Poland's sleeper train services: changes for 2026

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. There are 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 surviving TLK (Twoje Linie Kolejowe) services 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 at one end of the carriage; 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, although it's over 20 years since I last heard of a theft.

So, to go through Poland's sleeper services, I'll break them down into those that serve Warsaw, those that bypass Warsaw, and finish on the international services.

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; it terminates 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 general clunkiness of the sleeper carriages. This is the very 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, but 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

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A mind-blowing dream

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Utter, utter gorgeousness

This time four years ago:
Hoar frost and proper ice, Jeziorki

This time seven years ago:
Alcohol, servant not master

This time ten years ago:

Classic car quiz, 2015

This time 11 years ago:

Classic British Car Quiz, 2014

This time 12 years ago:

The poet's gift - an exploration into Why One Writes

This time 13 years ago:

Advertising H&M on Warszawa Centralna station

This time 14 years ago:

Jeziorki in the snow

This time 18 years ago:

Staying Underground: Piccadilly Circus

Poland's sleeper train services for summer 2025

Yesterday saw the introduction of minor timetable changes to Poland's railway timetables. This has an impact on sleeper-train services for the summer holidays. Since the major December change, it's just been adjustments of departure and arrival times, but notably one entirely new service has been added, so we're back to six (plus the international Chopin service which departs from Warsaw Central at 19:52 for Vienna, Munich, Prague and Budapest after splitting up in Kraków).

Excluding the Chopin, we have two pairs start/finish in Warsaw (to/from Świnoujście and Jelenia Góra); two pass through Warsaw (Gdynia to/from Zakopane and Kraków to/from Kołobrzeg), and two that bypass Warsaw altogether (Przemyśl to/from Świnoujście via Wrocław, and Prague to/from Gdynia via Wrocław). Last year, two of the six trains were operated by InterCity with new sleeper carriages, the remaining four were TLK (Twoje Linie Kolejowe, the cheaper brand). This year, two of the TLK services were upgraded to IC; one TLK remains, one has been changed from a sleeper service to an ordinary train that travels by night.

Let's look at the five pairs of domestic sleeper trains in detail with summer 2025 times. I'll start with my personal favourite that I've used many times over the years.

IC 18171 Uznam Warszawa Wschodnia - Świnoujście (dep. 22:27 arr. 07:17). An InterCity, rather than a TLK service, with the newer sleeper carriages. It leaves Warsaw later than in the winter timetable, calling at Szczecin Główny on the way, arriving at 05:28. The Uznam gets you to the western Baltic beach resorts in good time – it passes through Międzyzdroje at 07:03. And it runs all year round.

IC 81170 Uznam: Świnoujście – Warszawa Wschodnia (dep. 22:04 arr. 07:01) is the return service. Leaving a minute later than in the previous timetable, and arriving ten minutes earlier in Warsaw. 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. The sun sets over Świnoujście at 21:38 on Midsummer's Day, so you'd be hard pressed to get from the beach to the station after seeing it!

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 worked Friday, and be back to the office first thing Monday morning.

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Here's another train that I've used many a time.

IC 16170 Karkonosze: Warszawa Wschodnia – Jelenia Góra (dep. 23:24 arr. 06:39). The Karkonosze, only goes as far as Jelenia Góra in summer (in winter it continues to the mountain resort of Szklarska Poręba), calling in at Wrocław Główny (04:15) and Wałbrzych Główny (05:53) along the way. Upgraded to an Intercity (IC) train in December. If you have an early business meeting in Wrocław, my tip is to sleep on to Wałbrzych, change there to take a local train back, which will give you another couple of hours of rest. Otherwise you'll be spending all that time in Wrocław Głowny's McDonalds until your meeting.

IC 61170 Karkonosze: Jelenia Góra – Warszawa Wschodnia (dep. 21:30 arr. 04:56). A useful sleeper connection from Wrocław (passing through at 23:20). Having travelled by night from Wrocław to Warsaw on a multiple-unit Dart train, seated in a normal seat in a normal carriage, I can say – never again. Pay the extra and travel lying down. So much better for the spine.

It's sad that the Karkonosze only runs between Warsaw and Zielona Góra during the summer months,  depriving summer mountain-hikers the chance to get there by night train in summer.

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IC 38170 Ustronie: Kraków Główny – Kołobrzeg (dep. 21:47 arr. 10:53). 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. You can use this train as a nocturnal connection between Warsaw Central (dep. 01:57) and Gdańsk (arr. 06:01) and Gdynia, though with four hours between the two cities, you'll not get quality sleep time. Upgraded last year from a TLK to an IC, so better rolling stock. Also, it visits Warka (01:10) and Piaseczno (01:30), Warsaw West and Warsaw East on the way. One of Poland's longer night-train routes, at 887 km.

IC 83171 Ustronie: Kołobrzeg – Kraków Główny (dep. 19:29, arr. 08:25). Passing through Warszawa Centralna at 03:45. The train is a useful nocturnal connection for Varsovians needing to be in Kraków for early business meetings. Departs Warka at 04:34 in time for breakfast in Kraków.

