Poland’s new LOW-COST train company is revolutionary – here’s why!

Poland’s new LOW-COST train company is revolutionary – here’s why!

Poland’s railways are already some of my favourite 
in the world, and today I’m going to be taking YOU on the revolutionary new LOW-COST train company 
that looks to make the experience EVEN BETTER. This is RegioJet, a privately 
operated Czech company, launching express services 
between Kraków and Warsaw. I’ll be taking you on-board, for a ride in 
their affordable Business Class compartments, and finding out if this new 
operator has what it takes to compete with the current PKP Intercity trains… Hello and welcome to the beautiful city of 
Kraków here in Poland. Today I’m going to be taking a very special journey, as I’m 
travelling with RegioJet up to the Polish capital city – Warsaw. Now for the longest 
time, all long-distance train services in Poland have been operated by the state operator, 
PKP Intercity. However, today is the launch of this new private competition. I’m going to be 
travelling in their Business Class, and hey, it looks like it’s going to be a beautiful 
day for travelling by train. Let’s go! Good morning from just outside the main station 
here in Kraków, in my opinion, Poland’s best city! The grand affair you see before 
me is the old station building, opening in the 1840s, though nowadays 
this serves no function for passengers. The station was heavily upgraded in 2006, 
with the opening of an adjacent shopping mall, then followed by a new ticket hall located 
beneath the present day platforms in 2014. The modern station is accessed by this 
footpath, a hidden gem of the city that most passing commuters never stop to appreciate. 
It’s especially good if you like watching trains! Now this station is not exactly my 
favourite in the world, with its layout being so complex that 
various maps are dotted around. Once you’re done navigating the various 
tunnels and passageways, there’s a large variety of shops and cafés, and of course fast 
food outlets. There’s even a full supermarket, but stay tuned, as I’ll be buying 
my food on-board the train today. This modern concourse is also where you’ll find 
the station’s ticket office, with tickets sold for long-distance, regional, and international trains, 
except for private operators such as RegioJet. Kraków Główny sees a vast array of train services, from a multitude of different 
operators, six of them to be exact. Most long-distance services are operated 
by PKP Intercity, a state owned operator. This includes international 
services to nearby countries, as well as the high-quality yet 
very expensive Pendolino service. Local services are operated by Koleje Małopolskie, Koleje Śląskie, and Polregio – each one owned 
and funded by a different level of government. PKP Intercity’s flagship train, the Pendolino, is a really great product that I plan 
to review on my channel later on. However, it is often criticised as being 
far too expensive for local salaries. And that’s where Poland’s 
brand-new train company comes in! RegioJet is a Czech-owned operator, 
running trains from Prague since 2011, and gradually expanding frequent service into 
Slovakia, Austria, and Hungary ever since. But at such low prices, which I’ll tell you about 
later, will these trains actually be any good? Well, it’s time to find out, as 
my train arrives from the sidings. RegioJet uses a fleet of brand-new locomotives 
from Alstom, part of the ubiquitous TRAXX family found all over Europe, with this 
example cleared to run in six countries. The carriages are much older, 
consisting mostly of various second-hand carriages from Germany and Austria. It’s quite a collection of rolling 
stock, but as I’ll soon show you, there’s plenty of life in these old vehicles yet! My train today will be the 08:49 to 
Warszawa Wschodnia, or Warsaw East station. I’m travelling in Business Class today, the 
higest of RegioJet’s four classes of travel. This is situated in Car 4, so let’s get on-board. Business Class on RegioJet takes 
the form of spacious compartments, just four seats in each one. I’ll be sitting here in Seat 3, a 
forward facing seat at the window. Today’s route sees us first heading west towards 
the town of Zawiercie, before heading north along the entire length of the CMK – Poland’s 
fastest and most direct railway. Journey time is scheduled to be 3 hours and 32 minutes, 
covering 346 kilometres, or about 215 miles. And we depart Kraków Główny on-time, at 08:49. This was the first day of 
service for RegioJet in Poland, making this train’s departure an important 
milestone for rail travel in the country. As I mentioned earlier, I’m travelling 
in RegioJet’s Business Class, meaning right after departure, I’m 
served a complimentary orange juice. While all passengers on the train, even those on 
