Travel by train in Poland?
 

How good is train travel in Poland? I'd like to go from Warsaw to Gdansk, Torun, Wroclaw and back to Warsaw.

Are trains regular? Do they pretty much measure up to trains in other European countries?

On mainlines like you seem to be taking they are but sidelines IME can be rather third worldish though quickly improving - you are not going to Krakow? Maybe been there done that but that is the gem of Poland. They may be some kind of Poland Railpass that lets you hop any train anytime not sure.

For lots of goodies on European trains - www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

Yes, I've been to Krakow and loved it, but now I want to see more of Poland. Until I bought some guidebooks I had no idea of how beautiful the cities are.

One of the Gonzaga basketball players--"Shemek" Karnowski--comes from Torun. Ever since I read the descriptions of the city in Lonely Planet, I've been wondering what he thinks of homely old Spokane.

P.S. Palenque, thanks for the info. Once again I'm impressed by your knowledge of European travel.

Train travel in Poland isn't the greatest. But it's fine. Check out polrail.com. It is a commercial site, but will give you lots of info on Polish trains. I was on a tight schedule and ended up using them as a booking service as I didn't have a lot of flexibility and didn't want to risk sold-out trains.

consider first class in Poland as there is a world of difference IME and fifrst-class seats seem never to sell out - in fact oft lots of empty seats IME - esier to put your bags on a nearby seat - all in all a much more relaxed ride.

You can check train times and buy online at www.intercity.pl

Poland's air-conditioned IC (InterCity), EIC (InterCity Express) and now their brand-new 125mph bullet-nosed EIP (InterCity Express Premium) have both 1st & 2nd class, and they're as good as anything in western Europe.

2nd class is fine, no need to go 1st class unless you're not bothered about the extra cost.

Poland's second-rank TLK trains are older, cheaper, and usually non-A/C. Perfectly fine, but more basic and reminiscent of what you'd expect in the old Iron Curtain days.

Video of EIP - these run on the Krakow-Warsaw-Gydnia/Gdansk route. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1vAibdt_FI

Sorry I can't help with train travel but I hope this will be useful:

http://torundailyphoto.blogspot.ca/

http://www.toruntips.com/

Mark

2nd class may be fine but first class is much finer - unless on a low-starvation budget pay the relatively extra for first class as Man in Seat 61 often says he does and has admitted before on Fodor's he 'is an aficiando of first class' and for good reason IME no matter what the train no matter where. Well that's my take after decades of incessant European rail travel.

Thanks for the advice, all. I'm spending so much dough on this trip that extra for first class won't bother me.

Polish trains can be slow and old. So it's not the same as other modern/richer countries, but some routes are probably fine. I took it from Germany to Wroclaw and then Wroclaw to Krakow, and those trains were old and very slow. They were on time, as far as I recall, though.

I took a train from CR to Krakow another time and it was a really nice modern train but it originated in Vienna, so wasn't the Polish rail system, as I recall.

christina - Man in Seat 61 gives updates and pictures of the newer rolling stock - just as nice as any European trains on those main lines - last time I went my trains were like yours - old and nice but slow - compared to the rest of Europe they are still slow I'm sure as there is no all-new high-speed rail tracks I think that are necessary for true high-speed trains and cost a fortune to built.

In 2012, I traveled by train from Gdansk to Torun, Torun to Wroclaw, and Wroclaw to Krakow (plus a day trip to Malbork castle from Gdansk by train).

All of the trains I rode were old, several decades old most likely, but I had expected that and wasn't surprised or disappointed. I was also in first class whenever possible; our train from Torun to Poznan (where I was to change to a train to Wroclaw) had a problem that forced them to remove the 1st class car entirely (also delaying us an hour) and forcing all 1st class passengers to find seats in 2nd class. The train wasn't full so not that hard, but many people resented us invading their compartments after they'd settled in.

The Polish trains were adequate. Definitely go 1st class all the way - equivalent to 2nd class in other European countries and not very expensive (but not that nice). 2nd class on a Polish train (at least on all of the trains I rode) means a compartment with four seats on each facing bench - a little crowded if the train were full.

There are cheap express buses from Wroclaw to Krakow that I didn't know about at the time - they shave about 90 minutes off the travel time to Krakow. The train to Krakow was comfortable but the views weren't particularly scenic. I usually don't like long bus rides, but maybe if I were going back to do it again I'd take the bus to Krakow.

Hopefully since 2012 as Man in Seat 61 says above new rolling stock are much more up to western European standards than those you and I have experienced - old trains like I first rode on in the 70s in western Europe. But I suspect not all.f

We went first class from Krakow to Wroclaw because I was not sure that 2nd class would not be full. We had the compartment to ourselves. The seats appeared to have been reupholstered but the WC was unusable.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca...57630751237938