TRIP REPORT | PKP Sleeper | TLK Karkonosze | Warsaw to Szklarska Poręba | PKP Intercity 

Thanks a lot for the information. I am interested in these types of carriages, this sleeping car was the main reason for my journey. I'd like to try other types of reconstructions of these cars, for example those that now run on IC Przemyslanin or older on that run on TLK Wydmy.

@@mieciu4825 I checked the Portal Pasazera application, the Przemyslanin train is usually delayed by around 20 minutes, which is quite good. I also looked for the new route Vilnius via Mockava, it looks interesting :-) Yes, I'm trying to be careful, in the Czech Republic it is similar on night trains, in certain locations it is better not to leave the compartment.

@@PeteBrandy I wish you successful further travels with interesting places to see.

Thank you! I have the same opinion :-)

Dziekuje :-) Pozdrawiam z Pragi :-)

Tak, to bardzo ładna linia kolejowa. Kontynuowałem podróż ze Szklarskiej Poręby do Liberca innym pociągiem (České dráhy).

Díky! To nás pravdu, u nočních vlaků mi to přijde mnohem lepší než klima

Thanks for watching! For me it was first visit in Szklarska Poręba, originally I planned to travel in opposite direction Liberec - Szklarska Poręba - Warrszawa Wschodnia :-)

These sleeping cars with original interior still operates SZZK (Slovakian Railways), but is harder to catch them last time, also ČD have last 2 pieces, but only as a backup and usually they are not in operation.

Thanks so much for watching! :-)

The train runs only seasonally, otherwise it ends at Jelenia Góra station. But even in summer there is no problem at night that there is no air conditioning, there are not so many hot nights in this part of Europe.

Honestly, I wish this and other "unheard" of places in Poland would be kept a secret. For us they are not unheard of but very well known, cherished, and protected. Increase in tourist dollars means prices and crowds go up and all the other problems associated with becoming popular. Enjoy and cheers.

Merci beaucoup. Je suis ravie que cette vidéo vous ait plu :-)

Thanks so much!

Thanks so much for watching! In the video it often looks like a beautiful experience, but traveling often involves several days without sleep, changing connections and long waits :-D But I like it :-)

Thanks Bob! :-)

Thanks so much! Warsaw is very nice city :-)

Díky moc! :-)

Vielen Dank! :-)

Thank you so much! Greetings from Prague :-)

@@PeteBrandy greetings form Jelenia Góra 🙂

Vielen Dank! :)

Thanks for watching! :-)

Thank you! I'm planning more trips to Poland this year :-)

Thank you so much! I hope you enjoyed the views of the Krkonoše and Jizera mountains from the train :-)

Cześć :-) Thank you! Yesterday I just returned from another trip in Poland, so there will definitely be more content from journeys in Poland :-)

Dziękuję :-)

You enjoy! ;))

Thanks so much! :-)

Thanks for watching! This railway line is beautiful :-) Greetings from Prague :-)

Thank you so much! Greetings from Prague! :-)

Thanks so much! I hope you have enjoyed this journey :-)

Thanks so much for watching! Yes, it is, I like this place and the railway line :-)

Szklarska Poręba of cource

Thank you :-)

Thank you so much! :-)

Nice :-) In my opinion one of the most beautiful routes :)

@@PeteBrandy i have a question for you - how did you book the ticket for a solo occupation of the cabin? i'm trying to buy a ticket for a different tlk sleeper train and there's no option to select a sleeper cabin at all, only if you want compartments or not and where you want to sit

@@pafawag5b6b5b I bought my ticket via PKP Intercity website. You must change a choice "sypialne" (default is "do siedzienia") and then in the menu "predzial 1 miejscowy").. If there is no choice "sypialne", the sleeping car tickets are probably sold out or there is some technical issue.. I had the same with IC Przemyslanin, the choice wasn't available too, but when I tried it after few days, it was there .. maybe you can try it tomorrow

@@PeteBrandy i see, thank you for the answer, i think the tickets must be sold out for that train then, i'll still check it tomorrow or in the next few days

Cześć Piotrek :-) I like Warszawa and I also enjoyed my journey on this train, especially the part between Jelenia Gora and Szklarska Poręba. It's great that the Warszawa Wschodnia station will be modernized :-) Greetings :-)

Díky moc! Ta trať je opravdu nádherná, navíc se tam dá poměrně dobře dostat z Česka :-)

Thank you :-)

Díky moc! Za mě jeden z nejlepších výletů za poslední rok, ty výhledy jsou perfektní a jsem rád, že tam stále ještě jezdí vozy s otvíracími okny :-)

Kontynuowałem ze Szklarskiej Poręby do Liberca, tym samym pociągiem, którym pojedziesz do Tanvaldu :-)

A są, są, w wakacje nawet jeszcze więcej :) niemalże wszystkie połączenia to pociągi w góry i nad morze, przykładowo można podjechać z Gdańska do Krakowa, Katowic, Zakopanego; ze Szczecina do Zakopanego i Przemyśla; i właśnie jeszcze z Warszawy w Karkonosze. Poza tym jeszcze dwa pociągi nocne międzynarodowe - do Grazu, Wiednia, Pragi, Bratysławy oraz Budapesztu.