the cheapest tickets, get a free bottle of water. These Business Class compartments are a seriously 
civilised way to travel, with just four seats in each compartment, rather than the more 
typical six, or even eight on other trains. This seat is very comfortable, akin to a big 
leather armchair, boasting plenty of padding. There’s a seperate winged head cushion, and 
this can be adjusted to match your height. And of course no train armchair is 
complete without large padded armrests. As there’s no middle seat, the space 
between you and your neighbour can be used for storage, with an additional 
table folding out from the back wall. These compartment seats are usually 
not very good for getting work done, due to the lack of room for a laptop. However, here in Business Class, the 
window seat gets a large fixed table, while the aisle seat has a 
sturdy one tucked away here. The first major station we pass is Krzeszowice, 
a popular commuter town for the city of Kraków. It also sees many long-distance 
trains on the Kraków-Katowice line. My Business Class seat also has 
a very generous recline feature, allowing for a comfortable relaxation 
position, and even goes into a lie-flat mode! Each passenger gets a European-style 
socket, situated next to their seat. Above the corridor is the room’s control panel. 
Here you can switch on the room’s main light, as well as adjust the room temperature, 
and control the announcement volume. Meanwhile, individual reading 
lights are situated up here, located on the bottom of the large luggage rack. There’s also a coathook for each seat. This is Trzebinia, one of my 
favourite stations in Poland. And if you’re wondering why this small town 
with a large oil refinery is my favourite, platform one is home to an 
excellent pizza restaurant, in summer season they even have tables situated 
on the platform! Perfect for watching the trains! At the 30-minute mark, we approach 
the town of Jaworzno Szczakowa, and finally begin heading north towards Warsaw. The route we’re taking today is certainly not the 
most direct railway line between these two cities, with engineering work temporarily limiting the 
amount of trains allowed on the faster line. In the future, RegioJet plans to improve 
its offer, reducing journey times to just 2.5hr on this route, as well as 
running its services to Kraków, Katowice, Gliwice, Poznań, and 
Gdynia multiple times a day. This means we take a very slow route through some of the Silesia region’s most industrial 
areas, passing stations such as Dąbrowa Górnicza Ząbkowice. Try saying 
that one three times in a row! It’s time for something to eat. RegioJet does its on-board service a little 
differently from most other operators in Europe. There’s no restaurant car… 
aaand no trolley service either. Instead, the staff frequently walk through 
the train taking orders from the menu booklet. There’s a decent selection 
advertised here. Unfortunately, quite a few things weren’t 
available on this first journey, but some things that weren’t even 
on the menu were available instead. Tea and coffee are complimentary in Business Class, with a variety of 
types available on demand. I went for a Lemon & Ginger fusion, 
a yellow tea for a yellow train! For my meal, I chose this 
delicious sweet potato soup, something I hadn’t tried before. 
A yellow soup for a yellow train! And for dessert, I went for the 
Szarlotka, a traditional apple cake, served at a very low price. A yellow cake for 
a yello- okay, that joke’s not funny anymore. All meals are served with proper metal cutlery, 
which was definitely a touch that I appreciated. My soup and cake came to a total of 9 Polish 
Złoty, which I think is an absolute bargain! After one hour, we slow down to call at our 
first and only intermediate stop between Kraków and Warsaw. This is Zawiercie, a town 
that owes a lot of development to the railway, being located next to the Warsaw to 
Vienna line when it opened in 1847. The town’s industry and population 
grew rapidly as a result, and the station is still a major stop 
for all long-distance trains today. From here, we join the 
Centralna Magistrala Kolejowa, literally translating as the Central Railway line. This is often argued to be 
Europe’s first high-speed railway, with provision made for running at 250km/h. However, the maximum achieved 
in service was 200km/h, nowadays limited to 160km/h while works 
are carried out to install new signalling. Unfortunately, the scenery on this line 
is not the most interesting in the world, travelling through some of the most 
remote parts of Central Poland. But let’s turn our attention to the inside 
of the train, where we have THREE more classes of travel to check out, each one 
we’ll visit being cheaper than the last! This is Relax Class, featuring 
spacious 2+1 seating in an open layout, including free water and coffee. I actually really liked the seats in 
