PKP will validate some of the cheap tickets. This applies to some sections in the country
The PKP carrier has been offering customers a pool of cheap tickets for years. You can pay less, among others: when we buy a seat well in advance. Now it turns out that the offer will only apply to certain episodes.
Changes are coming to PKP Intercity. The carrier intends to change its operating strategy and cancel super-cheap tickets on some sections of the journey. This is saddening news for many passengers, especially those who chose these directions very often. What is it really about and who will lose and who will gain? We checked.
PKP cheaper than regional carriers. Changes are coming
“The railway carrier will focus on promoting longer connections and will stop competing on prices with regional carriers,” announced Janusz Malinowski, the new president of PKP Intercity, quoted by “Rynek Lotniczy”. It turns out that for some time PKP's offer has been price competitive with regional carriers, which not everyone liked. The issue mainly concerned shorter sections – stops were made more often and at smaller stations.
As a result of the actions taken by PKP, differences began to be felt, among others: Polregio. It turned out that the basic tariff for a distance of 36-55 km from a regional carrier is more expensive than that of PKP Intercity. Moreover, as part of the Super Promo tariff at PKP IC, it was possible to travel for up to PLN 4 on some sections within the Tricity, Upper Silesia and other large cities.
The mentioned Super Promo offers are those that appear regularly on the PKP website. We are talking about a special tab in which there is always a smaller or larger pool of extremely cheap tickets for specific days. Their number is always limited, but the prices can be extremely attractive. Many times it was possible to get from Warsaw to the seaside for less than PLN 30 on a regular ticket.
Will PKP cancel super cheap tickets?
The current situation with cheap tickets at PKP has its good and bad sides. “Rynek Kolejowy” pointed out that each ticket sold on a short train blocked the sale of a seat on the longer route. He also added that everything was going to change now. “Our calling is to provide long-distance transport. In 2023, compared to 2016, there was a significant decrease in the statistical length of our passenger's journey. We will therefore gradually withdraw from special offers that create competition for regional carriers. The possibility of booking season tickets will be charged additionally. All this, of course, does not exempt us from gradually increasing the supply of seats,” commented Janusz Malinowski, the new president of PKP Intercity.
