Poland CHEAPEST trains are actually GREAT! (and how to get first class for free)
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- čas přidán 12. 06. 2024
- Follow me on Twitter / intercitysimon
Today, I'm taking you on a trip with PKP Intercity, the Polish national railway operator, from Piła to Gdansk onboard their low-cost discount TLK train services. With fares starting at incredibly low prices, you might wonder if these old and worn-out trains are as bad as you would expect. Watch the video to find out!
Train type: SU4210 + random TLK wagons
Route: Piła to Gdansk Wrzeszcz
Train: TLK 85110
Distance: 260 km
Journey time: 3h40m
Average speed: 59 km/h
Price: 59 PLN
Fun fact, TLK trains are not really cheaper than at least IC category trains (especially after the fairly recent Intercity price reform, basing them on the demand, not on buying in advance), but they still exist, because many routes don't offer any alternative and don't demand higher standards. So is the case with railway line no 203 "Ostbahn" between Krzyż and Tczew. Or they're just there so the service on popular lines is constant, but they lack the rolling stock to upgrade it
Polish train exteriors and windows always look so clean and polished whereas Amtrak train exteriors are usually dirty.
hehe, "polish"
Shit happens
Most of the carriages in the film are quite new or recently renovated. Many local lines still use old trains as dirty as Amtrak ;)
@@MichalKaczorowski Yeah, Old History, Old Dust, (Old time table?) Old fashoned sniffing.
We Cats and also Dogs needs to sniff. We don't read papers. Sometimes we sniff them.
Do something that it will stay ! Thanks!🐶🐭🙀😼
It's just like a big car wash, they go through them every now and then.
ticket prices in poland are generally pretty low across the board. you can expect to pay about the same price for a ride in one of these old soviet carriages as for one in a new dart/flirt. except for pendolino, if you wanna go these 40 km/h faster you gotta pay 4-5x the regular ticket price. but you do get a water bottle so i suppose that makes it just about worth it.
I am really happy that you enjoyed it! I love this train as well. If you like such vibes I also reccomend you traveling with TLK Flisak train from Gdynia Główna to Katowice (incredible route through local lines of northern Poland) and TLK Biebrza train from Warszawa to Gdynia Główna (great route around north eastern Poland).
Thanks for the tips! I will deffo be back in Poland to take more trips on the trains there!
@@Simon-Andersen Is it possible too stack kilometers there, so you'll regain them here is that what is called niemcy ??
"And should you have too many beers from the cafe while you wait for your train"
Selling alcohol is banned in railway station buildings in Poland :\
Aww that's a shame! But thanks for the info
Everything looks so clean. Even the locomotive sparkles 😊
ALARMci: Tell anybodi the polish, that a train is not an OP please!
Some German Empire Trainz You can't run at 5,00 o Clock or in the opposite at 4,44 o Clock.
They are disgusting for nothing. 00-Abflußfrei, BASSF, Baierdorf, Monsanto, Domestos st. E Domino, BODE-Chemie (it is called "AUTOSEPT" not "Trainsept" and is not a septuaghinta),
Meyer-chemie GmbH, BAYER Leverkusen, Höchst, any Weapon oil !!
Why I love the companyname "Prockter & Gamble" ??
At first it sounds through my german Lexicon in the brain, then I sort it in doctors-german-language, and it sounds like Procktologie and Gambeling in the Ass.
YOU must double Your nutribles and have a stoolrun in doubled date, for this You need 10 too 20% more oxigenium. too compensate this astronomic cleaning. Bäähh
Let me vommitting
We need to cut "Personenzüche" from Real Life Trainz again!!
Cats gets an Nose-ache since this cleaning
That's because it was recently modernized but without making it any faster.
I enjoyed seeing it very much this time as well.
Thank you for delivering a wonderful video.
Also, thank you for explaining the toilet in detail.
I'm looking forward to the next delivery.
