With the new 2025/2026 railway timetable coming into effect today, there have been significant expansions to Poland’s night-train network. Having said that, there are reductions in the number of services with sleeper/couchette coaches. New international connection from southern Poland to Germany and Austria, while some internal routes in Poland have been extended.
The ongoing war in Ukraine has been a major driver behind the expansion of Poland's night-train services. Look at FlightRadar24.com's map of Ukraine, you'll see no civilian aviation overhead. Ukrainian citizens wishing to travel internationally cannot do so safely through Belarus or Russia, and so must cross the border into Poland by road or rail. Polish railway stations close to the Ukrainian border – Przemyśl Główny and Chełm – now see vastly more cross-border traffic, many of those being Ukrainians wishing to head on further west by train.
So – this post is an overview of existing and new night train services, starting with those that connect Warsaw with the mountains and the sea...
Note the difference between a night train (one that travels at night) and a sleeper train (one that has specialised coaches allowing passengers to travel lying down on a bed. (All sleeper trains are night trains, but not all night trains are sleeper trains, as you will see below.)
The cheaper version of the sleeper is the couchette, which has six mixed-sex passengers to a compartment; you sleep lying down but clothed. A proper sleeper is either three-berth, two-berth or individual (really expensive!) accommodation. The two/three berth sleeper cabins are single-sex but couples/families can reserve cabins for themselves.
Below: a two-berth sleeper cabin, as featured on IC (InterCity) services. The remaining TLK (Twoje Linie Kolejowe) service features old-school sleeper carriages for that nostalgia vibe. And less comfort.
Sleeper trains are 100% safe. They have just one door to the outside; there's a conductor/guard on duty all night at the end of each corridor, and cabins can be closed from the inside with a chain. I cannot, however, vouch for the security of non-sleeper coaches at night with such absolute certainty.
Sleeper trains from Warsaw/ passing through Warsaw
A major change to my favourite sleeper, the Uznam, in this year's timetable change, is the fact that it now runs east beyond Warsaw. The service to Świnoujście now goes all the way through to Chełm on the Ukrainian border via Lublin. This makes the journey 708km (440 miles) end to end. It also manages to hook round via Łódź, as well as calling in at Poznań and Szczecin, thus connecting five provincial capitals, enhancing its usefulness.
The IC 440 Uznam departs Chełm at 18:28, calling at Lublin at 19:22, Warsaw East at 21:34, (an hour earlier than in last year's timetable), then shortly after at Warsaw Central and Warsaw West. It passes Łódź Widzew at 23:35, Poznań Główny at 02:40, Szczecin Główny at 05:09 before finally arriving at Świnoujście at 06:37. Note: this train has no name westbound! Be careful when boarding the westbound IC 440, because this train splits at Poznań Główny. Some coaches go on to Szczecin and Świnoujście (at 03:10), but others head west to Berlin as the IC 430 (see below), leaving Poznań at 03:19. The night-train service to Berlin has no sleeper coaches. This service between Chełm and the German capital suggests that many of the passengers will be Ukrainians.
IC 82170 Uznam: Świnoujście – Chełm (dep. 21:30 arr. 09:26) is the return service. It passes through Warsaws West (05:45), Central and East, before heading on to Lublin and Chełm. The train is already in the platform well ahead of departure time, so passengers can board early and get themselves comfortable before it sets off.
Taking the Uznam there and back from Warsaw in summer gives you the best part of 12 hours on the beach. With a hotel or apartment from Saturday to Sunday, you can get a full weekend of Baltic sun-and-sea, having left the office on Friday evening, to be back to the office first thing Monday morning. The extension to Chełm via Lublin (and indeed Otwock) will be great news for those in eastern Poland wishing to dip their toes in the Baltic.
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No change with the Karkonosze, the sleeper + couchette services that runs from Warsaw to the Sudety mountains in the south-west, close to the Czech border. The Karkonosze runs all the way through to the resort town of Szklarska Poręba, though only in the winter timetable, terminating at Jelenia Góra in summer. This is another sleeper train that I've used many times, though never beyond Jelenia Góra.
IC 16170 Karkonosze: Warszawa Wschodnia – Szklarska Poręba Górna (dep. 23:36 arr. 07:53). The Karkonosze returns to the mountains, calling in at Łódź Widzew (01:05), Wrocław Główny (04:25), Wałbrzych Główny (05:58) and Jelenia Góra (06:46) along the way.