Thank you :-)

Díky! Dobrý nápad, díval jsem se na řazení a jezdí tam celkem zajímavá motorová jednotka, tu trasu určitě vyzkouším :-)

Thanks so much! I also continued to Liberec by ČD train, but I used First Minute Europe ticket, which was better for my one way journey :-) Btw. I hope you ejnoyed your stay in Euro-Nysa region :-) Greetings from Prague :-)

@@PeteBrandy Thank you

Thanks :-)

Dziękuję :-) I like this train too (and also the mountains :-)

I am satisfied as a solo traveler, I am accompanied by many people online who follow my stories :-D

Most people on the train or plane (especially during the night journey) do not want to socialize but get some sleep.

Yes, I mentioned it in the video, Wschodnia - West / Zachodnia - East :-) I also continued from Szklarska Poręba towards the Czech Republic, I took the train via Harrachov, Kořenov to Liberec and then from there via Děčín to Prague.

Ahoj, díky moc! Ano, měl, EC Hornád :-D Ale pořád si nejsem jistý jestli ho vydat, protože v části Košice - Hidasnémeti jel kvůli výluce autobus, navíc co jsem se díval na aktuální řazení pro 2023, tak už tam nejezdí Apeer. Takže stále přemýšlím, jestli to udělat celé znova, nebo použít to původní :-D

@@PeteBrandy Ahaaa,tak ja by som prišiel ešte raz. Momentálne to není nahradené autobusmi takže kľudne :D

Ano,ty výhledy jsou úžasné, zvláště z otevřeného okna :-)

Díky moc! PKP mají ty Bautzen / Görlitz vozy opravdu hezky rekonstruované. ZSSK je má ještě téměř v původním stavu, a ČD už má poslední 2 provozní jen jako zálohy. To třetí světlo bude pravděpodobně kvůli širokému rozchodu, některé vozy PKP mají možnost výměny podvozků (ale nejsem si jist které typy vozů). Jinak otvírací okno je velké plus, některé novější modernizace už je nemají, protože už byla dosazena klima.

I continued on this train from Szklarska Poreba to Liberec via Harrachov :-)

@@PeteBrandy have you posted a video of that please?

@@simonpilk Not yet, I plan to post a video from this train in March :-)

@@PeteBrandy thanks. I am thinking of taking this as part of an Interrail that was all and wondered if the next part by diesel unit train through Harrochov etc was worth doing. Looks like it is!

I don’t know yet, I must find if is possible to buy a whole compartment in PKP Couchette cars 😀

Díky moc! No jen pozor, občas tam mám výrazy, kde si nejsem jist na 100% správností :-D

Díky :-)

@@PeteBrandy nemáš zač

Thanks for watching and your informations :-) For me, it was better that the train took a longer route, but I also thought that we were going somehow differently when I drew the route to my travel map :-D I will probably release a video of the continuation of the trip to Liberec in March :-)

It probably also depends on when the ticket is bought. I bought the ticket just a few days before departure. But the main reason for my trip on this TLK train was this reconstructed Görlitz sleeper car. For international connections, the price can drop a lot, but it can also rise, because international tariffs are usually included in the price there.

@@PeteBrandy I was buying a month before just to make sure that I'll get the sleeper. In the end, just three compartments were occupied (plus mine). In Poland it's usually hard to get a sleeper cabin when buying later than 3 weeks before.

@@kolejpolska Yes, I have a problem to buy IC Przemyslanin, all dates I'd like to travel are usually sold out ..

If you book tickets directly through PKP Intercity, you can choose whether you want a 3-berth, 2-berth or Single occupation of sleeper car. This information is also shown on the ticket. For night trains, it is better to print the ticket (sometimes it is given to the sleeping car attendant). You receive the ticket to your email and laso is saved in your profile (if you are registered customer). I used the electronic ticket only when I rode the PKP Pendolino, where I only showed the code in my phone to the conductor.

@@PeteBrandy Important to hand a printed ticket to the sleeping car attendant if you're not travelling to the final destination (say, Jelenia Góra, rather than Szklarska Poręba Górna, or Szczecin rather than Świnoujście, or Gdańsk rather than Gdynia). This is so the attendant can wake you 20 minutes before your arrival, with a tea/coffee. You can buy online, but remember to print off the ticket (not needed for non-sleeper coaches).

