Rail travel update - Radom line

I interrupt my series of Lenten posts to cover the big railway news story of today - major changes on the Radom line, affecting Jeziorki and Jakubowizna and all points south.

There is good news and there is bad news.

First the good news. The SKM now runs to Piaseczno, which means doubling the number of trains serving the line from Piaseczno, Nowa Iwiczna, W-wa Jeziorki, W-wa Dawidy and W-wa Okęcie. At peak times, these stations now have six trains an hour running into town. From W-wa Służewiec, the trains from the airport join the line, so stations between there are W-wa Aleje Jerozolimskie now have eight trains an hour to town at peak times. The two new SKM services (operated by the City of Warsaw, analogous to the London Overground lines) are the S4 that goes all the way north to Wieliszew past Legionowo, and the S40 that terminates in town.

Now the bad news. None of these trains go to W-wa Śródmieście, the station serving central Warsaw. Or indeed to any of the other stations along the Linia średnicowa - the transversal line linking Warsaw West with Warsaw East. Not only the new SKM trains, but this also affects all the trains from Radom. And that means Chynów too.

Half of the trains coming in to Warsaw along the Radom line now terminate at the newly refurbished and reopened W-wa Główna station, which lies 2km west of W-wa Śródmieście, a 25-minute walk. Of course, there are buses and trams connecting the two as well.

The other half of trains from the Radom line end up at W-wa Gdańska, 3.5km north of  W-wa Śródmieście. There is, however, "convenient change to Metro M1"; from W-wa Gdańska it's three stops on the Metro to Centrum, next door to W-wa Śródmieście. An alternative for me to get to my office is to change at W-wa Młynów, walk to Metro Młynów on the M2 line and take that to Świętokrzyska (four stops).

W-wa Gdańska lies on the northern Warsaw loop line, and like W-wa Główna, it has been recently refurbished. Now, the western end of this loop line manages to miss Warsaw West station, passing at the bizarrely twice-renamed W-wa Zachodnia Peron 9 - a name which implies that it's an integral part of Warsaw West, but it isn't. It is merely a rebranding of the old W-wa Wola station - first as W-wa Zachodnia Peron 8, and now Peron 9, reflecting the fact that Warsaw West has sprouted an eighth platform during its ongoing modernisation. 

The problem with Peron 9 is that with the current pedestrian diversions in force, it's nearly 1.5km on foot from Warsaw West Platform 1. Down one tunnel, along a long road, round the corner, across (no zebra crossing) a busy road, along this to the entrance to the ramp up to Platforms 8, 7, 6 and 5, over the pedestrian viaduct, down some steps to Platform 3, down into another tunnel and up some steps. Not to be attempted with heavy baggage or on a wheelchair. An absolute nightmare, but to give PKP PLK its due, this nightmare has been well communicated to passengers - avoid changing trains here!

You can still get to W-wa Śródmieście if you're coming up from the Radom line; if your train is terminating at W-wa Główna, change at (the main!) Warsaw West for a service that will take you to the city centre; if you're on a train to W-wa Gdańska, change at W-wa Aleje Jerozolimskie for either a train to Warsaw West and change there for W-wa Śródmieście, or take one of the airport trains and alight at Warsaw Central and walk.

As you can see, it's bloody complicated, a nuisance, and tricky to work out especially when trying to get home late of an evening after a whole bottle of wine.

This state of affairs is likely to drag on for four years, until the major modernisation of the transversal line is completed; it will entail closing the existing W-wa Powiśle (shame!) and re-siting the station further west, underground in the tunnel, nearer Rondo de Gaulle'a. All good by 2028, but until then, fun and games.

This time last year:
Angels, daemons and aliens

This time two years ago:
Reconciling science and spirituality

This time three years ago:
The metaphysical journey as I see it

This time six years ago:
Spirit of Age, spirit of Place

This time seven years ago:
The crux of the matter

This time nine years ago:
10,000 steps is a lot for one day

This time ten years ago:
Bary mleczne - Warsaw's cheap eateries

This time 12 years ago:
Old Town, another prospect

This time 13 years ago:
W-wa Śródmieście - commuters' staging post

This time 14 years ago:
Filthy ul. Poloneza

This time 15 years ago:
A sight that heralds the coming of spring