,
But you got to take a ride on the TP”
(Intro to Louis Jordan's Texas and Pacific)
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"The ticket office at the end of the connecting subway only sold tickets (and gave information) about InterRegio trains".
That's not really true, even though that might be what you were told there.
All the ticket offices in Kraków (even run by other non-PKP, non-PrzewReg companies) sell tickets for all carriers' trains, which means you can buy a PKP Intercity ticket in a Przewozy Regionalne ticket office, and vice versa - an Regio/InterRegio ticket in PKP IC's ticket offices. And a KM, KD or Arriva ticket, too, even though they don't operate in the Lesser Poland region.
They are sometimes hesitant to do it (sometimes simply too lazy to check how to sell a competitor's ticket), but they are obliged to sell you the ticket for every train that does not require reservation.
Just demand the damned ticket! :)
Some ticket offices can't sell reservations due to technical reasons (old terminals), though, but not the PrzewReg ones in the subway (they are all marked [R] which means they do sell reservations, and guess what, the only carrier with seat reservations is their competitor, PKP IC).
Now, if an InterCity train sucks, it's usually because it's not really an InterCity-category train, but a TLK economy-class train operated by the PKP Intercity company.
Yes, the company is named like one of the many train categories it used to run, which is a source of never-ending confusion. Hopefully rebranding of the IC category to "EkspresIC" should solve this.
Basically, if you want good quality for a higher price for a long-distance route, you should look for EuroCity (EC), EuroNight (EN) or EkspresInterCity (EkspresIC, EIC) trains, all operated by PKP Intercity.
In general, if you have other possibilities, you should avoid the Ekspres category (Ex, not to be confused with EIC/EkspresIC), since these trains cost almost as much as EIC/EC, but often their standard does not differ much from some of the TLK's (like 8 seats in the 2nd class compartment and an old bar car). This category is being phased out by PKP IC, so there will be no Ex trains by the end of the year.
If you want to pay less, get a ticket for a TLK (operated by PKP Intercity) or an InterRegio train (operated by PrzewReg).
Przewozy Regionalne run the following trains:
Regio (R) - local trains, 2nd class only, cheap, usually poor standard (but exceptions do happen). They stop everywhere.
InterRegio (IR) - interregional trains, 2nd class only (but sometimes 1st class carriages run as 2nd class), standard varies (usually lower than TLK, but this is starting to change), no restaurant cars (though sometimes you can get snacks and drinks on Warsaw-Kraków IR trains), cheap.
RegioEkspres (RE) - interregional trains, 1st and 2nd class, good standard, cheap.
IR and RE trains stop at mid-level and major stations only. They also can get even cheaper if you buy a "RegioKarnet" ticket valid for three day-long travels (you pay 79 zl for a ticket that allows for three one-day-long rides on any PrzewReg, Arriva and KD trains during the next two months - this is the best marketing idea that ever came to mind of a Polish railway company operative :))
PKP Intercity runs:
Tanie Linie Kolejowe (TLK or D, whatever that D comes from) - "Economy Railways", interregional usually with 1st and 2nd class, optional reservation in 1st, standard varies (usually lower than EIC and higher than IR). Some have bar cars, and some of the night TLK trains offer sleeper cars and couchettes.
TLK trains stop just like IRs, at mid-level to major stations.
Ekspres (Ex) - faster interregional trains, both classes, obligatory reservation, standard varies (some are as good as IC, some are crappier than some TLKs). They have bar cars.
Ex trains stop at major cities only with the addition of places of interest to tourists (such as Zakopane).
EkspresInterCity (EIC) - the highest category for interregional trains, both classes, obligatory reservation, good-to-great standard. Most have restaurant cars, some have the poorer bar cars. And you get one free cup of coffee/tea/Coke onboard and a small cookie. :)
They only stop at major stations.
EuroCity (EC) - international trains, standard is basically the same as EIC, but reservation cost a few zloty less. They stop at major stations only.
