First, connections from Kłodzko to Stronie Śląskie via Lądek-Zdrój were launched on a pilot basis. The buses set off toward Śnieżnik in September 2022 and immediately improved transport links in the Kłodzko Land. More than five thousand passengers used the service in just one month, and that number has grown every year.

– As many as 10,000 people a month use Koleje Dolnośląskie buses running to Lądek-Zdrój and Stronie Śląskie. In addition to serving tourism in the Kłodzko Land, they primarily support daily commutes to school and work – says Paweł Gancarz, Marshal of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, adding: – We are already building a railway line to Lądek-Zdrój and Stronie Śląskie, which will make this beautiful region, so popular with tourists from all over Poland, even more attractive.

Indeed, each successive year has been increasingly impressive for line D92 in terms of popularity: last year, 111,000 passengers used the rail replacement bus service, while in September 2025 alone the number exceeded 11,000 travelers. When the pilot project proved a resounding success, two more bus lines were launched in Lower Silesia.

Residents of Syców and Góra are choosing Koleje Dolnośląskie more and more often!

Just as the line to Stronie Śląskie immediately showed enormous potential—particularly for tourism—the two subsequent lines, from Rawicz to Góra and from Oleśnica to Syców, were primarily intended to connect towns with limited public transport access to the railway network.

– We restore bus connections as rail replacements to towns not served by trains, and the entire journey takes place on a single rail ticket. This is very convenient, because you can buy a ticket from Warszawa Centralna or Wrocław Główny to Syców or Góra. More and more people are using these connections; when comparing individual periods, we are seeing increases of more than 40% in passenger numbers – says Michał Rado, Deputy Marshal of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, responsible, among other things, for rail transport.

The “rail replacement bus” system is one of three in Poland introduced by railway companies. However, it is the only one fully included in railway timetables, and its stops

are included in the railway database. As a result, travelers need only one ticket for the entire journey—exactly as if they traveled by train along the entire route.

Rail replacement buses offer many benefits

Including KD buses in railway systems brings considerable benefits, not only in terms of ticketing options. If a train on the route is delayed, the bus to Syców or Góra will wait for passengers. Conversely, bus services are coordinated with train connections. Passengers recognize these benefits and are increasingly choosing Koleje Dolnośląskie for the final legs of their journeys to their towns.

– Demand for this line is growing, and I hope that this connection will soon move “onto the tracks.” The line to Syców is currently being revitalized, as we know. Even now, however, growing numbers of residents are using the rail replacement buses because the connections are coordinated in Oleśnica with trains continuing toward Wrocław Główny – says Łukasz Kuźmicz, mayor of Syców.

Nearly 40,000 travelers used the Oleśnica–Syców service via Cieśle, Poniatowice, Jemielna Oleśnicka and Stradomia in 2025. The Rawicz–Góra section recorded more than 33,000 travelers.

– From June onward, however, we expect to see an even greater increase in passenger numbers here, because the launch of KD Sprinter services on the Wrocław–Leszno section significantly shortened travel times from Góra to Wrocław. Thanks to the possibility of changing trains in Bojanowo, the journey now takes as little as 1 hour and 11 minutes – says Damian Stawikowski, president of Koleje Dolnośląskie.

Rail replacement buses operate on three Lower Silesian routes: from Kłodzko to Lądek-Zdrój and Stronie Śląskie, from Oleśnica to Syców, and from Rawicz via Bojanowo to Góra. The buses have a conductor who can sell a ticket for travel both by bus and onward by train.

Koleje Dolnośląskie is a railway operator serving four voivodeships and three countries. As Rzeczpospolita calculated some time ago, Lower Silesia has the fastest regional trains in Poland. The latest Elfs, of which the Lower Silesian operator ordered 55 vehicles, can reach speeds of up to 160 km/h, while KD Sprinter services connect the largest cities along the line, often offering travel times comparable to or even faster than Intercity.