IC 61170 Karkonosze: Szklarska Poręba Górna – Warszawa Wschodnia (dep. 20:19 arr. 06:15). Departing a bit earlier than in last year's timetable, the return service now arrives in Warsaw more than an hour later, which gives passengers more snooze-time on board. Taking this train lets skiers and hikers get a weekend-full of mountain air and get back before their offices open on Monday morning, having had a good sleep on the train.
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There's a new Warsaw-Berlin night train, the IC 440 (no name, not good news)... with no sleeper coaches. Westbound, it departs from Chełm, at 18:48, passing through Warsaw's three stations, East, Central and West, between 21:34 and 22:21 including a 33-minute stop at Warsaw Central. It then proceeds at a leisurely pace through Łódź and onto Poznań, where it splits in two. Carriages go on to Świnoujście (as the IC 430, see below), the rest continues on to Berlin (re-named the EC 430 on crossing the border), arriving at Berlin-Charlottenburg at 06:27 (passing through Berlins Ost, Hbf and Zoo). Travelling all night sitting up is hell. Something for young people only. I suspect the main users of this service will be Ukrainian citizens who are expected to have limited travel budgets and enhanced resilience.
The eastbound EC 441 starts in Berlin-Gesundbrunnen, departing at 20:42, passing through Berlin-Lichtenberg before crossing the border into Poland (re-named the IC 441 as it does so). It reaches Poznań Główny after midnight, and here it waits an hour to hook up with coaches from the IC 82170 (see below). Some passengers will need to move to other coaches here. This train now heads onward through Łódź, Warsaw and Lublin, arriving at Chełm near the Ukrainian border at 09:26.
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IC 38170 Ustronie: Kraków Główny – Kołobrzeg (dep. 21:03 arr. 10:23). Year-round seaside-special for folks from Poland's south, calling at Kielce, Radom, Warsaw East and the Tri-City on its way to the resorts of Ustronie and Kołobrzeg. Full sleeper and couchette service. You can use this train as a nocturnal connection between Warsaw Central (dep. 01:53) and Gdańsk Główny (arr. 05:55, Gdynia 20 minutes later), though with four hours between the two cities, you'll not get quality sleep-time. The Ustronie also calls at Warka (01:07) and Piaseczno (01:27) on the way. Takes its time; 13 hours 20 minutes to cover 568km.
IC 83170 Ustronie: Kołobrzeg – Kraków Główny (dep. 19:15, arr. 07:26). Passing through Warsaw Central at 03:25. The train is a useful nocturnal connection for Varsovians needing to be in Kraków for early business meetings. Departs Warka at 04:14 in time for breakfast in Kraków.
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TLK 35170 Karpaty: Zakopane – Gdynia Główna (dep. 21:53, arr. 08:40) From the mountains to the sea, direct, 867 km. Not upgraded to IC, so fans of old-school rolling stock can still experience the veneered wood, moquette upholstery and clunkiness. This is the last TLK sleeper train, so enthusiasts of the genre should make the most before its inevitable replacement by an IC service with modern coaches. The Karpaty also functions as another nocturnal sleeper train connection between Kraków, Warsaw and the Tri-City (calling in Kraków Główny at midnight, stopping at Warsaw Central at 04:36 for nearly half an hour before proceeding towards Gdańsk Główny at 08:13). The Karpaty now skips Piotrków Trybunalski, taking the CMK through Idzikowice after its stop in Częstochowa.
TLK 53170 Karpaty: Gdynia Główna – Zakopane (dep: 19:22, arr: 06:02) On the way back from Gdynia to Zakopane, the Karpaty leaves Gdynia at an early hour for a sleeper service, passing through Warsaw Central at 23:23 and arriving in Kraków at 03:30. This means Krakovians can get home after a late night in the capital. The Polish mountains are connected to the Polish sea by night train again – but unlike the Szklarska Poręba service, this one runs all year round.
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Sleeper trains/night trains that avoid Warsaw
IC 83172 Podhalanin from Świnoujście (dep. 18:55) to Zakopane (arr. 08:33). A proper sleeper service with new-style sleeper and couchette options as well as seats. That's 13 hours, 38 minutes to cover 983km, passing through Szczecin, Poznań, Łódź Kaliska, Częstochowa and Kraków. Bring your own food – there's no restaurant carriage.
On the way back, the IC 38172 Podhalanin leaves Zakopane at 20:22 and arrives at Świnoujście at 09:21. Just under 13 hours. Again, sleeper accommodation, no food.
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The night-train connection between Świnoujście and Przemyśl, the north-west and south-east extremes of Poland takes a slightly different route as of this year's timetable change. It now calls in at Katowice, making it seven provincial capitals along the way – Rzeszów, Kraków, Katowice, Opole, Wrocław, Poznań and Szczecin. A long train journey (994km/618 miles).