This is actually quite nice compared to EN series that hasn't been modernized. I haven't seen them since I took the train to Zakopane and I hope no one else ever does.
TLK is the class of train where, for a cheaper ricket price, you get a museum experience 😂
But as youce said, despite the lack of AC and old toilets, it does work.
Nobody has AC at home in Poland, why would we need AC in trains ;) There's like 2 weeks a year when it's needed.
I'm also looking forwards to taking a TLK when I'm in Poland next year.
Just the concept itself is really cool
I would recommend an IC-Train with an Wars-Restaurant. Best way to enjoy Poland by train.
@@konstantinaschmidt8840 I mean yeah, they are more modern and faster, but not as unique at least to me
@@konstantinaschmidt8840 "WARS" ??? "....🎵🎶.....dann wird 🎵🎶***** ***** ****....." I believe that must be censored !!💤🎵🎶🎵🎶🔥
Another great video. I have been to Kostrzyn. When DB close the mainline to Frankfurt Oder, when they do engineering works, some Berlin to Warsawa trains get diverted via the Ostbahn to Kostrzyn before travelling to Rzepin and regaining the original route. I rode such trains with DB 232 and DB 234 diesel locos, and PKP 370 electric locos. Regards from London England.
You have had some intresting rail expirences! Thanks for watching and sharing
My pleadure. I have done most of DSB (your home country). Loved the Litra ME, MZ, MT, EA, and I have ridden in the cab of a MY albeit in Hungary.
Hi, do you need to validate your e-ticket before boarding? Cant seem to find info on this. Thanks!
I don't know. I was travelling on a PKP staff pass. I have never used an e-ticket.
I love these trains especially TLK Flisak, I had a ride on it last year it was a blast
Great video! You should come check out the trains in Scotland, and see the amazing views offered on some of the lines.
I wanna come to Scotland in the future
Indeed! So many excellent routes...
@@Simon-AndersenScotland has the West Highland Line, which is seen by many as the World's Most Beautiful Railway
Great video! And I really appreciate how you try to pronounce Polish names correctly
Facts: 1:31 Yea you can buy ticket 1 month before planned departure and you should do it in IC and TLK trains if you want to have a seat or when you are with a family
3:00 good luck with opening these doors in winter
3:10 Moment when 1st class car is a 2nd class is when it's summer. On Vacation I saw many TLK with 1st class as 2nd class.
this is a shunting locomotive
On a very long shunting job 😂
The current PKP standard is to order second class with 6 seats per compartment. Any railcar with 8 seats per compartment was last renovated pre-2005, and now only appears on TLK class trains.
Which is a great improvement!
pre-2007 ;)
Great reportage. Congratulations
Glad you enjoyed it!
When you showed us toilet i was very surprised, i remember travelling by train very often a couple of years ago, all the way from southern Poland to Gdańsk, back then, the toilets were incredibly dirty, and the smell in the toilet could be withstanded by someone with hazmat suit 😅. Good to see that our trains improved
contrary to popular wisdom, things can actually change for the better :)
In general train tavel in Poland, at least on PKP in my experience has been good!
Wow, fantastic price!
Good old-fashioned lavvies, the track-gangers turn the other way when a train goes past 🙂
Amtrak should watch your videos and learn from these European train companies ❤
Was there any bathroom reviews or i just missed it?
Thanks Mark! Its at 5:21 i could never miss a bathroom review, thats essential to the video 😂
@@Simon-Andersen 😂
The Ostbahn railway line was once one of the main trunk lines in Prussia. Already before the First World War, steam trains from Berlin to Königsberg and Gdańsk ran there with the V120, reaching an average speed of 97-100 km/h between the Tczew-Chojnice-Piła stations. The line has a very good geometric profile. v160 would be easy to get there. Unfortunately, after many years, the line is now of secondary importance and the fact that this V90 train runs there is embarrassing.
