photo: PKP Intercity press materials/PKP Intercity changed fare rules for Ukrainian citizens from April1
Since the beginning of Russia's military invasion of Ukraine on February 24, PKP Intercity, helping Ukrainian citizens escape the war, has provided them with more than 1 million free tickets and more than a thousand trains running from the border stations. On April 1, 2022, the Polish carrier has changed the rules for issuing free tickets.
From April 1 to April 30 this year, free travel on PKP Intercity trains is available for:
- children and young people under the age of 18
- women
- men over the age of 60
- men aged 18-60 who are disabled or have limited mobility.
Citizens of Ukraine can still use free travel on economy class trains (TLK and IC) based on free supplementary tickets with or without a seat guarantee. These rules apply in Poland. Ukrainians traveling to Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, or Austria, the most common choices, are issued an additional free ticket to the last station in Poland. Further travel is following the rules of the railroads of the respective country.
To date, PKP Intercity has run more than evacuation 1,000 trains. The railroad operator reports that the period from March 7 to 17 was the peak one for transporting refugees from border points, and, in recent days, they have seen a significant decrease in the number of refugees traveling on the company's trains. Most people, more than 305,000, took free tickets from Warsaw, almost 151,000 started their journey from Krakow, more than 90,000 from Przemyśl, and more than 70,000 from Wroclaw. Among foreign destinations, most people choose to travel to Germany, which is served by 12 Intercity trains, giving Ukrainian citizens more options for free travel in 2nd class.
For Ukrainian citizens who travel on PKP Intercity and need any information about schedules or other passenger issues, the operator has opened a special telephone hotline. It is available 7 days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.: +48 22 473 00 86 (call costs according to the operator's tariff), 800 033 022 (free hotline for all domestic operators). Information is also available on the PKP Intercity website in two languages, Ukrainian and Polish.