Rail travel update: from FUBAR* to SNAFU**

In the immediate aftermath of the March timetable change, travelling into town was catastrophic. Worst case? Made it to W-wa Aleje Jerozolimskie in good time to catch an evening train to Chynów - announcement over the speakers: "It's cancelled." An hour's wait until the next one. Its due time came and went. Announcement: "Train to Radom is 50 minutes late." Since then, things have got better. In particular, I'm now far more flexible about where to get off the train and where to board it on the way home. Once within the borders of Warsaw, stations are generally well connected with other onward transport. 

Flexibility and information are key. With several apps in my phone, I can see bus and tram timetables, and with Zbiorkom.live I can where the buses and trams are in real time. I've since learned that  Aleje Jerozolimskie is not the only place to change; at W-wa Żwirki i Wigury I can catch buses coming from the airport (though the change here isn't convenient - there's only a southbound bus stop by the station). At W-wa Służewiec there's a transfer to many buses and trams, at W-wa Młynów there's an excellent connection to the east-west M2 Metro line, which serves my office. Even PKP W-wa Okęcie has a useful bus stop (the 148 which wanders all over Ursynów and Stegny before eventually crossing the river). So it's all doable, it takes longer (or much longer), but without the massive disruptions of the first days of the new timetable. 

Below: The massive scale of the works at W-wa Zachodnia are visible from this shot - platforms 8, 7 and 6 were covered first, now platforms 5, 4 and 3 are getting a roof. The symmetry suggests that platforms 2 and 1 won't receive a roof. Completion of W-wa Zachodnia is but the beginning - the entire transversal line cutting through the epicentre of Warsaw is due for a major remont. So many years of disruption await.

Below: the view from inside - looking east from Platform 6 (taken from inside train, hence reflections from glass)

Carry on north-west past "W-wa Zachodnia" Peron 9, past W-wa Wola, the next stop on the new line to W-wa Gdańska is W-wa Młynów. Now - this is a useful staging post too... Below: the entrance to Młynów metro station, on Line M2. It's an easy (level access) interchange from PKP W-wa Młynów; from here it's four stops to Metro Świętokrzyska, itself the interchange between Lines M1 and M2.

Below: Aleje Jerozolimskie with its two stations - WKD (Warszawska Kolei Dojazdowa = Warsaw commuter railway) and PKP is a good place to change trains. In the foreground is a WKD train - in the distance an SKM train that terminates here.

Below: WKD Śródmieście (over half a kilometre from PKP W-wa Śródmieście), a useful terminus for the west of the city centre. Even off-peak, the trains run every 15 minutes. At peak times, they are utterly rammed rigid. 

Left: on board the WKD train, on the way from Aleje Jerozolimskie to Śródmieście. Even off peak, it's a heavily used service, especially on the last few stops, where the WKD is in effect replacing the Koleje Mazowieckie commuter trains. The WKD can be seen as an adjunct to Warsaw's buses and trams - a light-rail line serving south-west suburbs and exurbs.

Below: I hop on a tram outside WKD Śródmieście - from here, trams run east-west and north-south. Warszawa Centralna station is just across the road (through an underground passage). All in all - this an excellent interchange. Note the tram following mine... I remember these going out of regular passenger service over ten years ago...

Below: It's an old Konstal13N tram, converted into a technical services vehicle.

Below: back in Chynów. Train to town meets train from town. The accelerated (przyspieszony) service takes a mere 24 minutes from W-wa Służewiec to Chynów. Incredible! But then even the all-stations service now takes only 33 minutes. This really makes Chynów within easy commuting distance of Warsaw's shared-services district, home to many business-process outsourcing hubs. However, getting into central Warsaw has now become a challenge. Note: the engine of the southbound train is at the back - pushing the double-decker units.

Left: view from the back of the above train. The driver is at the front, five carriages further forward, the engine is pushing the train - on its return journey back to Warsaw, it will be pulling. The advantage of this set-up is that the engine doesn't have to run round its train at either end of the line.

There are three pairs of pospieszone trains a day (three into town in the morning, three back from town in the afternoon and evening) and one such single service running into town in the evening. Tickets are the same price as the all-stations stopping services, which makes these trains very popular.

* FUBAR

** SNAFU

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