They will break the Polish State Railways' monopoly on a key route. New trains will begin operating in September.

In mid-September, the Czech carrier will enter the Warsaw-Kraków rail route, previously ruled by the state-owned PKP Intercity. Its trains will run daily, initially with one pair per day, but more will be added soon. The launch of these connections was made possible by PKP IC's change of approach to competition.

The RegioJet train from Krakow Główny will depart from September 18th at 8:49 a.m. and arrive in Warsaw East at 12:21 p.m. It will stop in Zawiercie along the way – it will travel that route because the more direct route, railway line No. 8 , is undergoing renovations. This will make the journey approximately half an hour longer than the fastest PKP Intercity trains connecting Krakow with Warsaw.

The Czech carrier has also planned to allow passengers to board and alight at two other stations in the capital: Zachodnia and Centralna. The return journey from Warsaw is scheduled for 2:30 PM, and the train will follow the same route. Until the end of the current timetable in mid-December, only one pair of RegioJet connections per day will operate.

As Radim Jančura, head of the railway company, explained in an interview with Zdopravy.cz, recruitment and training of new employees will continue until the 2025/2026 timetable comes into effect. More courses are scheduled to begin in mid-December, with the full number expected to be launched in 2026.

SEE: Big changes at PKP Intercity. Just before the long weekend.

RegioJet plans to offer the same standard of service in Poland as in the Czech Republic . The trains will be operated by TRAXX MS3 locomotives, with four-class carriages. According to the announcement, the company plans to employ up to 500 people in Poland over the next few years.

The entry of a foreign company onto the Polish domestic route became possible thanks to a change in the approach of the national carrier, PKP Intercity , which stopped requesting an economic equilibrium study that limited the access of foreign companies to routes located within our country.

The Warsaw-Kraków section is one of the most popular routes for PKP IC. Years ago, the state-owned company competed on this route with Koleje Mazowieckie , which operated the "Dragon" train. Now, its competitor will be RegioJet, which currently operates only the international route from Prague to Przemyśl in Poland, for which it does not sell domestic tickets.