Relax Class, they were a great shape, and also featured huge tables at 
every single seat for working. Here’s my laptop case for comparison, 
there is a lot of room here. Next is Standard Class, also including 
free water and coffee. This is available both in compartment cars and the futuristic 
looking open car, which we’ll go to next. These compartments are spacious, again 
featuring black leather armchairs, much like in Business Class, though unlike Business 
Class, these compartments have a middle seat. There’s also a dedicated children’s 
compartment, a great facility to have, as it allows children room to safely 
play, without disturbing others. And here’s the futuristic carriage 
I was talking about just now. This so-called “Astra” carriage is one of the 
only new-build carriages in RegioJet’s fleet, and features incredibly comfortable seats. But these seats’ comfort is not the main draw 
here, as each one has an entertainment screen! At the time of filming, this 
was all in the Czech language, but this is planned to be updated ready for 
the new timetable launch at the end of 2025. Lastly, Low-Cost Class, 
the cheapest option by far, with tickets for this journey 
starting at just 8 Polish Złoty! All you get here is a reclining 
seat and a bottle of water, there’s not even a guarantee of a plug 
socket, but the value is still incredible! As the last car of the train, there’s 
a great view out the back, allowing you to watch the passing flatlands 
here in the Świętokrzyskie region. Despite running in such a sparsely populated area, the high-speed line has a 
few stations along the way. This one is Włoszczowa Północ, serving 
a town of just 10,000 residents. These RegioJet trains are also equipped 
with free WiFi, available in all classes on the train. And this was pretty 
good for browsing and messaging. All classes except Low-Cost also have 
access to the on-board entertainment portal, I decided to try my hand at some of the games, 
though… I couldn’t really figure it out. As we speed north, we pass Idzikowice, home 
to a major overhaul and maintenance facility. And… wait, is that an ICE 3neo from Germany? Let me know in the comments if you 
know what this is doing here… Every carriage has a toilet, 
located at the end of the vehicle. Despite the carriage’s age, 
these were in a great condition, with modern vaccuum toilets being fitted. The soap and water were both working fine… With plenty of tissues to dry your hands. We’re now leaving the CMK line, 
and begin to head east into Warsaw, passing through Grodzisk Mazowiecki, well 
within the commuter belt of the Polish capital. Most long-distance trains to Warsaw serve 
three stations, and this one is no exception. Warszawa Zachodnia, or Warsaw 
West, is the first of these, currently in the last few 
stages of a total rebuild. After a few minutes’ wait, we continue, heading 
beneath the many skyscrapers dotting the skyline, Warsaw being known for having one of the highest 
amounts of skyscrapers of any city in Europe. Our next stop is Warszawa Centralna, or 
central station. This opened in 1975, alongside the tunnel beneath the city, allowing trains to run through the centre 
of the capital on the way to other cities. So how much did this ride in Business Class 
cost? Well, I paid 79 Polish Złoty booking one week ahead, which I think is fantastic 
value, the competing Pendolino service is usually around double that, in my 
experience, for a Second Class ticket. We arrive into Warszawa Wschodnia, or 
Warsaw East, just one minute late, at 12:22. Overall, this was a great 
ride with Regiojet in Poland, offering a comfortable and spacious compartment 
with friendly service, and all at a great price. But this isn’t the only impressive 
privately owned train company in Europe, with Iryo in Spain also launching their 
incredible Frecciarossia high-speed trains, which you can learn about by clicking up here now.

Today I am going for ride on RegioJet Poland, the newest train running from Kraków to Warsaw! I will be riding in RegioJet Business Class, in one of their comfortable and spacious compartments, reviewing the seat, the interior, and the food, showing you the full experience of what it’s like to travel on this new competitor to PKP Intercity’s excellent yet expensive Pendolino (Express Intercity Premium).

Come along for this train journey, and enjoy the trip report!

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Journey Details:
Origin: Kraków Główny
Destination: Warszawa Wschodnia
Company: RegioJet
Train: ÖBB 1388 + RegioJet A100 Carriage
Accommodation: Business Class Compartment Seat (1st)
Distance: 346 kilometres / 215 miles
Time: 3 hours 32 minutes, arrived 1 minute late
Price: 79 zł. (£16.10 / €18.50 / $21.80)

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