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TLK 35170 Karpaty: Zakopane – Gdynia Główna (dep. 21:40, arr. 08:12) From the mountains to the sea, 848 km. The last of the TLK sleepers; not upgraded to IC status. Fans of old-school rolling stock can still experience the veneered wood, moquette upholstery and clunkiness. The Karpaty also functions as another nocturnal connection between Kraków, Warsaw and the Tri-City (dep: Kraków Główny 00:45, calling at Warsaw Central at 04:23 and arriving in Gdańsk Główny at 07:45). The Karpaty takes the Częstochowa-Piotrków Tryb. route rather than serving Kielce and Radom. 

TLK 53170 Karpaty: Gdynia Główna – Zakopane (dep: 19:56, arr: 06:38) On the way back from Gdynia to Zakopane, the Karpaty leaves Gdynia at quite an early hour for a sleeper service, passing through Warsaw Central at 23:35 and arriving in Kraków at 03:26. 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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Now the sleeper services that skips Warsaw altogether. This is the IC 83172 Przemyślanin: Świnoujście – Przemyśl Główny (dep. 19:07, arr. 08:39). The Orient-Express of Polish train journeys, a full 1,019 kilometres (612 miles) all the way, linking the south-east and north-west extremes of Poland. Thirteen hours and 22 minutes. A mid-evening start from Świnoujście, but there's a gastronomic wagon (restaurant car) attached. Given the nature of night trains, moving from your compartment to the restaurant means having to arrange this with the sleeping-car attendant. The carriages are delivered to Świnoujście station an hour or so before the departure time, so you can leave your stuff in your sleeping compartment, and dine en route to Szczecin Główny (20:31) before returning to your bunk(s). The train also calls at Poznań, Wrocław, Opole, Kraków and Rzeszów on the way, thus serving six of Poland's 16 provincial capitals. A proper InterCity train with modern sleeper carriages, superior in comfort to the stock used on TLK night connections.

IC 38172 Przemyślanin: Przemyśl Główny-Świnoujście (dep. 19:20, arr. 09:01). The south-east and north-western extremes of Poland linked the other way.

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Finally, there's one extra night train/sleeper service that's been introduced in April – the EC460/IC460  Baltic Express, which runs from Prague (Praha hlavní nádraží) to Gdynia Główna via Wrocław, Poznań and Gdańsk. The  service departs Prague at 18:51 as the EC460, arriving at Wrocław Główny at 22:47, Poznań Główny at 01:23,  and Gdańsk Główny at 04:51. Once over the border into Poland, the train's designation changes to IC469.

Running back to Prague, the IC461/EC461 Baltic Express leaves Gdynia Główna at 23:16, passing through Gdańsk at 23:40, calling at Poznań at 02:49, Wrocław at 04:24, crossing the border to arrive in the Czech capital at 09:06 as the EC461 (the train's designation changes at the border).

The EC/IC460 and IC/EC461 Baltic Express services have sleeper carriages all the way and a restaurant car is attached between Wrocław and Gdynia. The trains are composed of a mix of České dráhy and PKP rolling stock. Apart from this pair of night trains, there are three more pairs of Baltic Express services linking Prague and Gdynia that travel through the day.

Make the most of this, the most ecologically friendly form of travel. Go to bed in one city, wake up in another – result!

This time last year:
It's my money and I'm not intending to spend it

This time three years ago:
As I walked out one midsummer's morning

This time ten years ago:
Central Warsaw rail update

This time 13 years ago:

Poland's night train network

This time 14 years ago:
On a musical note

This time 15 years ago:
Standing stones

This time 18 years ago:
The year nears its zenith

Poland's sleeper-train services for 2025

Yesterday saw the annual change to Poland's (and indeed Europe's) railway timetables. There are minor adjustments throughout the year (9 March, 15 June, 31 August and 26 October 2025), but this is the moment that new services are introduced or old ones axed.

So – how many domestic sleeper-train services are there after the timetable change? Excluding the international sleeper trains, we are down from six pairs to five pairs; two of them start/finish in Warsaw (to/from Świnoujście and Szklarska Poręba Górna); two pass through Warsaw (Gdynia to/from Zakopane; Kraków to/from Kołobrzeg); and one bypasses Warsaw altogether (Przemyśl to/from Świnoujście via Wrocław). Last year, two of the six trains were operated by InterCity with new sleeper carriages, the remaining four were TLK (Twoje Linie Kolejowe, the cheaper brand). This year, two of the TLK services were upgraded to IC; one TLK remains, one has been changed from a sleeper service to an ordinary train that travels by night.

Let's look at the five pairs of Polish sleeper trains in detail.

I'll start with my personal favourite that I've used many times over the years.

IC 18171 Uznam Warszawa Wschodnia - Świnoujście (dep. 22:39 arr. 07:20). An InterCity, rather than a TLK service, with the newer sleeper carriages are now in use on this service. It leaves Warsaw later than in last year's timetable, calling at Szczecin Główny on the way, arriving at 05:29, more convenient for business than the previous 04:16. The Uznam still gets you to the Baltic beach resorts in good time – it passes through Międzyzdroje at 07:07. And it runs all year round.

IC 81170 Uznam: Świnoujście – Warszawa Wschodnia (dep. 22:03 arr. 06:51) is the return service. Leaving an hour later than in the previous timetable, but arriving just ten minutes later in Warsaw, giving you an extra hour in Świnoujście. 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 worked Friday, and be back to the office first thing Monday morning.