These trains are the best
Great video! Unfortunately, sorry to dissapoint you, but Łąg is not pronounced Lag but 'Wong" in Polish :D
I had a hunch that might be the case, but i hope the joke was funnier :D
Przydałaby się elektryfikacja linii kolejowej nr 203 i miejmy nadzieję, że wkrótce będzie zrealizowana aby poprawić połączenia kolejowe w tych regionach przez które biegnie Ostbahn.
Ahhhhh here it comes LAG. 05:00
Przyjazd na stacje łąg (Godzina 19:39)XD.
i spent 7 hours on one of these except it had an 8 seat compartment, so squeezed. From Gdynia to lodz. The 7 hours was hell considering it went like 30 mph the whole way making so many stops, but i guess thats what you get when you pay for a cheap ticket
That sounds terrible but yeah i hope the ticket was cheap!
normal time for route Gdańsk - Łódź (both via Toruń or Warsaw) is ~5h, just one train get it longer because it's not designated for "A to Z" travel, but for on-way cities like Grudziądz, Sierpc and Płock - if you're taken this one, the only posible for so slow journey on diesel-powered route (but still with 50-60 mph, your speed impress was wrong), it's only about READING the schedule and not choosing the chaepest or just nearest train ;)
@@Simon-Andersen about £15 for two people so it was very cheap, but it was a new experience I suppose
I use Polish railways and try to avoid TLK whenever possible. They're just worse compared to the IC ones with a price that's very much comparable. TLK also makes much more stops along the route which makes it unpleasant on longer journeys.
Also, if I'm not mistaken PKP said they will stop the TLK services in the next few years.
I haven't heard that they are canceling TLK but I guess the stock is getting old
@@Simon-Andersen It has been announced. Most of these coaches can operate at 160 km/h, however, and PKP announced a modernisation tender for another 150 of these older coaches, where the doors will be upgraded to push button and vacuum toilets installed, and many old 1st class compartment coaches are being converted to 2nd class open seating coaches. The problem is the class EU07 locomotives in passenger service, which are only capable of 125 km/h (while many tracks have been recently upgraded beyond that speed), and will likely remain in service well into the 2040s, as about two thousand total of EU07/ET22/ET41 were built, most parts of which are common between them, thus spare parts are still available from scrapped units.
@@Simon-Andersen Until around 2014 or so, PKP Intercity operated only two categories of trains: TLK that received a public funding and EIC that were operated commercially. Then a couple of things happened at the same time. The introduction of Pendolino high-speed train freed up a number of EIC coaches, Dart and Flirt EMUs were introduced, as well as upgrades to existing coaches. So it was decided separate the subsidised trains into older TLK and modern Intercity classes, both sharing the same ticket prices. TLK would be then gradually phased out as new rolling stock gets introduced. The initial goal for this was 2021, but because of delays and cancelled bids, they are now expected to be discontinued around 2026 or 2027.
I have surprise for you: your carriage was additional (they had only 1st class so declassed it by sheets on outside doors), it ride mostly on sunday, rest of week this train have 2 cars! But if we look how less inhabited is the "borderland" between Pomerania and Wielkopolska it's not so strange
I think i took it on a Saturday, from what i can tell its a bit random when they add it or not, but it will show up on the PKP seatmap :D
Thank you for another excellent video. Keepem koming!
5:02 😂😂😂
Excellent video; thanks. My favourite country for trains/Mój ulubiony kraj dla kolei...
Thank you! Poland is also one my favorites!
You forgot Gdańsk Oliwa on map.
Well spotted, thanks for pointing out
@@Simon-Andersen I live in Gdańsk.
Pretty loco.
7:29 and now the 1st willbe last one and last one will be 1st one
indeed
TLK really has the same price as IC usually…
Intresting!
