Poland - short visit

[Revolution Mike]

I have to be in Gdansk in early April for a few days and I can either take the boring choice and fly straight in to Gdansk or it occurred to me that I could take a few days to explore by train (either to journey from London all/part of the way by train or within Poland itself).

 

I've got ideas of potentially interesting routes to get to Poland by train but does anyone have any recommendations for places to go within Poland (museums, scenic lines, interesting traction (it would be great to see or travel behind some of the PKP English Electrics if they are still in use)?

 

Cheers, Mike

[EddieB]

I'm a bit rusty on the latest situation, particularly in regard to open access operators, but a general overview might help.

 

The Polish locos built by English Electric (PKP class EU06) have finished.  One is preserved at Chabowka (but probably usually kept at Krakow-Prokociem, where there may be some class-mates stored).  Unfortunately we're talking about the opposite end of the country to where you're going.  Happily, the locally built derivatives - EU07/EP07  - are still fairly plentiful and likely to turn up on passenger services over most of the country.

 

The main overland route to Poland is via Berlin and Poznan (and thence to Warsaw).  An alternative through Berlin and Szczecin (which will bring you nearer towards Gdansk).  Poznan is reasonably near to Wolsztyn, and there are others better placed to comment on what's happening there currently.  There are railway museums at Koscierzyna (standard gauge, near to Gdansk), Gryfice (metre gauge, between Szczecin and Gdansk) and Wenecja (600mm gauge, near Znin), but I don't know status or opening times out of season.  These last two would need you're own transport.  Many stations and depots have plinthed steam locos, if you're interested.

 

Poznan is a major centre, but most freight traffic avoids the main station.  The main line from Berlin and on to Warsaw is busy.  The line to Bydgoszcz (and side trips to Pila and Torun) can also be fairly busy and see a variety of traction.  Inowroclaw has a depot opposite the station where the double electrics of classes ET41 and ET42 work in from Silesia.

 

Don't neglect Gdansk itself.  It's an attractive port city with an interesting past.  Between the wars it had the status of a "free state" with both Polish and German influences.  (Gdansk had its own locomotive fleet, based on PKP stock, but numbered separately).

[SM42]

Eddie has summed it up quite nicely but if you end up in Poznan the freight traffic bypasses the main station through the Franowo area of town where there is also a depot and freight yard. Despite it being near a large retail park, once away from the shops the area can be a little intimidating. 

 

You could get a tram out to Poznan Starolenka. The tram terminus here is around 200yds from the station. (please buy a ticket first and don't forget to validate in the tram. there are on the spot fines for not doing so. This applies to across the country.) You should be able to pick up freight traffic on the bypass there. Alternatively you could go out to Szamotuly on the main line towards Szczecin which sees its fair share of freight. Like most railways though there are long periods on nothing happening followed by a burst of activity, so being somewhere near a café is good. I can't recommend highly enough coffee and cake. (Look for a Kawiarnia)

 

A trip out to Wolsztyn will take around an hour from Poznan, cost around £6 - £8  return There you will find the remains of several steam locos and some working examples in the shed. I think they now run one service a day to Leszno steam hauled. 

 

It will cost 10zl (£2)  to go round the depot but you do have an almost  free reign to go where you want. 

 

A s Eddie said, Gdansk is an interesting area and there is plenty to see (not all railway related) along with neighbouring port of Gdinia and the beach resort of Sopot. (Mind you the Baltic may be a bit chilly in April)  

 

Oh and despite some significant investment, Polish trains are not necessarily the fastest, and information is sometimes lacking  but there is a fair chance of loco haulage (either EU / EP 07 (developed from the EU06 from English Electric) or EP09) and proper compartments. 

 

Have fun. I might even see you there. 