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This is another that I've used many, many times, though I've never been beyond Jelenia Góra.

IC 16190 Karkonosze: Warszawa Wschodnia - Szklarska Poręba Górna (dep. 23:24 arr. 08:25). The Karkonosze, which only goes as far as Jelenia Góra in summer, returns to the mountains, calling in at Wrocław (04:16), Wałbrzych Główny (05:57) and Jelenia Góra (06:42) along the way. Upgraded this year to an Intercity (IC) train, you'll no longer find old-style carriages here. If you have an early business meeting in Wrocław, my tip is to sleep on to Wałbrzych, change there to take a local train back, which will give you another couple of hours of rest. Otherwise you'll be spending all that time in Wrocław Głowny's McDonalds until your meeting.

IC 61190 Karkonosze: Szklarska Poręba Górna – Warszawa Wschodnia (dep. 20:27 arr. 04:56). Departing at the same time as last year, the return service arrives in Warsaw more than an hour earlier, lets skiers and hikers get a weekend full of mountain air and get back well before their offices open on Monday morning, having slept on the train. 

If past years are to go by, the Karkonosze will only run between Warsaw and Zielona Góra during the summer months, thereby depriving passengers the possibility of hiking in the mountains in summer.

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IC 38170 Ustronie: Kraków Główny – Kołobrzeg (dep. 21:36 arr. 09:34). 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. You can use this train as a nocturnal connection between Warsaw (dep. 02:30) and Gdańsk (arr. 06:01) and Gdynia, though with three and half hours between the two cities, you'll not get quality sleep time. Two significant changes to this service; as with the Świnoujście services: it has changed from a TLK to an IC, so better rolling stock. Also, it visits Warka (01:25) and Piaseczno (01:45), Warsaw West and Warsaw Central on the way. One of Poland's longer night-train routes, at 887 km.

IC 83170 Ustronie: Kołobrzeg – Kraków Główny (dep. 19:30, arr. 07:46). Passing through Warszawa Wschodnia at 03:00. The train is a useful nocturnal connection for Varsovians needing to be in Kraków for early business meetings. Departs Warka at 04:37 in time for breakfast in Kraków.

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TLK 35170 Karpaty: Zakopane – Gdynia Główna (dep. 21:47, arr. 08:30) At last, track work complete, from the mountains to the sea, 848 km. Not upgraded to IC, so fans of old-school rolling stock can still experience the veneered wood, moquette upholstery and clunkiness. The Karpaty also functions as another nocturnal connection between Kraków, Warsaw and the Tri-City (dep: Kraków Główny 00:45, calling at Warsaw Central at 04:20 and arriving in Gdańsk Główny at 07:58). The Karpaty takes the Częstochowa - Piotrków Tryb. route rather than serving Kielce and Radom. 

TLK 53170 Karpaty: Gdynia Główna – Zakopane (dep: 19:50, arr: 06:39) 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 23:45 and arriving in Kraków at 03:27. 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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Now onto the one sleeper service that skips Warsaw altogether. There was a second one, the TLK 53172  Rozewie (Gdynia Główna to Kraków Główny via Gdańsk, Bydgoszcz, Poznań, Wrocław, Opole and Katowice); this has been replaced by an unnamed InterCity train, the IC 461; it continues beyond Kraków to Rzeszów and Przemyśl, a 12-hour-16 minute journey of 1,009 km, travelling mostly by night – and yet there are no sleeper carriages on this train!

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IC 83172 Przemyślanin: Świnoujście – Przemyśl Główny (dep. 18:57, arr. 08:25). The Orient-Express of Polish train journeys, a full 1,019 kilometres (612 miles) all the way, linking the south-east and north-west extremes of Poland. Thirteen hours and 28 minutes; more than two hours shaved off the previous timetable. Despite the shorter travel time, the current route is longer, substituting Opole for Katowice in last year's timetable. An mid-evening start from Świnoujście, but there's a restaurant car attached. Given the nature of night trains, moving from your compartment to the restaurant means having to arrange this with the sleeping-car attendant. The carriages are delivered to Świnoujście station an hour or so before the departure time, so you can leave your stuff in your sleeping compartment, and dine en route to Szczecin (20:26) before returning to your bunk(s). The train also calls at Poznań, Wrocław, Opole, Kraków and Rzeszów on the way, thus serving six of Poland's 16 provincial capitals. A proper InterCity train with modern sleeper carriages, superior in comfort to the stock used on TLK night connections.

IC 38172 Przemyślanin: Przemyśl Główny-Świnoujście (dep. 19:29, arr. 09:04). The south-east and north-western extremes of Poland linked the other way. 

So: more quality, less quantity. Use it or lose it.

Other than the sleeper trains, the biggest story of the 2025 timetable is the introduction of Pendolino trains to Szczecin via Poznań, cutting journey time to 4h 23m (from over five hours; and back in recent memory, seven hours). Wrocław-Warsaw has been cut to 3h 30m. And a new international service, the IC Baltic Express from Czechia to the sea, and the IC Galicia from Przemyśl to Berlin via Rzeszów, Kraków, Katowice and Wrocław. Polish trains are getting better and better!

