How to buy PKP Intercity Tickets Online

In March 2024, I purchased PKP intercity tickets online for two separate journeys between Gdańsk Główny (Gdańsk Main Station) and Warsaw Central Station and between Gdańsk  and Łódź Kaliska station.

Two of the four journeys, between Gdańsk and Łódź, were on an InterCity (IC) express train. The journey from Gdańsk to Warsaw was on the TLK class of train. From Warsaw to Gdańsk, I travelled on an Express InterCity Premium (EIP) train, otherwise known as the Pendolino. Check out the differences between the various types of trains in Poland.

Anyhow, the aim of this post is to show you how you can purchase PKP intercity tickets online.

I’ll also highlight just how much money you can save by buying your intercity tickets online a month or so in advance of your date of travel. 

I’m aware that most people don’t require a step-by-step guide such as the one below to buy train tickets on the Internet. However, dive in because I do offer a few useful tips related to buying PKP intercity tickets online.

Buying PKP Intercity tickets online – a step-by-step guide

Step 1:

Head to intercity.pl. You can change the language to English by clicking on the drop-down menu at the very top of the webpage.

Step 2:

Click on the orange button ‘Wypróbuj’ to use the new upgraded online sales system.  

This new platform has introduced a range of features designed to simplify the booking process. Users can now easily plan their journeys by comparing prices, travel times, and available special offers. In addition, the system suggests applicable discounts according to passenger eligibility.

Step 3:

Fill in the details of your journey.

Let’s imagine that I want to travel from to Gdańsk Główny (Main station) to Warszawa Centralna at around 9 a.m. in the morning on November 8, 2024.

Step 4:

Before searching for a connection, you can select the number of travellers, ticket types, facilities (seat type, car type etc) and whether you wish to take advantage of one of the PKP discounts – Family Ticket, Big Family or Better with Family. 

Facilities

I have selected two adults for travel. Let’s now take a look at some of the conveniences and facilities available on PKP Intercity trains:As you can see, I’m only interested in direct connections while I am open to travelling on any of the train categories (EIP, EIC, IC or TLK).

“Save Together” – Taniej z Bliskimi

Did you notice above that there are three offers above the orange SEARCH FOR A CONNECTION button?

When travelling with my wife in the past, I’ve been able to take advantage of the ‘Better with Family’ offer. The offer is available for groups of two to six people. 

Anyway, more to come on ‘Taniej z Bliskimi’ later. Now, we’re ready to search for a connection.

Step 5:

It will now be possible to see the connecting services around your desired departure time will appear.

Ideally, I’d choose the Pendolino service at 09:04. However, why would I pay an extra 108 zł per ticket when there’s a much cheaper service at 08:05? Admittedly, the Intercity (IC) trains are a bit more worn than the Pendolino EIP trains. Moreover, the journey takes 40 minutes longer. However, 108 zł is a lot of money. 

Step 6:

Everything is rather self-explanatory, as you can see in the screenshot below.

Second-class is fine for me. I’d be able to take advantage of the Promo 45 promotional fee which offers tickets 45% cheaper than the base price. 

Step 7:

On the next screen, you can add your seat selection preferences and purchase additional tickets.

I can’t speak for the necessity of purchasing an additional ticket if you’re travelling with a dog. 

However, I’ve taken a lot of luggage onto Polish trains in my time and never paid an additional fee for large suitcases. Frankly, I don’t think it’s possible for ticket conductors to monitor who carries what with them onto trains.

As for the type of wagon and position of seats, there are plenty of options:

Step 8:

You may create an account or continue as a guest to proceed to payments:

Step 9:

Now you need to enter an email address (where your ticket will be sent after PKP has processed your payment) and accept some regulations:

Step 10:

Check your travel itinerary one more time:

Under the itinerary, hit the orange PAYMENT button.

Step 11:

When it comes to payment, you can by BLIK, payment card or bank transfer (convenient if you have a Polish account):

As soon as the payment has gone through, Intercity forwards tickets to a passenger’s email address in PDF format. Payments are usually processed in a matter of minutes.

Buying PKP Intercity tickets online – Bargains to be had

If you buy PKP Intercity tickets online, pay heed to the five levels of promotional fees:

• Super Promo (cheapest tickets)
• Promo Plus
• Promo 45 (tickets 45% cheaper than the base price)
• Promo 30 (30% cheaper)
• Promo 15 (15% cheaper)

The Super Promo and Promo Plus thresholds apply to all types of trains – TLK, IC, EIC and EIP. In concrete terms, the Super Promo price for TLK and IC trains does not exceed 29 zł. As for EIP Pendolino trains, the Super Promo price does not exceed 99 zł. From Kraków to Warsaw, it’s possible to grab tickets for as little as 49 zł. Check out PKP Intercity’s Promobilet search engine to find discounted tickets.

The availability of individual promotional tickets depends on the popularity of a given train. This is because the Promo offer is based on a dynamic price management system. Therefore, it is enough to choose a train at a slightly less popular time to buy a much cheaper ticket. It is worth remembering that under the Promo offer, tickets at promotional prices are available at various stages of sale – after its launch, a dozen or a few days before departure, and even on the day of travel. Importantly, the pools of promotional tickets may change during the period in which tickets are on sale.

‘Save Together’ (Taniej z Bliskimi)

For groups of two to six people, PKP Intercity has a special travel offer for you called Taniej z Bliskimi, or ‘Save together’. 

This special offer is valid for travel on both TLK and IC trains. Ticket prices are 30% lower than the base prices of single tickets.

Apart from the condition that you must travel in a group of between two and six people, you have to travel on the same train both from and to the same station. You must also travel in the same carriage class (first or second), be it in regular carriages with seats, carriages with couchettes and in sleeping cars.

For travel in couchette and sleeping cars, you need to pay for seat reservations in addition to purchasing tickets.

You can buy tickets from 30 DAYS up to THREE DAYS before departure (e.g. for a trip on July 28, tickets must be purchased no later than July 25).

A very pleasant and comfortable way to travel

The Polish railways network has come on in leaps and bounds in recent years. 

Grabbing your PKP Intercity tickets online for super cheap prices will set you on the path to what is guaranteed to be a very pleasant and comfortable train journey in Poland.