PKP Intercity loses a monopoly. A Czech carrier enters the Polish tracks
The Polish carrier will have a Czech competitor on the most profitable railway route in Poland – between Warsaw and Krakow.
– We are not going to block private carriers to the Polish market. Competition is the best tool to improve the offer, and thus serves passengers well – said Janusz Malinowski, president of PKP Intercity in September 2024.
On September 18, 2025, the Czech regiolet will launch a regular connection between Krakow and Warsaw. At the beginning he will offer one pair of trains a day. The first composition will leave Krakow at 8:49, and it will reach the Warsaw Wschodnia station at 12:21. Along the way, it will stop only in Zawiercie. In Warsaw – at the West and Central Station. It will go back at 14:30.
The Czech Regiojet will offer one pair of trains to start with
Regiet has been seeking the Polish market for over five years, but Poland has been defending itself against foreign competition on the long -distance market, which is why until now, Regiojt has only served international connections from Prague to Przemyśl, without the possibility of selling tickets for domestic transport in Poland.
In Zdpravy.Cz, the owner of the company Radim Jančura gave more details: in the first months, i.e. until the end of the current timetable, only one pair of Czech trains will run, because the Czechs must train more staff, and conduct a promotional campaign.
According to Transinfo.pl, it is planned to launch half of the target number of connections from December, and the Czech carrier wants to introduce the full offer in 2026.
Regiojet is already looking for Poles willing to work
The Czech train will be a slightly slower connection at the beginning than those offered by PKP Intercity. The composition will pull the Traxx MS3 locomotive. The standard of services is to correspond to what the company provides at commercial connections in the Czech Republic – including On-board service, free Wi-Fi and comfortable seating places. The ticket price is still unknown.
Regiojet also plans to employ about 500 people in Poland and is already looking for railwaymen willing to work. Job offers in Polish can be found on the website of the Czech carrier (regojet.pl) in the career tab.
