As reported by PKP PLK:
The timetable adjustment will be in effect from Sunday, March 10 to June 9 this year. PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe S.A., together with carriers, have planned the connections in a way that makes the best use of the railway lines’ capacity while providing contractors with conditions to continue their work.
Faster to Zakopane
From March 10, the travel time from Warsaw to Zakopane will be shorter – the journey will take 4 hours 44 minutes. The fastest train from Kraków to Zakopane will take 2 hours 17 minutes, while the journey from Zakopane to Kraków will take 2 hours 14 minutes. This is the result of work by PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe S.A. on the so-called railway Zakopianka. After the March adjustment, most connections between the country’s largest cities will still have attractive travel times. The fastest train will cover the route from Kraków to the Tricity in 4 hours 52 minutes, from Warsaw to Gdańsk in 2 hours 29 minutes, from Warsaw to Poznań in 2 hours 29 minutes, from Lublin to Warsaw in 1 hour 45 minutes, and from Bydgoszcz to Warsaw in 2 hours 56 minutes.
New rail connections
PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe S.A. have completed work related to the construction of the so-called Kartuzy bypass, consisting of preparing a total of 15 km of railway lines no. 234 on the Gdańsk Kokoszki – Stara Piła section and no. 229 on the Stara Piła – Glincz section. From March 10, it will be an alternative route connecting Kartuzy with Gdańsk and, once modernization of line no. 201 Bydgoszcz – Tricity begins, it will serve as a detour during track closures. Six pairs of trains will run along the Kartuzy bypass each day. The average journey from Kartuzy to Gdańsk Wrzeszcz will take approximately 50 minutes. As part of the project, PLK S.A. rebuilt platforms at the Gdańsk Kokoszki, Leźno, Stara Piła and Żukowo Zachodnie stations and stops. The facilities have also been adapted to the needs of people with reduced mobility.
Better access to railways from new stops
In the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, trains will stop at new stops in Kołobrzeg, Świdwin and Goleniów. The Kołobrzeg Radzikowo and Świdwin Zamek stops were built as part of the “Government program for the construction or modernization of railway stops for 2021–2025,” while the Goleniów Park Przemysłowy stop was built as part of the construction of the Szczecin Metropolitan Railway. Passengers will use facilities adapted to the needs of people with reduced mobility.
In the Łódź Voivodeship, passengers will board trains at the new Stare Grudze stop on the Łódź – Łowicz route, which will replace the Grudze stop. The new, higher platform is located closer to the railway-road crossing. This change will give residents better access to rail services. Until now, trains stopped several hundred metres farther away.
In the Pomeranian Voivodeship, better access to rail services will be provided by the new Otomino stop on the Gdańsk – Kartuzy route (the so-called Kartuzy bypass), between the Stara Piła and Żukowo Zachodnie stations. The facility’s location near the railway-road crossing will provide easy access to trains heading towards the Tricity, Żukowo and Kartuzy.
In the Greater Poland Voivodeship, the March adjustment will make the new Patrzyków stop available to passengers between Kramsk and Konin on the Warsaw – Poznań line. The stop was built using funds from the “Government program for the construction or modernization of railway stops for 2021–2025.”
In the Lesser Poland Voivodeship, another platform (no. 1) at the new Nowy Sącz Gorzków stop will be opened, along with an underpass providing safe access to the train.
Investments and changes to train services
The company adds: – The timetable adjustment makes it possible to optimally plan long-distance, regional and metropolitan connections, while continuing investment and maintenance work. Some works require changes to traffic organization. Due to the next stage of work on the Central Railway Main Line, whose result will be trains running at over 200 km/h and therefore shorter journeys, travel times, including from Warsaw to Kraków and Katowice, will be longer by several to more than a dozen minutes. This is related to the implementation of the ETCS Level 2 system. On the section from Grodzisk Mazowiecki to Psary, the fastest trains will run at up to 160 km/h.
It also adds: – Due to the construction of a tunnel in Sulejówek, Mazovia, there will be changes to suburban and metropolitan train services.
It further explains: – The start of work on the construction of the Oława Zachodnia stop in Lower Silesia requires replacement bus services for some regional trains on the Lizawice – Oława section. All changes on the railway network have been included in the timetable. Carriers also provide information about changes to train services on their websites – for example, https://www.intercity.pl/pl/site/o-nas/dzial-prasowy/aktualnosci/pkp-intercity:-marcowa-korekta-rozkladu-jazdy-2023/2024.html.
Information for passengers
It is worth checking the timetables before travelling. Detailed information about the current train timetable is available at stations and stops, online at portalpasazera.pl, rozklad-pkp.pl, https://www.intercity.pl and in the Portal Pasażera and Rozkład-PKP mobile apps. Train departures and arrivals are also displayed on boards and information kiosks at stations.