Bikes on trains

Transporting your bicycle

Bikes are allowed on nearly all trains in Poland. You need an extra ticket for bicycle, costing up to 11 PLN one way for longest possible travel across Poland (usually cheaper).

Many of the trains connecting Warsaw with Olsztyn, Bialystok, Suwalki, Sokolka, Lublin, as well as some to Zwierzyniec, Hrebenne and Przemysl have a special car for bicycles. In 2005, InterCity Wawel from Hamburg and Berlin to Wroclaw, Katowice and Krakow is the only international train with such facilites.

Local electric trainsets (EZT) have special compartments for people with bigger luggage (including bicycles). Look for it at the rear end of the trainset (also in the middle, if the train is double long). In Exotic Poland, most of trains on the lines Warszawa - Siedlce - Terespol and Lublin - Chełm - Dorohusk are EZT.

In other trains, without a special car or place for bicycles, you may put the bike in the last (or first) carriage at the very end or front of the train next to the entrance. If there are more cyclists on the train, it may definitely not be a viable option. Train crew may ask some of you to leave the train in such case and take the next one (although usually they are cooperative). Locking the bike to the door knobs is a good idea, much like dismounting all precious luggage and equipment. This also makes evacuation quicker. At many destinations platforms are very low and pulling the loaded bike out of the carriage may be difficult.

Beware: during the travel you are responsible for your bike and luggage.

Train companies

There are different train companies operating different connections, so buying your ticket you have to be very clear which one you would like to take. The most important are:

- PKP Przewozy Regionalne (PKP PR) - most of local, regional (except Mazovia) and fast trains; all trains shown in the connection list on this site, apart from Ex Malopolska to Przemysl, are operated by PKP PR;

- PKP Intercity (PKP IC) - Express, InterCity, EuroCity and TLK connections, mostly between Warszawa and other big cities (Krakow, Katowice, Poznan, Gdansk).

CAUTION: on night ("hotel") trains with no other carriages than sleeping cars and couchettes, bicycles are not allowed. The company operating sleeping cars and couchettes, oddly named WARS has its own policies on bikes and passengers. Technically, there is less place in WARS carriages for squeezing bikes in than in normal ones. However, small talk with the train crew at the platform may help.