This time last year:
UFO/UAP disclosure – current state

This time nine years ago:
A tiny bit of pavement for Karczunkowska

This time 12 years ago:
Welcome to the machine, Mr Kaczyński

This time 14 years ago:
'F' is for 'Franco', not 'Fascist' [Prescient post!]

This time 16 years ago:
Christmas lights: all in the best possible taste

This time 17 years ago:
Letter from Russia

Summer sleepers – night-train timetable update

The railway timetable changed yesterday, and with it came changes to Poland's night-train network. Trains with sleeper carriages are, in my opinion, an excellent way of getting to distant destinations; your ticket is both a means of travel and a bed for the night.

IC 18170 Uznam Warszawa Wschodnia - Świnoujście (dep. 21:53 arr. 07:17). A later start from Warsaw; it means arriving in Szczecin Główny at a reasonable 05:28, about half an hour before opening time at the station's KFC). Arriving at Świnoujście at a humane 07:17, you can get across the Świna on a Bielik ferry, from the other side of the river, it's a 20 minute walk to the beaches. It also calls at Międzyzdroje at 07:07, another resort popular with Germans as well as Poles.

IC 81170 Uznam Świnoujście - Warszawa Wschodnia (dep. 21:07 arr. 06:31) is the return service, taking slightly longer to return to the capital. Taking the Uznam there and back 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 worked Friday and be back in your Warsaw office first thing Monday morning

TLK 16170 Karkonosze Warszawa Wschodnia - Jelenia Góra (dep. 22:02 arr. 07:12). The biggest single change to the summer sleeper-train schedule is that this train now only goes as far as Jelenia Góra, so you cannot travel on to Szklarska Poręba as you can in winter. A popular skiing destination, it seems that in the summer months it's no longer worth PKP's while to take the train beyond Jelenia Góra, which is sad. The train goes through Wrocław (at very early 04:47) and Wałbrzych Miasto (at 06:06) – and is a great way of getting to the fabulous Książ castle before the crowds turn up.

TLK 61170 Karkonosze Jelenia Góra - Warszawa Wschodnia - (dep. 21:02 arr. 06:06) is the train back; again, you can be at your desk in Warsaw first thing Monday morning. 

TLK 38171 Ustronie Kraków Główny - Kołobrzeg (dep. 21:00 arr. 10:44). Seaside-special for folks from Poland's south, which calls Kielce, Radom, Warsaw and the Tri-City and on to the resorts of Ustronie Morskie and Kołobrzeg. The train takes a full hour-and-half longer to do the journey than it did in winter. You can use this train as a nocturnal connection between Warsaw East (01:29) and Gdańsk Główny (05:38), though with four hours between the two cities, you'll not get much quality sleep time.

TLK 83171 Ustronie Kołobrzeg - Kraków Główny (dep. 19:45 arr. 09:12). Passing through Warsaw at 04:11. Again, taking over an hour longer than in the winter timetable.

TLK 35171 Karpaty Zakopane - Gdynia Główna (dep. 20:06 arr. 08:29). Finally, the train runs all the way, without the need for a replacement bus service for the Zakopane to Kraków leg. The Karpaty also serves as another nocturnal connection between Kraków, Warsaw and the Tri-City (dep: Kraków Główny 23:34, calling at Warsaw Central at 04:28).

TLK 53170 Karpaty Gdynia Główna - Zakopane (dep: 19:18 arr 07:42) An unfeasibly early hour for a sleeper to depart, but this makes for a convenient night service for Varsovians heading for the Tatras; it passes through Warszawa Gdańska at 23:03 and Kraków at 04:48. At last the Polish mountains are connected to the Polish sea by night train again.

And now the two sleeper train services that miss Warsaw altogether...

IC 83172 Przemyślanin Świnoujście - Przemyśl Główny (dep. 17:55, arr. 09:08). Fifteen hours and 13 minutes (half an hour quicker than in the winter timetable). The bad-boy of all Polish train journeys, more than 986 kilometres (612 miles) all the way, connecting the south-east and north-west extremes of the country. An early-evening start from Świnoujście, but there's a dining car attached – the Przemyślanin is the only sleeper train with a gastronomic wagon. Given the nature of night trains, moving from your compartment to the restaurant means having to arrange this with the sleeping-car attendant. The carriages are delivered to Świnoujście station an hour or more before departure time, so you can leave your stuff in the sleeping car (it's safe), and dine en route to Szczecin (18:52) or even as far as Poznań (22:14) before returning to your bunk(s). The train also calls at Wrocław, Katowice, Kraków and Rzeszów on the way, thus serving six of Poland's 16 provincial capitals. An InterCity train with modern sleeper carriages, superior in comfort to the stock used on TLK night connections.

IC 38172 Przemyślanin Przemyśl Główny-Świnoujście (dep. 18:15, arr. 10:07). The same route, backwards, and a useful connection (as I once found out) to travel between Kraków to Poznań (dep. 22:14, arr. 04:50), though of course pre-booking is necessary.

Finally, a third service connecting the Kraków with the Tri-City by night, this one skipping Warsaw.

TLK 53172 Rozewie Gdynia Główna - Kraków Główny (dep. 22:36, arr. 08:29) drops down from the coast through Gdańsk, Bydgoszcz, Poznań (02:45) headed to Wrocław (04:58), Opole and Katowice.

