REGIOJET is to start test operations between Krakow and Warsaw on September 18 until the official launch of the Czech private operator’s wider Polish open-access passenger services at the 2026 timetable change on December 14.
The aim of the daily trial run is to promote the RegioJet brand and to recruit staff. Eight people will work on RegioJet’s trains: a driver, train manager, two baristas, and four stewards.
RegioJet will commence operation of four open-access services in Poland in December, although these trains will operate in “extended trial mode” until March 31, during which training of more than 300 staff will take place. The first passengers will use the services on April 1 2026:
- Warsaw - Poznań
- Krakow - Warsaw - Gdańsk- Gdynia
- Warsaw - Katowice - Ostrava - Prague, and
- Warsaw - Katowice - Ostrava - Vienna.
Tickets for journeys from April 1 can currently be purchased from RegioJet’s Polish website or in the Regiojet App. Sale points will be established at stations in Krakow, Warsaw and Poznan from the timetable change.
RegioJet’s request to operate open-access services in Poland were approved by rail regulator UTK in 2022. Trains will consist of second-hand RIC coaches and Vectron, Traxx MS2 or MS3 multi-voltage locomotives.
Leo Express to run to Warsaw
CZECH private operator Leo Express has confirmed plans to extend its Prague - Ostrava - Krákow service to Warsaw from March 1 2026.
Trains will run to Warsaw two times per day, with Leo increasing the frequency of the Prague - Krakow service to four times per day. The journey time from Prague to Warsaw Wschodnia is 9h 20min. Trains will take 2h 44min from Kraków Główny to Warsaw Wschodnia.
Arriva wins Polish PSO contract
ARRIVA has signed new agreements with the Kujawsko-Pomorskie region to operate services on the currently dormant Brodnica - Rypin and Wierzchucin - Laskowice lines from December 2026.
Arriva will restore service to the Brodnica - Rypin line for the first time in 26 years and the first time in five years on the Wierzchucin - Laskowice line. Together, the routes will deliver around 320,000 train-km annually, with a minimum of six return journeys per day. The contract is worth approximately €5m.
Arriva already delivers 50% of regional rail services in Kujawsko-Pomorskie, covering over three million train-kilometres annually. Arriva says the expansion strengths its position in the Polish market and supports the group’s strategy to make public transport more attractive and connect communities.
It adds that rolling stock for the new services will be sourced from its wider European network.