 

Andy

Edited January 11, 2018 by SM42

[Nick C]

The useful EuroNight train from Cologne to Warszawa no longer runs, but you can still do it by train by changing either Brussels, Cologne and Berlin, or Paris & Strasbourg (though I don't know which days of the week that runs, and perhaps no so useful for the north)

 

The new WWII museum in Gdansk is worth a visit, but allow a lot of time - we only had an afternoon and barely got round a quarter of it, I think it'd take at least two days to do properly. Don't try to use the water tram to get around, they are very infrequent, but the trams (and trolleybuses in Gdynia) are frequent and cheap. There's still some older, more interesting trams in operation too. As SM42 says, don't forget to validate your ticket on trams & buses.

 

Not railway related, but Gdynia is home to the destroyer ORP Błyskawica which was built in Cowes, and saved the town (and station, to keep it on-topic) from bombing while back for a refit in May 1942.

 

As the others have said, most of the long distance TLK and EIC trains are still loco-hauled, but there's also some interesting multiple units still in operation, like the 1960's EN57 and EN71 units - loads down in Krakow, but we saw a few in Gdansk last summer as well.

 

Long distance trains are cheap, especially if you book well in advance, even the premium high-speed EIP 'Pendolino' trains are cheap by UK standards. Make use of the WARS restaurant cars too, much better quality than British on-train catering!

 

You might find a lot of museums etc are closed, or not offering much, in April - quite a lot of tourist stuff seems to be summer only, as we found to our cost when visiting in September - the train services on smaller routes (such as the branch from the Tricities to Hel) seem to drop off a lot out of season too. 

 

If you get down to Warsaw, there is or was a railway museum in the old Warszawa Główna station - but it seems under constant threat of eviction, so might no longer be there... The old town in the city centre is also worth a visit, to marvel at how it was rebuilt, exactly brick for brick, after being flattened by the Germans in the war. The Warsaw tram system runs a heritage route (the T line), but I can't find a timetable for that, so I suspect it too is summer only. 

[SM42]

If you feel like a bit of  trek (especially if you start at Gdansk) you could go to Zagan. Here you will find the remains of, and a museum about, Stalag Luft III.  It's about a 20 - 25 minute walk out of town

 

As you may know this is the camp of Great Escape fame. The museum has a mock up of the tunnels that were dug and a recreation of a barrack room. When we went it was a Monday, I think, and it was free. (Some museums do have free entry days, normally Mondays to Tuesdays)

 

Not far away in the forest are the remains of the camp building brick bases etc and markers for the tunnel entrances and exits. Very interesting if you like WW2 history. 

 

The 50 escapers who were murdered are buried in the British cemetery in Poznan on the edge of Citadela Park which can be found next to Poznan Garbary station. There are also a couple of military  museums in the park, (Poznan was a fortress city and one of those Hitler decreed should not be surrendered)  one with a collection of assorted Soviet era warplanes slowly rusting away.  

 

Out near Ogrody tram terminus (About 15 mins on the tram, Nos 2, 17 or 18 from the city  centre, guess where I change from tram to bus a lot) is Fort VII. There is a small museum here as this was used as a prison by the Germans during the war. 

 

If you are near Krakow then there is of course Auschwitz ( a lasting monument to man's inhumanity to man) and also nearby is Wieliczka salt mine with its intricately carved artworks in the salt walls. Within Krakow itself there is the Schindler museum which is worth a visit but is a bit strange to find as you seem to be in the middle of a business estate. 

 

Poland has an often  violent and bloody history and there are many museums and monuments commemorating these events in almost every large city and town, however you may find the  English language a rare commodity in some of the smaller museums but hospitality is often in abundant supply.

 

 

Andy

[AMJ]

If you want to talk to locals I suggest anyone under about 30 will have learnt English rather than russian following on from the fall of the Iron curtain.

 

For lunch I can recommend zapiekanke. Many places have a great choice of bars serving food and drink on an evening.

 

Gdansk has history as this was where Solidarity held a few strikes.

 

If travelling through Germany to get there I'd suggest taking a few days from the UK. On a return trip from Poznan I nearly missed a train in Berlin due to one I was on losing nearly 45 minutes after departing on to time.