The night services linking Poland's two diagonal opposites look complicated in the new timetable. Heading north-west from Przemyśl (dep. 18:54) to Świnoujście (arr. 06:07), the IC 430 train has sleeper carriages, but going south-east, from Świnoujście (dep. 21:30) to Przemyśl (arr. 09:11), it does not! The IC 82170 /IC 431 night train from Świnoujście to Przemyśl has lost is name (it was formerly the Przemyślanin) as well as its sleeper carriages. At Poznań (arr. 00:56), there's a change of rolling stock. There is now a couchette option, though only for disabled passengers; there are now air-conditioned coaches with first-class accommodation added to the train for the onward journey to Przemyśl. Presumably, if you have bought first-class tickets you'll need to move. This train pulls out of Poznań Główny at 01:26 as the IC 431. The decision to drop the sleeper option from Świnoujście to Przemyśl is weird and not a good sign.
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Another night train with no name and no sleeper carriages that connects Przemyśl and the seaside is the IC 33172. It leaves Przemyśl Główny at 20:07 and reaches the seaside resort of Ustka 1,107km away, at 09:22, calling at Kraków, Łódź Kaliska, Poznań, Koszalin and Słupsk. Ustka is about halfway between Kołobrzeg and Gdynia.
The return, also without a sleeper option, is the IC 87172, which departs Ustka station at 18:05, reaching Poznań Główny at 22:20. Here it connects with the IC 83172 for the rest of the journey on to Przemyśl, where it arrives at 08:01. Another hell-train that I do not intend to take, ever. Unless sleeper carriages are added.
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The TLK Rozewie sleeper-train service from the seaside to the mountains has been ditched and replaced with the nameless IC 461 train from Gdynia Główna (dep. 21:57) to Szklarska Poręba Górna (arr. 07:53) travelling overnight but without sleeper or couchette coaches. Ten hours. 760km. Via Toruń, Bydgoszcz, Poznań, Wrocław, Wałbrzych and Jelenia Góra. Overnight. No lying down. Murder. Trójmiasto skiers; you have been warned.
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International sleeper-train services
Here, the most notable changes for this year's timetable are additional connections between Poland and western Europe. Check rozklad.pkp.pl for full details – too complex to include them here, given how the trains split up into different sections for different destinations.
EN Carpatia (new launch): route: Przemyśl – Rzeszów – Kraków – Munich (via Ostrava, Vienna, Salzburg). A new daily EuroNight service, linking southeast Poland directly with Bavaria and the Austrian Alps. Carries couchette and full sleeper coaches as well as seating. Coaches are added to provide direct links to Budapest and Bratislava.
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TLK Baltic Express has been upgraded this year to a provide permanent year-round daily overnight service (no longer just summer season), from Gdynia to Prague via Bydgoszcz, skipping Łódź in this year's timetable (to my daughter's displeasure, a client PKP has lost to Flixbus). The Baltic Express includes a sleeper-carriage service.
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EN Chopin: this classic train continues to run between Warsaw and Kraków then on to 1) Vienna and Munich, 2) Prague, and 3) Bratislava and Budapest, splitting into three once it crosses the Czech border (usually at Bohumín and Breclav). Includes high-standard sleepers (including deluxe cabins with showers), couchettes, as well as ordinary seating.
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EN Metropol: connecting Berlin to Budapest/Vienna, passing through southwestern Poland along the way (stopping at Rzepin/Zielona Góra/Wrocław/Racibórz). While often seen as a German or Hungarian train, it serves Polish passengers boarding in Silesia/Lubuskie heading to Berlin,Vienna or Budapest overnight.
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There are also a number of services connecting Poland with Ukraine. These remain a critical lifeline service. You may find details online from Chełm and Przemyśl stations.
Direct sleeper routes to/from Russia (Moscow/St. Petersburg) and Belarus remain suspended indefinitely. These all-sleeper coach services from Moscow and Minsk used to run on to Paris and Nice.
I suspect that next year's timetable update will see further expansions of Polish and international night-train network, and I hope that more sleeper coaches will be brought onstream. I would not wish anyone under the age of 35 to travel overnight slumped in an ordinary train seat. It has to be beds. Taking a sleeper train means you get hotel accommodation and delivery to your destination in one ticket.
This time last year:
Slow progress, but the healing goes on
This time two years ago:
A mind-blowing dream
This time three years ago:
Utter, utter gorgeousness
This time four years ago:
Hoar frost and proper ice, Jeziorki
This time seven years ago:
Alcohol, servant not master
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