@@MichaelDembinski Not true, for over two years there has been no obligation to print a ticket for sleeping cars and couchettes in domestic transport.

​@@Razio1MK I'm travelling again to Szczecin by night train. Ticket bought earlier this week. It says in the email to which the ticket was attached: "UWAGA! W przypadku zakupu biletów na przejazd: - w wagonach z miejscami sypialnymi, - w wagonach z miejscami do leżenia, należy wydrukować załączony bilet w celu okazania w wersji papierowej podczas kontroli w pociągu." ("ATTENTION! In case of purchase of tickets for: - couchette carriages - sleeper carriages one should print off the attached ticket to show the paper version during inspection in the train")

za 417 zeta można sie bylo spodziewać nieco więcej ;-)

W TLK można chociaż okno otworzyć w IC nie można , latem to dodatkowy czasoumilacz

Thanks so much for watching! I'm from Czech Republic and I'm living in Prague. I already tried PKP Pendolino from Krakow to Warszawa in 2021, but I plan to take this train again on the rest of the route soon (Gdynia Gł. to Warszawa Wschodnia). In Poland, I like that there are many classic (locomotive + carriages) trains in operation. For example, in Germany there is now a trend to replace classic trains with units, so for example comfortable Intercity1 are replaced by double-decker IC2 Twindexx sets or soon with Talgo (ICE-L) sets. Greetings :-)

First Pendolino trainsets have been bought during previous government. PESA was definitely no1, but became a victim of its own success. About 2017/18 they simply stopped managing with numbers of orders from domestic and many European customers - obviously big quantities cannot cope with good qualities.

Tak, chyba gdzieś do 2015 tak było.

@@donbogdano9341 Wcześniej - do grudnia 2010

That sounds like a challenge. I have traveled through Finland very often with Finnair in the past.. so I might renew the tradition, but for the purpose of traveling by train :-)

@@PeteBrandy Come during summer, it will be a blast! Also VR offers rail passes with maybe unlimited trips. You can buy it for different durations. They also suggest journeys. My personal suggestion is for you to come visit in North Karelia region in Eastern Finland. Visit beautiful Joensuu, amazing Koli National Park and a town of Lieksa (and its other nature spots). If you want to top your trip, you can go all the way to Nurmes or down to Ilomantsi for Karelian culture or get to wilderness of Kuusamo. This trip would be culture, history and nature oriented but look out for events too. Joensuu has Ilosaarirock festival if you are for music. Meanwhile Lieksa has Brassweek, a brass music event week/-s with international competition held annually. And arrival to Koli: get train to Vuonislahti and catch a boat to Koli. Then walk for a bit and get a ski lift up (yes, during summer). Btw, there's a new hotel opening in Koli in August this year.

@@ratyjoona Thanks for the info about interesting places. I'd definitely like to travel in summer (I don't like cold weather :-D), I'd like to try some night train, I like the 2-decker sleeping cars :-)

@@PeteBrandy 2 deckers are normal here as well. The intercity trains. Western main track us unfortunately where all the night trains currently operate. I still recommend the East even tho no night trains but at least you can see the views. And on 2-story intercity trains there are certain options. Normal (2nd class) which is actually good, especially the centre places with tables. Then we have 2nd floor of dining car which is my favourite. They have some seats that are facing the walls (dw, there are windows). Also the seats have some kinda leather finish and you can decide which direction the seat faces, it's adjustable. There are also table group there and sort of a meeting room with it's own door (I think). This is special also because you can go downstairs and order smth from dining car and they will bring it to you when it's ready. Small luxury and quite cheap too, considering we actually have very good dining cars with a multitude of hot meal options. Öbb isn't on par imo as we serve proper food too, not just snacks. Then extra class (1st class) is good for many Finns, though I don't like it that much. It's more modern, giving more space and more privacy and you have to be quiet there. Also once the air conditioning in that car was so powerful it made me feel cold. And yes, this is on 2nd floor as well, but more expensive. Then we have cabins for working and so. If you are so Finnish that you want walls separating you from other passengers or if you are working, this is a great option. There are family cabins too, btw. Sleeper cars all have transferable shower at your own compartment. We don't have deluxe sleeping cars at all, in my knowledge but our normal ones are quite close to that, and thus expensive. I also recommend checking Helsinki out if you happen to like in-city public transportation as well. There you can buy a 24-hour ticket for 9 euros or so, containing usage of metro/subway, bus, tram, commuter trains and even a ferry to Suomenlinna (World Heritage Site). Sorry, this ended up being a bit lengthy.

