Poland by night train

I've been a long-time advocate of the night train. For one ticket you get travel and nocleg (translate that into English with one word - 'a bed for the night' is five). Example: tomorrow, I have to be in Szczecin for a real-estate conference, starting at 10am. As all Poles (except those who live there), Szczecin is a really hard-to-get-to place, nearer Berlin than Gdańsk. Flying is out of the question - never mind the 170 kilograms of carbon dioxide belched out into the atmosphere - Szczecin Goleniów airport is a long way from town, and I don't fancy waking up at 3:30am to be at the airport for 7am for an 8am flight.

And so I take the night train. And year by year, it gets better. The new sleeper-car rolling stock, successively introduced on Polish night trains, is vastly better than the old ones which date back design-wise to communist times. The night trains are run by TLK ('Twoje Linie Kolejowe' - the low-cost brand owned by PKP InterCity); couchette and sleeping carriages attached to the night trains are operated by Wars (of restaurant-car fame).

Here, then, are my night-train tips for Warsaw people who wish to travel out to far-flung destinations from the capital.

1) There are three ways to go - in a normal carriage, slumped in a normal seat. This is hellishly uncomfortable. I've done this once (Wrocław to Warsaw) and never again. Your sleep is continually interrupted. Then there is the couchette (kuszetka) - a bunk without bedding, a place to lie down. Six berths per compartment. Better than a seat, but cramped and lacking privacy. Nowhere near as good as the proper sleeping carriage (wagon sypialny). The sleeping carriages are 100% safe. There's one attendant per carriage keeping watch all night, and each compartment can be locked and chained from the inside. Night-train thefts are rare these days and occur only in the normal seated carriages (though it's been over 20 years since I last heard of such a case).

2) Sleeping carriages: it's worth spending more to get a double rather than triple berth. There's always the chance the other one will be empty (50% chance in my experience). Then you get the whole compartment to yourself. Book early for the popular trains such as those to Szklarska Poręba for the skiing or Kołobrzeg or Hel for the Baltic in summer. Couples - book a double; otherwise compartments are reserved for males or females. You can book a single (much more expensive) if travelling alone - this guarantees that your sleep will not be disturbed by a stranger's snores.

3) Board the train at the station from which it starts its journey, rather than at Warsaw Central. This means you get into the compartment first, usually about 15 minutes before departure. Time to brush teeth and changed into pyjamas before the train moves off. Trains heading south and west start from W-wa Wschodnia; trains heading east and north (there aren't that many) set off from W-wa Zachodnia.

4) Top or bottom bunk? (The middle bunk in a triple berth compartment? Uncomfortable.) Top bunk - more space, more privacy, but a degree of acrobatics required to put up the ladder and climb up and down. Bottom bunk - easier access, but less head-room and privacy.

5) Trips to the WC at the end of the corridor at half-past two in the morning are no fun. Gents - take an empty one-litre wide-necked plastic bottle with screw cap (the type used for fruit juice). Just remember to take it with you when you leave the train in the morning.

6) When boarding, show your ticket to the attendant, who will make a note of where and when to wake you (typically 30 minutes before arrival at your destination). You will be asked whether you'd like a tea or coffee in the morning - which go with a complementary sękacz cake in the cupboard by the sink.

Left: to get to the top bunk, you will need to slide a ladder out of the wall; this is found next to the wardrobe. Press the catch and it pops out. Older carriages still have detachable ladders; these are less convenient to use. Lighting and heating are adjustable, there are mobile-phone chargers, power sockets, cup-holders, cubby-holes and plenty of storage space (for two - tight for three it must be said).

Below: the sink, washing facilities and cupboard, with bunks reflected in the mirror. I open the cupboard to find one cup, one bottle of mineral water, and one sękacz cake - this means I have the entire compartment to myself. Result!

My train departs W-wa Wschodnia on time at 22:01, and arrives in Szczecin Dąbie at 05:52; nine minutes later I hop onto a local train for the three stations into Szczecin Główny, arriving at 06:10.

I slept pretty much the whole way through, to be awakened by the attendant at half past five with a hot coffee. Tomorrow - back again by night train, this time from Świnoujście to Warszawa Gdańska.

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