@@Simon-Andersen that's true just because the price list for PKP is not creating by the operator, it comes from political offices together with "Public Service Contract" which include the biggest subsidy in European Union; so the TLK brand is just like information for passengers: this train have lowest standard
Old and slow ... Considering much of the line would allow 100 to 120 km/h (Tczew to Gdansk even faster) I wonder why they couldn't upgrade the diesel locomotive to higher speeds.
90 km/h appears very slow for an intercity train.
The fastest diesel locomotives in Poland are the 10 SU160 (Pesa Gama) for 140 km/h. They also had SU45 and SU46 for 120 km/h (from the 1960s/70s) but they were all retired in recent years.
PKP-IC ordered 17 dual power locomotives from Pesa (to be delivered 2025) so perhaps these will speed up the trains on non-electrified lines a bit. Apparently electrification between Kostrzyn and Piła is being worked on so this would be a good line for a dual power train.
Then again it's not just the locomotives. The line from Piła to Tczew is mostly straight and flat but only allows 100 km/h. As you show the signalling systems are ancient so that's probably what needs to be upgraded (and new welded track laid).
Poland's worst trains you say? Not at all. There are way worse trains in Poland. TLK trains are more or less IC trains. They just stop more often, run on smaller lines sometimes and may offer slightly older coaches (but not always). But they cost the same and run with more or less the same stock. There are still trains that run with 1950's stock that are worn down and aren't kept clean that well. Btw, on normal weekdays TLK58110/85110 "Bory Tucholskie" runs with only 2 carriages ;)
Doesn't Polregio run Interregio trains on some lines? Are they even cheaper?
@@uncipaws7643 Yes, a few. And they should be cheaper, although because of the ticketing system the IR's doesn't have to be cheaper than TLK's.
I don't even know how to correct your Łąg pronunciation... just never mind. "Uoang" I guess? :D I had to make a double take on the lag joke "whait what... oh it see".
"Wong" is correct pronounciation.
Part of the famous Prussian Ostbahn between Berlin and Königsberg!
"Łąg" should be pronounced like "Wong" with a nasal sound in the middle :)
Probably but that would not make the joke :D
yea! Lag!
(Kashubian: Łãg, German: Long, 1942-45 Schönhain)
Population 1,135 Laggers!
Try to say Trzcianka xD
Ha, love that gamers joke
Cheapest trains are Polregio...
Oh no .... it's the same that you are happy with the absolute minimum ...
Well, Łąg would be pronounced more like Ughaughh, lol Ł and ą letters are completely different than L and a :)
But that ruins the joke and thats not fun :D
@@Simon-Andersen I know, but we Polish gamers also use word LAG when it lags, so the joke makes sense only in English :D
All polish trains are better than English trains.
Yeah no shot
well, you haven't seen most of the fleet used by PolRegio. It consist mostly of EN-57, which are all approaching age of my retired father and are just pain to ride. They may be acceptable in suburban transit (however due to low door count and steps designed to service low platforms they are not so compatible with such use) but longer routes are just torture.
What i say is strictly personal. Do not spread. Read todays comments on Pak Railgrapy n c the Makkah Madina 40 mts video - 7 months ago. I am very scared of this country n its ppl. They go out of their way to create problems for me. Pls respect my privacy.
The train service was started not by the Poles or Germany but by the Kingdom of Prussia (the Prussian Eastern Railway.)! that's a long time ago!
a roundhouse survives from this era ---- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okr%C4%85glak_roundhouse_in_Pi%C5%82a
the station itself survives from the era of King Frederick Wilhelm IV
Piła is a Polish word meaning "saw". This was a typical name denoting a village of woodcutters belonging to a local noble. The German name Schneidemühl means "sawmill"
Polands train may not look like good but they are actually much better! Higly reccomend trying From Poznań główny. here u can see alot of polish trians to go on next! such as ED160 , ED72 , EN57 EDR32 , SU22 , SU33 , SU 44 , SM 42 , SM 33 , SM 44
I have just been to Poznan actually! Great place for trains