These are train categories, descending from the highest: EIP - Express interCity Premium (mostly Pendolino trains), EIC - Express InterCity, IC - InterCity, TLK - Twoje Linie Kolejowe (lower-cost version of Intercity trains)

EIP - Express InterCity Premium - operated only by ED250 (pendolino), the most expensive and comfortable EIC - Express InterCity - operated by locomotives faster than EP07 (EP09, Newag Griffin, Siemens Vectron, EU44 and very rarely by EP08), mid-expensive and sometimes more comfortable by additions of 6 peopole compartments in some coaches IC - InterCity - operated by locomotives with coaches or by EZT (ED74, ED160 or ED161), least expensive and mid-comfortable TLK - Twoje Linie Kolejowe - operated by locomotives with coaches or SZT (SN84), same price as InterCity with minimal comfort. This category will be terminated soon

Thanks so much for watching! Trains in Poland are often fully occupied. I think that a single compartment in a sleeper car is now the best way to travel :-)

Ahoj, zatím přemýšlím o vlaku do Splitu :-)

@@PeteBrandy dobrý nápad

Tak, pierwotnie były to Tanie Linie Kolejowe, ale zmieniono je na Twoje Linie Kolejowe. Również PKP Intercity mają na swojej stronie Twoje Linie Kolejowe

I heard it was Tanie Linie Kolejowe till 2015, but currently the name is Twoje Linie Kolejowe.. Also on PKP Intercity's website is now Twoje... . Yes, I know that Warszawa Centrana is the most important station, that's why I wrote "One of the most important stations.." for Warszawa Wschodnia.

Jednak to je vnitrostátní vlak hlavně s cílem Jelenia Gora / Szklarska Poreba, a jednak na tu těžkou soupravu by musela být extra ozubnicová lokomotiva. Dolu přes Kořenov je velký sklon trati a je tam ozubnice. RegioSpidery pro tuto trať jsou speciálně upravené, aby to stoupání zvládly bez ozubnice. Dřív sice jezdila z Prahy do Harrachova Hydra, ale vlečňák myslím nechávala v Tanvaldu a nahoru jezdila jen sólo.

@@PeteBrandy Já myslel, že tam jezdí 841 a že by tam mohlo jet něco přímého

Zauważ, że Pete wybrał opcję podróży w przedziale single, a to już z założenia nie mogło być tanie, więc i ostateczny koszt przejazdu musiał być wysoki. Wysoki dla przeciętnego Polaka, bo dla obywatela Europy zachodniej już niekoniecznie. Nie zgodzę się ze stwierdzeniem, że w TLK kursują zdewastowane wagony. Film tego nie potwierdza, moje doświadczenia też nie. Kursują w nich wagony, które były modernizowane na początku obecnego wieku, więc wcale nie są to już tak totalne trupy, jak jeszcze 5 lat temu.

@@donbogdano9341 ja nie mówie że jego podróż nie była tania tylko że taryfa na TLK i IC jest identyczna Zdewastowane to też mocne słowo, aczkolwiek kilka lat wstecz i już aż tak daleko od prawdy nie jest, wagony modernizowane przed 2000 to też już jednostki, taki średni wiek wagonu od moderny to około 14 lat !uwaga narzekanie na drzwi! Drzwi skrzydłowo-łamane (te z klamką) powinny zostać już wyeliminowane bo niektórzy nie są zdolni do ich otworzenia i bardzo mi się nie podoba że zaczęli je też puszczać na IC Umówmy się, przedziały ośmioosobowe może są nostalgicne itp. ale na pewno nie wygodne, też niedawno to na IC puszczać Jednak rzadko zdarza się (z moich obserwacji) wagon sypialny na IC, bądź są one w innych miejscach niż ja więc na nocną podróż jesteśmy skazani w TLK Aczkolwiek racja, w tłumaczeniu też się trochę zagubiło a sam nie umiem się wysłowić nawet po polsku, a co dopiero po angielsku

I got the information directly from the PKP intercity website, where Twoje Linie Kolejowe is mentioned (section For Passengers - Our trains)

Yes, I know, Tanie means cheap, but when you check PKPIntercity site, there is Twoje Linie Kolejowe.. section: Dla Pasażera - Nasze pociągi - Twoje Linie Kolejowe "Twoje Linie Kolejowe (TLK) to odpowiedź PKP Intercity na rosnące oczekiwania pasażerów pociągów dalekobieżnych, którzy od przewoźnika wymagają przede wszystkim niskich cen biletów" .. But you're not the first who write it to me :-D

@@PeteBrandy The name "Tanie Linie Kolejowe" was in use until about 2015 and after that time, official name of the brand evaluated to exactly as you wrote in your film. So, it is "Twoje Linie Kolejowe" now.

But not bad I think. In many countries it is worse