Silesia Online - Arriving in Upper Silesia by Rail or Coach

Upper Silesia has a well-developed network of railway connections with Katowice as one of its major junctions in Poland. The Katowice Main Railway Station, also referred to as Katowice Central Station (Katowice Dworzec Glowny PKP) is the largest and the most important railway station in the Upper Silesian Industrial District. It is situated in the very centre of Katowice and is easily accessible by public means of transport. There are also other railway stations in Katowice. These are: Katowice-Zaleze (westwards from the city centre), Katowice-Brynow (southwards) and Katowice-Zawodzie (eastwards). However, the most convenient for tourists is, of course, the Katowice Main Railway Station.

The Katowice Main Railway Station has a wide selections of destinations to choose from. It is from here that major Polish and European cities can be reached. As far as direct foreign train destinations are concerned, one can get from Katowice to Berlin (Germany), Bratislava (Slovakia), Budapest (Hungary), Hamburg (Germany), Minks (Belarus), Moscow (Russia), Ostrava (Czech Republic), Prague (Czech Republic) and Vienna (Austria). There is also a varied selection of domestic connections on offer, e.g. to Opole, Wroclaw, Cracow, Warsaw, Szczecin, Gdynia, Gdansk, Zakopane, Torun, Bydgoszcz, Kielce, Bialystok, Zamosc, Rzeszow, which makes it possible to tour around other regions of Poland while staying in Katowice.

There are all kinds of trains available: InterCity (IC), EuroCity (EC), express trains (Ex), TLK (Cheap Railway Line), fast and local trains. You can travel in the first class or in the second class carriages. For longer trips, it is advisable to choose the first class as they are less crowded and more comfortable. As for the EuroCity, InterCity and express trains reservations are required.

Local trains are usually the slowest ones as they stop at each station and are usually crowded, especially at rush hours. Fast trains (marked red on the arrivals and departures board) are faster and more comfortable though a bit more expensive. The most comfortable though the most expensive are EuroCity, InterCity and express trains. They stop only at major cities and are the fastest. So for long distances they are the most convenient ones. However, you pay for a ticket and a reserved seat on these trains.

To passengers planning to travel in Poland the ‘’Polrailpasses’’ are available. You can get them for 8,15,21 or 30 days. They can be bought mainly from the railway ticket offices and travel agencies in Poland. Children under four years of age travel free, however, those aged between 4 and 10 pay half the ordinary ticket fare.

More and more types of tickets can be bought online. For details, see:

http://www.intercity.pl/en/main

By coach

In the centre of Katowice there are two coach terminals which are easily accessible by public transport means. The major one, used by a huge majority of foreign carriers, is the Katowice International Coach Station (Centrum Miedzynarodowej Komunikacji Autobusowej). It is situated in Sadowa Street. The main coach operator is the Pekaes Eurolines which offers direct coach connections with Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom.

There is also the PPKS Central Coach Station (Dworzec Centralny PPKS) in Piotra Skargi Street. It offers both domestic and foreign destinations. While visiting Katowice, you can get from here to other regions of Poland which are lalso attractive to tourists.