Thematic
How to Buy Train Tickets in Poland Without Paying Extra
Buying a Polish train ticket is easy. Buying it at the wrong moment costs 20 PLN.
By ViewPoland Editorial
5 min read
Updated September 2026
The short answer
Buy before you board: online, in an app, from a station machine or at the ticket office. On PKP Intercity trains a ticket bought from the conductor usually costs an extra 20 PLN per person, and on EIP trains you cannot buy one on board at all. KOLEO sells tickets at the same prices as station ticket offices.
Polish trains are a good way to travel between cities, and the ticketing is more flexible than in many countries. The rules that catch visitors out are all about timing: what happens if you get on without a ticket, and which trains do not let you fix that once you are aboard.
Where can you buy train tickets in Poland?
PKP Intercity, the national long-distance operator, sells tickets online, through its mobile app, from ticket vending machines at stations and at ticket offices. It also names several other ways to buy, including the SkyCash, IC Navigator and Bilkom2 apps and its own e-IC system.
KOLEO is a separate app and website that sells tickets for several Polish carriers in one place. It states that it is connected directly to the carriers' systems and has access to the same prices, discounts and reductions. Which kind of train suits which trip is compared in getting around Poland.
Is it cheaper to buy Polish train tickets in an app?
It is not more expensive, and that is the point. KOLEO states that tickets it sells cost exactly the same as those offered by carriers such as POLREGIO and PKP SKM in the Tri-City at their station ticket offices. The saving from buying ahead is not a discount in the app, it is avoiding the fee for buying on the train.
Can you buy a train ticket on board in Poland?
On most PKP Intercity trains, yes, at a price. PKP Intercity allows passengers who could not buy a ticket at the ticket desk, a machine, by phone or in an app to buy one from the conductor on TLK, IC and EIC trains. When you buy from the conductor, you pay for the ticket plus a fee of 20 PLN per person for issuing it on the train.
The fee is not charged in a number of cases that PKP Intercity lists. They include passengers with a disability or reduced mobility, or their carer, guide or guide dog, when a document confirming the disability is shown, with the document waived for a visible physical disability; passengers aged 70 or over with a document confirming their age; and anyone who starts the journey when the ticket office is closed or at a station with no ticket office. The list also covers several situations involving particular tickets and delayed trains.
Do you have to find the conductor if you board without a ticket?
On TLK and IC trains, immediately. PKP Intercity states that you must report the lack of a ticket to the conductor straight after boarding, ideally by getting on at the front of the train or speaking to the conductor on the platform first. On EIC trains you do not have to report it. Passengers with a disability or reduced mobility who show a document, passengers with a visible physical disability and passengers aged 70 or over with a document may wait for the conductor to come to them.
Why are EIP trains different?
Because nothing is sold on board. PKP Intercity states that on EIP trains it does not sell tickets for the journey, bicycle tickets, extra tickets with a seat or supplements. If you are changing onto an EIP train and a ticket with a seat cannot be issued, your ticket is marked for a continued journey subject to seat availability, and you buy the EIP leg at a ticket office at the interchange station.
The practical rule is simple: never board an EIP train intending to sort out the ticket later.
What should you do if your journey involves changing trains?
Tell the conductor. PKP Intercity says that if you inform the conductor about your planned changes, you can buy a ticket for the whole journey. Better still, buy the full journey before you set off. For deciding between rail and road on a longer trip, see train or car in Poland, and for planning a whole trip on public transport, Poland without a car. If your trip starts at Warsaw's main airport, the first train is covered in Warsaw airport to city centre. In Wrocław, bus 106 links the airport with the main railway station, as getting around Wroclaw explains, and the Tri-City SKM trains are covered in getting around Gdansk.
Sources
PKP Intercity, buying a ticket on board for the train types, the 20 PLN fee, the exemptions and the EIP rules. PKP Intercity, buy a ticket for the sales channels. KOLEO help, ticket prices and KOLEO for app prices compared with ticket offices.
Written by ViewPoland Editorial for ViewPoland, an independent English-language guide to Poland. Published 27 September 2026. Last updated 27 September 2026.
Frequently asked questions
On PKP Intercity TLK, IC and EIC trains the conductor usually charges a fee of 20 PLN per person on top of the ticket. There is no fee if you start your journey when the ticket office is closed or at a station without one, and several other groups, including passengers aged 70 or over with proof of age, are exempt.
No. PKP Intercity does not sell journey tickets, seat tickets or supplements on board EIP trains, so buy before you travel.
No. KOLEO states that its prices are exactly the same as the carriers' ticket offices, because it is connected directly to their systems.
On TLK and IC trains you must find the conductor immediately after boarding, and buying on board usually adds a 20 PLN fee. On EIC trains you do not have to report it. On EIP trains nothing is sold on board, so buy before you travel.
PKP Intercity sells tickets online and in its mobile app, and KOLEO offers an English version of its site for tickets from several carriers.