TLK 35172 Rozewie Kraków Główny - Gdynia Główna (dep. 19:59, arr . 05:58).  It zig-zags its way back north, again connecting the cities of Katowice, Opole, Wrocław, Poznań, Bydgoszcz and Gdańsk. 

Prices? Essentially, take the price of the normal second-class seat from A to B, multiply by two and half, and add that sum to the price of the seat. So around 300-350 zł tops, minus discounts for age etc. Last month, I payed 220.60 zł for Świnoujście to Warszawa Zachodnia for a two-berth sypialny, for example, with my 30% senior's discount. On the way out, I was fortunate to have the compartment to myself; on the way back another passenger boarded at Szczecin. Three-berth is cheaper; a compartment for oneself is also available, but requires the purchase of a first-class ticket so it works out about twice the price of a two-berth compartment. Couchette accommodation (no bedding, six bunks to the compartment) is the cheapest way. Seat-only night travel by train is excruciatingly awful; avoid it unless you are desperate.

Resources: Here's PKP's online timetable checker. For the phone, I recommend the Koleo app, as well as the clunkier Portal Pasażera app, which has the bonus of showing you in more-or-less real time where your awaited train actually is. Both available on Google Play and no doubt on whatever it is that Apple has. In Polish only, a somewhat dated page from the InterCity.pl website about sleeper and couchette services. This mentions deluxe compartments (single and double) that have an en-suite toilet and shower. Wow, but I've never seen such a thing on domestic services (unless the Przemyślanin has one). 

There's also the international night train. This is the 19:34 departure from Warszawa Wschodnia, the Chopin (Warsaw-Vienna-Munich); attached to it are carriages for three other European capitals – Prague, Bratislava and Budapest. This very long train travels down to Kraków and over the border to Bohumin in Czechia, where the carriages for Prague are detached. The rest of the train continues to Ostrava, where the train is split up further; carriages of the Chopin service continue on their way to Vienna and Munich, whilst the EN407 goes to Budapest via Bratislava. However, it's still impossible to buy tickets for these services via the PKP app. 

This time last year:
Conscience, consciousness and sensitivity

This time two years ago:
Little annoyances and optimising one's life

This time three years ago:
The 13th thirteenth

This time four years ago:

Ghastly June day in London

This time five years ago:
Perfect weather week in Warsaw

This time six years ago:
Further progress is unimaginable

This time seven years ago:
Baletowa reopens as rail works move on

This time eight years ago:
Polish doctors in UK offer new healthcare model

This time 13 years ago:
The closure of the Góra Kalwaria - Pilawa railway link

This time 15 years ago:
My blazing bus pic gets on front page of Gazeta Stołeczna

This time 16 years ago:
Storm clouds rising

Świnoujście – slight return

As I wrote in the previous post, there is no train from Szczecin to Warsaw between 12:29 and 22:54. So rather than hang around in Szczecin from the end of my meeting (around 15:00), I took a train up to Świnoujście. Back again after a mere two and half weeks away!

My train left Szczecin at 15:20, and two and half hours later, having crossed the Świna on the ferry and walked two and half kilometres from the ferry to the beach, I am on a deckchair (in my suit) sipping a locally-brewed Pilsner from Browar Dobosz; warm evening sun on my face, sea breezes, sound of the waves lapping on the shore and seagulls overhead. Bliss. A total connections with summer happiness. 

Below: I must go down to the sea again! Beer consumed, I set off along the path behind the first row of dunes between the beach and the town. A glorious evening. It's getting cooler, so time to put on my Gore-tex jacket.

Below: juvenile herring gull (mewa srebrzysta, Larus argentatus), second-winter bird, head starting to turn white, but body still flecked brown. White with grey wings in adulthood. One of the largest gulls inhabiting the Baltic.

Below: black-headed gull (mewa śmieszka, Chroicocephalus ridibundus), common inland as well as by the sea (Jeziorki's wetlands are home to a noisy colony).

Below: the brisk north-easterly wind tempered the sun's heat and brought out the kitesurfers. Interestingly, whilst I could see dozens of them in the distance looking east, but looking at the German beaches – Ahlbeck and Heringsdorf – I could see just one (visible in the distance).

Below: seaside sublime – a developer's dream from 1956, made real in the 2020s.

Below: only in Świnoujście... ancient electricity infrastructure as heritage monument; a ban on horse-drawn carriages (and therefore horse-droppings in the street).

Below: on my walk back to the quay to catch the ferry back to the station, I take a different route, passing down ulica Hołdu Pruskiego (a typical street name found across Poland's recovered territories). Beautifully restored mansions are where the the posh lived before the war, and where they live today.

Back to catch the ferry, and in time to see the carriages that will form the Uznam night train back to Warsaw (via Szczecin!) draw into the platform. Being half an hour early means I can board the train, get into my compartment and get ready to sleep as the train departs. Below: the express engine backs slowly onto the rake of coaches, as the diesel shunter that has brought them in leaves the station.

