TRAVELLING BY SUBURBAN TRAIN OR BUS
Suburban trains are the best means of getting around over short distances,
and Warsaw is well served by its own underground system. The Fast City
Railway runs between Gdańsk and Wejherowo. For rail enthusiasts narrow-gauge
railways still operate in some areas. You will find almost all towns and
villages served by local buses or coaches, with bus stations in big cities
usually located near railway stations, and there are buses for longer
international routes. Generally, the transport system in Poland is efficient
and offers good value.
Suburban or commuter routes are served by electric trains, which sometimes
consist of open-plan, double-decker cars. The service is frequent and trains
stop at every station on the route. At station stops, the doors open
automatically. Suburban trains are at their most crowded on weekdays before
8am and after 3pm.
Tickets for journeys by suburban train can be bought at the station – either
from the ticket office or sometimes from a newsagent within the station.
Before boarding a suburban train, passengers are required to punch their
ticket in a machine installed by the entrance to the platforms. Tickets are
checked by conductors during the course of the journey.
The Warsaw metro, the only urban underground rail network in Poland, connects
the northern Warsaw suburbs via the city centre with the large housing
estates in the southern part of the city.
The metro is safe, clean and punctual. Entrances are marked by a stylized red
M on a yellow background. Stations have lifts for disabled people. Tram and
bus tickets are also valid in the metro. Punch your ticket in a machine
before crossing the yellow line marking the limit of the ticket-free
zone.
Smoking on the metro is not allowed.
Warsaw metro sign
A Warsaw underground station
Szybka Kolej Miejska, the Fast City Railway (SKM), operates in Trójmiasto,
the Tri-City of Gdańsk,
Sopot and Gdynia. Trains depart punctually every few minutes and the
destination is marked on the platform boards. A special ticket is needed to
travel on these trains. The reverse is printed with all the stations at
which the train stops. In Warsaw, a Fast City Railway service connects the
western and eastern parts of the city.
Station sign on a Fast City Railway route
Fast City Railway in Trójmiasto
Until the 1990s, narrow-gauge railways were very common in Poland. Today only
a few remain, and these are solely a tourist attraction. Information about
routes is obtainable in railway information offices in the main stations, or
in tourist information centres. An interesting narrow-gauge railway route is
the one that runs from Gąsawa to Żnin, near Bydgoszcz. Beside the track in
Wenecja, there is a Museum of the Narrow-Gauge Railway (Tel: 052 302 51
50 ).
Coaches to international destinations depart from all big cities in Poland,
usually from coach stations near main railway stations or bus stations. For
the cost-conscious, they provide a viable alternative to other forms of
travel, and are operated by several different companies. Timetables are
available in travel agencies; tickets for most international routes can be
bought in Orbis tourist centres.
Coaches run from Polish frontier towns to the nearest towns of neighbouring
countries. Przemyśl coach station has a stop for coaches going to major
cities in the Ukraine, Slovakia and Romania. Przemyśl coach station is also
a good place for starting excursions in the eastern Carpathian Mountains,
which lie beyond the Polish borders.
The Western Bus Station in Warsaw
Most long-distance routes within Poland are served by Polska Komunikacja
Samochodowa (PKS), Polish Motor Transport. The coaches are not very
comfortable and the journey times are usually longer than by train.
In bigger towns, coaches stop for a brief break so that passengers can get
out and stretch their legs. Tickets are available in coach station ticket
offices or from the driver. The seats are seldom numbered. On longer routes,
it may be preferable not to sit at the back of the coach, as this is usually
commandeered by rowdy passengers.
Polski Express is a competitor of PKS; its main coach stops are in Warsaw and
it serves several routes out of the city. One of the Polski Express stops is
at the junction of Ulica Złota and Aleje Jana Pawła II, close to Warsaw’s
Central Railway Station. The other is near Warsaw Okęcie airport.
Polski Express has cheaper fares, comfortable air-conditioned coaches and
pleasant staff. The journey time to places distant from Warsaw, however, is
long, as the route taken is not always the most direct.
A long-distance coach of the Polski Express company
Buses are sometimes the only means of getting to small towns and villages.
The service is punctual and tickets are available from the driver. Before
8am and in the afternoon local buses may be crowded. When planning to visit
a small town or village, it is best to check connections in advance, as
timetables at desolate bus stops are often vandalized and unreadable.
Information on local bus services is available from the PKS telephone
information office and at all major bus stations.
Apart from PKS, private bus companies are becoming increasingly common. The
best source of information about privately run services is by word of mouth
in the particular locality.
PKS logo
A PKS bus, serving local routes
An information board for travellers
Minibus services providing short-distance local connections run in many towns
and tourist spots, and provide an extremely cheap and convenient way of
getting about locally. Minibus fares are usually lower than those on PKS
buses.
The minibus service runs frequently, but the number of seats is limited so,
wherever possible, travellers should plan in advance. Minibus services are
well-organized, particularly in Cracow. They stop near the Main Railway
Station and serve most neighbouring villages, including Wieliczka and
Niepołomice.
The minibus is also a very convenient means of transport in Zakopane, Krościenko, the
Karkonosze Mountains and in other highland regions.