EuroNight (EN) - basically an EuroCity night train, with sleeper cars, couchettes and sleeperette cars, with a restaurant car. :)
PKP-IC have some special offers, but the only ones that make sense is "Bilet Podróżnika" which allows you to ride TLK and M trains from late Friday evening to early Monday morning for a 65 zł in the 2nd class, 95 in the 1st.
Other carriers are local, operating only in some parts of the country, like Arriva, Koleje Dolnośląskie and Koleje Mazowieckie.
The good thing is, Arriva and KD accept tickets issued for PrzewReg trains. The bad thing is, other companies do not usually accept other tickets (don't try to ride a PKP-IC train with a PrzewReg or Arriva ticket - you'll have to buy a full new ticket and, if the conductor is an evil bastard, you might get fined, too).
I know it's a mess. Hope this "little" comment helps. :)
Wow - and I thought the British railways were complicated!
This is the future across Europe.
Similar things are happening in Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany.
Private transport companies such as Arriva are taking over local services. State-owned monopoolies such as Germany's DB, the Netherlands's NS and Sweden SJ are being broken up into separate infrastructure, frieght and passanger companies ahead of the entry of private operators such as Arriva and eventual, perhaps partial, privatisation.
An international group of premium high-speed operators (Railteam) is emerging, combining TGV, Eurostar ICE etc services in Europe. Whether their tickets will be accepted by other operators in France, Germany etc is still very much subject to negotiations.
The European Union is driving much of this, as European law mandates the separation of infrastrucutre, freight and passenger services and the opening up of domestic rail markets to private and foreign competition.
In theory, this will lead to lower prices for the passenger some time in the future, but that is just the theory.
It will be a long time, if ever, that the USA again has as many railway operators as it did in the 1940s. Private autos and subsidized highways have supplanted passenger rail here for the most part. How long will this will continue to be affordable in the USA is an open question.
My last train ride was in October, the New Mexico RailRunner from Albuquerque to Santa Fe and back. I bought my ticket online, printed it out on a home computer and showed it to the conductor. She was not able to read the printer-generated barcode with her scanner, but let me ride anyway.
I loved your story about Płać Konduktorowi Połowę.
Its not just railways; the concept of public transport in the US is very poorly understood. There are two single-track "railroads" crossing New Mexico, with a third barely skirting the SW corner, in an area roughly the size of Poland. Aside from some occasional goods trains and the odd Amtrak going from wherever to whoknowswhere, the only New Mexico train of any purpose is the above mentioned RailRunner, the pride and joy of Gov. Bill Richardson. Its a clunky thing, which gets passed by traffic on the roads it parallels. A barren land for trainspotters.
Its a clunky thing, which gets passed by traffic on the roads it parallels. I didn't see much of that on my RailRunner trip, the train sped up to 75 mph on the straightaways, good enough for government work. I clocked it with my GPS. A portion of its rails between Albuquerque and Santa Fe is in the median of Interstate 25, and the train keeps up with the highway traffic. Getting in and out of the urban areas and stopping at the stations are the slow parts. It had a spell of popularity in 2008 when gasoline cost over $4/gallon, now service is being reduced slightly as gasoline has become cheaper (for the time being). New Mexico may be the size of Poland, but it has only 2 million people.
You are correct, it does zip along fairly well, but since the speed limit on the freeway is 75 m.p.h., which is interpreted as meaning 85 in the slow lane, the wheezing diesel does get passed on that stretch by car traffic.
This train is a first step, and a very welcome one. There are now bus services which link up and bring in people from rural ares.
Quite the little NM forum developed here, sorry about the drift OT.
On Thursday evening Eddie and I popped into W-wa Centralna station to pick up Moni returning from her skiing trip. As we waited for her train, an InterRegio train arrived from Kraków. It was due in at 18:35; it arrived at 23:20, having left Kraks at 15:23. Eight hours to cover 300km/200 miles, that's an average speed of 25mph/40kmh. I think New Mexico trains can better!
Marcoos - thanks for the explanation of the differences between brands and operators on Polish railways. The Kraks ticket office thing - we watched a TVP Info report about this very issue the day before we set off back to Warsaw; the camera filmed someone asking for an IC ticket at this window and being told in a definite way that they'd have to go to the main booking hall.
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