I intend to write a post next month with an update of the summer sleeper-train timetables; in the meantime, here's a photo of what can be expected in a two-berth compartment. The new rolling stock, introduced on the Świnoujście service last December, is a vast improvement over the old carriages (the ones with wood veneer interiors). Depending on demand, the sleeper-carriage compartments can be configured for two people or three. The couchette carriage only has compartments for six. I would recommend the two-person compartment, but if none are available, I'd absolutely advise you not to choose the middle bunk. It's claustrophobically cramped. 

But the two-berth compartments are fine. Note the small sink; you get a bar of soap and a face flannel, a half-litre bottle of water, and 70g of sękacz sponge cake. In the morning, the attendant brings a tea or coffee to your compartment half an hour before your destination. Out of shot behind me is a pull-out ladder for access to the top bunk (the lower one's better, but PKP now sells the upper one by default to the first person to book a two-berth compartment, in case someone buys a ticket last-minute). Sleeper carriages are 100% safe; you can lock yourself in and secure the door with a chain too; the attendant's on duty all night long, and the doors are only at one end of the carriage. Book early! 

This time last year:

Czachówek Wschodni and its new, raised, platform

This time last year:
S7 extension progress

This time two years ago:
Town and country

This time eight years ago:
Beautiful May Sunday

This time nine years ago:
Three days – three Polish cities

This time 12 years ago:
Part two of short story The Devil Is In Doubt

This time 13 years ago:
"A helpful, friendly people"

This time 14 years ago:
A familiar shape in the skies

This time 15 years ago:
Feel like going home

This time 16 years ago:
Mr Hare comes to call

Szczecin in the morning

Early morning is the best time to visit. Before the rush hour. And so it was today; arriving in Szczecin at half past five, ahead of an event that started at 10am, I had lots of time for further exploration. Other than two brief trips in 1995 and another in 2016, it's only been recently that I've had the time to get to know the centre of Szczecin well. And the quickest and best way to get to know any place well is on foot. And without too much boasting, I'd add that my knowledge of the city is vastly greater than the typical Pole's, as most of whom have never visited Szczecin – and more's the pity - there's much to see.

My sightseeing yesterday focused on the waterfront and the Oder river boulevards, which I've not previously seen.

Below: seen in dawn's light from the railway station, the Szczecin skyline looking towards the ports.

Below: half an hour later and nearer the port; a skyline of wires, towers and cranes.

Below: Szczecin goes to work. The vehicle in the foreground is a regular bus rather than a trolleybus, but it sharing the tram stop, rather as in Warsaw along aleja Solidarności. In the background, Szczecin Cathedral, dating back to the 12th century.

Below: the 'Red Town Hall' – or new town hall – this one was built in 1879 to replace a smaller building; today it's home to the Maritime Office and Inland Navigation Office, the city hall itself is located in an even bigger building (that from 1933 to 1945 served as the headquarters of the local branch of the NSDAP).

Below: the 'Bastion of the Seven Coats', rebuilt after WW2 in its original form (cylindrical rather than octagonal). The name come from a legend of a tailor, who had been asked to sew seven coats for a princess. He stole some of the material to make his wife a coat too – and for this he was imprisoned in the bastion. It has been allowed to become overgrown with ivy in recent years

 

Below: the half-kilometer-long Chrobry Embankment (Wał Chrobrego), built along the river's escarpment, completed in 1921. Originally named after Stettin's late mayor, Hermann Haken, it was renamed after Poland's first crowned monarch, Bolesław Chrobry (968-1025), son of Mieszko I, first ruler of a unified Polish state. The return to Poland after 1945 of territory up to the Oder and Neisse rivers was followed by a re-naming of many geographical places after the Piast dynasty (of whom Mieszko I was the first). Under the Piasts, Poland extend this far west.

Below: the building of the national museum in Szczecin, which dates from 1913; it was built to house the city's museum.

The national museum building is flanked on either side by a pair of rotundas. Below: this is the one to the left of the museum building (as seen from the front); the other one, its architectural mirror, houses a coffee shop. 

Below: at the north end of the boulevard, beyond the national museum lies the office of the West Pomerania voivodship office.  It's now around half past seven, and a large queue is already forming outside; mostly women, some older men – Ukrainians legalising their stay in Szczecin.

Left: look closely at its weathervane; N-O-S-W – Nord, Ost, Süd, West. Before the war, the building served in a similar role as a German regional administrative headquarters. 

A magnificent maritime structure with lookout tower, observation gallery, and beneath the weathervane, there used to be a time-ball that dropped at midday, so mariners could set their chronometers. [To this day, a time-ball clock is still in use in Edinburgh]

After the conference, I return to Szczecin Główny station. Not, I must add, to catch a train back to Warsaw, no – for the next train from here to Warsaw departs at 22:56. (Would you believe there's not a single direct train for Warsaw from Szczecin between 12:29 and 22:56?) However, I will be on that 22:56 train – except I will have boarded it in Świnoujście where it starts its journey from. More about that in the next post. Below: a local train belonging to Deutsche Bahn, about to set off for Lübeck Hauptbahnhof. Incidentally, the Hanseatic port city of Lübeck, formerly Liubice, was originally a Slavic town, despite lying nearer to Denmark than to the current Polish border. The retaining wall and the building atop it have a Bricktorian Britain vibe to them!

