Krakow to Warszawa

Today I'm leaving Krakow for further journey in Poland to Warszaw.

 Last ride in Krakow tram

 Bombardier NGT6 tram

 Rotax / MPK EU8N

 For Krakow-Warsaw service I will take Alstom EMU250 (PKP Class ED250)

 The "New Pendolino" train is the same as I could see earlier in Switzerland and Italy, except for the difference that the Polish version is non-tilting.

The train is used for so called Express Intercity Premium service, and it is promoted as the fastest train in Poland. PKP is promoted as the first carrier in the region of Central Europe, which trains can reach speeds of 200km/h.

The train has only one 1st class coach compared to the Swiss/Italian version which has two 1st class coaches.

 Otherwise the trains for Poland and Switzerland/Italy is visually almost identical.

 The first train entered the service in Poland at the end of 2014, operating from Wroclaw/Katowice/Krakow to Warszaw and Gdynia. More routes have been added later, and the trains are equipped for 3kV DC (Poland), 15kV AC (Germany), 25 kV AC (Czech Republic), however the plans for international services for this train are not yet realized.

 2nd class coach

Restaurant coach

 EN64 Pesa Acatus Plus (40WE) operated by Koleje Małopolskie, KMŁ

Express Intercity Premium trains requires seat reservation for Interrail pass holders, PLN 43 for both 1st and 2nd class. However, the cheapest ticket in 2nd class costs only PLN 49, so it is not a big difference.

 In 1st class there is a meal included, the choice can be made from a menu.

I chose pasta

 The train is taking railway line nr 8 between until Kozłów

 Passing by Tunel railway station

 Tunel was named after a nearby railway tunnel.

 The tunnel, after which the village was named, is 768-meter long, and was built in 1934 under the Biala Gora hill.

 From Kozłów we are using railway line 64 between Kozłów and Starzyny, which is part of the connection of Warsaw with Krakow.

2nd class coach

 Turning on to railway line 4, which is named Centralna Magistrala Kolejowa (Central Rail Line). It was completed in 1977 and could have been the first high speed railway line in Europe, designed for speeds of up to 250 km/h. The line was modernised and equipped with ETCS level 1. Today the EIP Pendolino is using maximum speed of 200km/h, but after transforming this line from 3kV to 25kV the trains will be able to operate at 250km/h.

 Intercity train type ED161 Pesa Dart

 The train is operating lines Wrocław Główny-Białystok and Lublin-Katowice

 Just before Grodzisk Mazowiecki the railway line 4 is merged with line 1 further to Warszaw

 Newag Impuls operated by SKM Warszawa (Fast City Rail) line S1 (Otwock – Warszawa Śródmieście – Pruszków)

 Warszawa Zachodnia (West) station

 Warszawa Centralna railway station

 85% of F was destroyed during WW2, this included also the railway station. The new station was rebuild and opened in 1975. The construction of the new railway was financed, among others, thanks to loans from Western countries.

 There are however plans to replace the station from 1975 with a new and modern one.

 Warszawa Centralna

 Pałac Kultury i Nauki (to the right) is a soviet style high scrape from 1955.

 Warszawa Śródmieście (Downtown) station from 1963 is just next to the Warszawa Centralna. The station serves the suburban (southern) tracks of the Warsaw Cross-City Line and is used by regional trains run by Koleje Mazowieckie (KM) and Szybka Kolej Miejska (SKM)

 Warsaw cross-city line is a 7 km railway line crossing Central Warsaw in the East-West direction.

 Warszawa Śródmieście

 Koleje Mazowieckie (Masovian Railways) is a regional rail operator in the Masovian Voivodeship of Poland. Here is Stadler Flirt (ER75) operated line KM2 Warsaw West – Mińsk Mazowiecki – Siedlce.

 Inside ER75 Flirt

 I have arrived to Warszawa Zachodnia station. It is a nicer station to take photos than Central station.

 EN57AKM train

45WE Newag Impuls

 27WE Pesa Elf

 The train operates a service to the airport of Warsaw

 Warszawa West is also used for long-distance train. Here is PKP class EP07 locomotive from 1985

 Eurocity service "Comenius" Warszawa-Ostrava.

 Euronight service "Jan Kiepura" is arriving. The service is operating line Warszawa - Köln. The train has 4 coaches until Berlin Ostbahnhof, where it is being extended with German and Czech night coaches.

 Polish sleeper coach type WLAB10mnouz

 The locomotive is of type Siemens ES 64 U4, PKP Class EU44

 The locomotive can operate all the way to Berlin, thanks to support of several countries systems.

 A "Berlin-Warszawa-Express" train is arriving from Berlin

 I'm back to downtown station. Here is a Newag 19WE train

 Restored Konstal N tram car from the 1950s running on a special tourist line

 Pesa Swing 120Na from 2010

 Now I'm taking R3 train line east

 Passing by Warszawa Powiśle station

 Vistula river and the beach near Poniatowski Bridge

 I have arrived now to Warszawa Wschodnia (East) station.

 On one of the platforms is the nighttrain "Polonez" TLK (Twoje Linie Kolejowe)

 The train service is a cooperation between Polish, Belarus, and Russian railways and the line operates Warszawa-Minsk-Moskva route. The service was launched 1973 and was one of the symbols of Polish-Soviet friendship. The service is leaving Warszawa Centralna 18:53 and the time of arrival to Moscow is 16:20 the following day. There is a 2h stop in Brest on the border Poland/Belarus in order to exchange the bogies between standard and russian gauge.

 Russian railways sleeper coaches with standard bogies manufacture by Siemens. The process of changing bogies is taking 2h. In order to reduce this time, Russian railways has ordered Spanish Talgo gauge-changing coaches, thus the process will be reduced to 30min. Gauge-changer for this train has already been installed in Brest.

 One of the coaches is from Belarus railways