A big thanks to my hosts, the kind folks from Agencja Rozwoju Metropolii Szczecińskiej, in particular for the book Szczecin krok po kroku by Małgorzata Duda, illustrated by Edyta Przystupa, from which I gathered much information about the places I'd visited earlier in the day. A lovely book that I recommend whether you've been to Szczecin or not – yet!

This time four years ago:
Poland, the UK, Covid-19, lockdown and economic recovery

This time five years ago:
Electric cars for hire by the minute

This time eight years ago:
Mszczonów - another railway junction

This time 12 years ago:
The Devil is in Doubt - short story, part I

This time 13 years ago:
Stormclouds are raging all around my door

This time 14 years ago:
Floods endanger Warsaw

This time 15 years ago:
Coal line rarity

More about Poland's sleeper trains [new timetable for 2024]

I've been using the term 'night train', but more accurately I want to write about sleeper trains, where you can travel lying down while travelling by night. I've been on a late train from Wrocław to Warsaw with no sleeper or couchette carriages - a modern Dart multiple unit - having to sit upright from 11pm to 5am was a hellish experience never to be repeated. A sleeper train by definition needs to be loco-hauled, with two or even three carriages specially hitched to a rake of coaches that also includes normal seating (either compartments or airliner-styled). 

Today sees the annual change to Poland's (and indeed Europe's) railway timetables. There are minor adjustments throughout the year, but this is the time that new services are introduced or old ones axed.

So - how many sleeper trains are there after the timetable change? Excluding the international sleeper trains, there are six pairs; two start/finish in Warsaw (to/from Świnoujście and Szklarska Poręba Górna); two pass through Warsaw (Gdynia to/from Zakopane; Kraków to/from Kołobrzeg); and two bypass Warsaw altogether (Przemyśl to/from Świnoujście via Wrocław; Gdynia to/from Kraków via Wrocław). The international trains are the Chopin service from Warsaw to Vienna and Munich, and special trains from Przemyśl to cities in Ukraine.

Let's look at the six pairs of Polish sleeper trains in detail.

IC 18171 Uznam Warszawa Wschodnia - Świnoujście (dep. 21:04 arr. 06:06). Big change here - it's no longer a TLK (PKP InterCity's low-cost brand, using older carriages), it now sports the 'IC' prefix. As I noted last month, new sleeper carriages are now in use on this service. It leaves Warsaw an hour earlier than in the old timetable, and goes through Szczecin Główny (it formerly skirted the city, dropping passengers off at Szczecin Dąbie station, necessitating a change to a local service to get into the city centre). The earlier start from Warsaw isn't convenient; it means arriving in Szczecin Główny at 04:16 (and the sleeping-car attendant wakes you up half an hour beforehand). Still, in summer, the Uznam gets you to the Baltic beaches in good time. It also calls at Międzyzdroje, another resort popular with Germans as well as Poles.

IC 81170 Uznam Świnoujście - Warszawa Wschodnia (dep. 21:01 arr. 06:41) is the return service, taking slightly longer to return to the capital. Taking the Uznam there and back 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 worked Friday and being back to the office first thing Monday morning.

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TLK 16190 Karkonosze Warszawa Wschodnia - Szklarska Poręba Górna (dep. 22:01 arr. 0825). Popular with skiers in winter and hikers in summer, and calling in at Wrocław (04:47) and Wałbrzych (06:34) along the way. You will find old-style carriages here, all veneered wood, moquette upholstery and clunkiness. If you have an early business meeting in Wrocław, my tip is to sleep on to Wałbrzych, change there to take a local train back, which will give you another couple of hours of rest. Otherwise you'll be spending all that time in Wrocław Głowny's McDonalds until your meeting.

TLK 61190 Karkonosze Szklarska Poręba Górna - Warszawa Wschodnia - (dep. 20:27 arr. 06:01). The return service lets skiers and hikers get a weekend full of mountain air and get back to their Warsaw desks first thing Monday morning, having slept on the train.

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TLK 38170 Ustronie Kraków Główny - Kołobrzeg (dep. 21:34 arr. 09:34). Seaside-special for folks from Poland's south, which calls Kielce, Radom, Warka, Piaseczno, Warsaw and the Tri-City to the resorts of Ustronie and Kołobrzeg. You can use this train as a nocturnal connection between Warsaw and Gdańsk, though with less than four hours between the two cities, you'll not get quality sleep time.

TLK 83170 Ustronie Kołobrzeg - Kraków Główny (dep. 20:19 arr. 08:33). Passing through Warsaw at the dead of night, but avoiding Piaseczno and Warka on its way back south (for some reason taking a convoluted way through Pilawa, Dęblin and Pionki before hitting Radom and then the rest of the route as above).

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The Karpaty Zakopane to Gdynia Główna (TLK 35170) doesn't yet fully function due to delayed work on the track between Zakopane and Kraków, which means having to take a bus from the Blackpool of the Tatras down to Kraków, not a heap of fun in the middle of the night. Still, the Karpaty functions as another nocturnal connection between Kraków, Warsaw and the Tri-City (dep: Kraków Główny 00:10, calling at Warsaw Central at 04:40 and arriving in Gdynia Główna at 08:36). It takes the Częstochowa - Piotrków Tryb. route rather than serving Kielce and Radom. On the way back from Gdynia to Kraków, the TLK 53170 Karpaty leaves Gdynia at an unfeasibly early hour for a sleeper service (19:13), passing through Warsaw at 23:05 and arriving in Kraków at 03:32. And thence a bus for Zakopane. One to forget about until the track work south of Kraków is complete and the Polish mountains are connected to the Polish sea by night train again.

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Now on to the two sleeper services that skip Warsaw altogether. Both link Poland's south to the sea, connecting multiple major cities along the way. The first is the Rozewie (Gdynia Główna to Kraków Główny via Gdańsk, Bydgoszcz, Poznań, Wrocław, Opole and Katowice); the second - nicknamed 'Poland's Orient Express' for its sheer length, is the Przemyślanin service that links Przemyśl Główny on the Ukrainian border with Świnoujście on the German border.

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TLK 53172 Rozewie Gdynia Główna - Kraków Główny (dep. 22:38, arr. 08:32) drops down from the coast through Poznań headed to Wrocław, where it splits; here, some coaches travel on to Kraków via Katowice, while coaches for Szklarska Poręba are hitched to the TLK 16190 Karkonosze (see above), and the lengthened train continues on into the mountains.

TLK 35172 Rozewie Kraków Główny - Gdynia Główna (dep. 20:16, arr . 05:58).  It makes its way northward, again connecting the cities of Katowice, Opole, Wrocław, Poznań, Bydgoszcz and Gdańsk. As on the way down, passengers from Szklarska Poręba Górna can travel uninterrupted on to Gdynia, boarding the right carriages of the TLK 61190 Karkonosze, which are detached at Wrocław and hitched to the Rozewie. It is practically impossible to end up on in the wrong sleeper carriages of the Karkonosze, as the attendant checks all tickets on boarding.

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IC 83172 Przemyślanin Świnoujście - Przemyśl Główny (dep. 17:22, arr. 09:06). Fifteen hours and 42 minutes. The bad-boy of all Polish train journeys, more than 986 kilometres (612 miles) all the way. An early-evening start from Świnoujście, but there's a restaurant car attached. Given the nature of night trains, moving from your compartment to the restaurant means having to arrange this with the sleeping-car attendant. The carriages are delivered to Świnoujście station an hour or more before departure time, so you can leave your stuff in the sleeping car, and dine en route to Szczecin (18:52) or even as far as Poznań (22:14) before returning to your bunk(s). The train also calls at Wrocław, Katowice, Kraków and Rzeszów on the way, thus serving six of Poland's 16 provincial capitals. A proper InterCity train with modern sleeper carriages, superior in comfort to the stock used on TLK night connections.

IC 38172 Przemyślanin Przemyśl Główny-Świnoujście (dep. 18:15, arr. 10:07). The south-east and north-western extremes of Poland linked the other way. The same route, backwards, and a useful connection (as I found out) to travel from Kraków to Poznań (dep. 21:29, arr. 04:59), though of course pre-booking is necessary.

I will write a separate post about the Chopin night train that connects Warsaw to Vienna, Prague, Budapest - and now, Munich. The train splits up here and there - it's complicated. But there's enough above to be getting on with. See my recent post about travelling by Poland's sleeper trains (collection of all my older posts also linked to the label night train).

Tonight is the third of 11 evenings when the sun sets over Warsaw at 15:23, the earliest of the year (although the latest sunrises come later in the month). The darkness will pass; with the long days of late spring, the time to travel around Poland begins. Summer holiday season, however, sees sleeper train reservations getting snapped up early, so plan ahead.

Prices? PKP InterCity's online ticket office hasn't yet been updated (Dude, tomorrow's already the tenth, webpage says tickets will be for sale from the seventh of December...). Essentially, take the price of the normal seat from A to B, double it, and add sum that to the normal seat. So around 400-450 zł tops, minus discounts for age etc. I payed 219.90 zł for Świnoujście to Warszawa Gdańska for a two-berth sypialny, for example, with my 30% senior's discount. Three-berth is cheaper, a compartment for oneself requires the purchase of a first-class ticket. Couchette accommodation (no bedding, six bunks to the compartment) is the cheapest. Seat-only night travel by train is excruciatingly awful; avoid unless desperate (or a student).

Resources: Here's PKP's online timetable checker (as I said, can't buy tickets here yet). For the phone, I recommend the Koleo app, as well as the clunkier Portal Pasażera app, which has the bonus of showing you in more-or-less real time where your awaited train actually is. Both available on Google Play and no doubt on whatever it is that Apple has. In Polish only, a page from the InterCity.pl website about sleeper and couchette services. This mentions deluxe compartments (single and double) that have an en-suite toilet and shower. Wow, but I've never seen such a thing on domestic services (unless the Przemyślanin has one).

This time last year:
City-centre notes
[One week living in Warsaw's Nowe Miasto]

This time three years ago:
First snow for ages!

This time four years ago:

Politics and personal responsibility

This time five years ago:
Consciousness, memory and spirit of place

This time six years ago:
Polish Perivale

This time seven years ago:
Power in the vertical

This time 11 years ago:
And still they come [anomalous flashbacks that is]

This time 12 years ago:
Classic glass

This time 13 years ago:
What's the Polish for 'pattern'?

This time 15 years ago:
"Rorate caeli de super nubes pluant justum..."