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Pass travel, Germany-Poland, resident of neither

nellieb1y
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Folks, 

Mightily impressed by the depth of knowledge here, and after careful reading, I have one unanswered question.  

I have read the thread below, however my use case is a bit different.  As an NL resident, I shall be in Berlin for business in June.  I want to travel from Berlin to Warszawa, and spend a week in Poland, decompress, and explore the country. Then at the end of an all-too-short week, train from Warszawa back to Berlin.

I want to reserve on the EIC 49 which is operated by PKP Intercity. Interrail site says, an Interrail one country pass is recognised by "PKP and local-government run companies: Koleje Dolnoslaskie and Przewozy Regionalne” PKP's website has for several days given me website errors, using any PC or network, and a few folks on this forum seem to be having the same issue.  

What's my best course of action?  Do I need to visit a PKP ticket counter in Berlin Hbf, assuming there is one hidden behind the queues to the international ticket offices on level +1?  Phone call?   Or break down and buy a ticket from Berlin Hbf to Rzepin, and use my Interrail Pass from Rzepin-Warszawa?

Thanks in advance!

Karla in Haarlem

 

 

Best answer by rvdborgt

EC/EIC 49 is operated in Germany by DB and in Poland by PKP. An international reservation for this train is best bought at a ticket office, such as the DB ticket office in Berlin. There is no PKP ticket office there.

A one country pass for Poland is only valid from the border tariff point. You'll need an extra ticket to the border if you start from Berlin, but a saver ticket to the first station in Poland will probably be cheaper. Compare what prices DB and PKP offer. AFAIK PKP is often cheaper. That ticket will already come with a reservation. You can book a domestic reservation from Rzepin on the PKP Intercity website.

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EC/EIC 49 is operated in Germany by DB and in Poland by PKP. An international reservation for this train is best bought at a ticket office, such as the DB ticket office in Berlin. There is no PKP ticket office there.

A one country pass for Poland is only valid from the border tariff point. You'll need an extra ticket to the border if you start from Berlin, but a saver ticket to the first station in Poland will probably be cheaper. Compare what prices DB and PKP offer. AFAIK PKP is often cheaper. That ticket will already come with a reservation. You can book a domestic reservation from Rzepin on the PKP Intercity website.

Please ask questions in the community and not via a private message. That's the quickest way to get a response. I don't work for Eurail/Interrail.
nellieb1y
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rvdborgt wrote:

EC/EIC 49 is operated in Germany by DB and in Poland by PKP. An international reservation for this train is best bought at a ticket office, such as the DB ticket office in Berlin. There is no PKP ticket office there.

A one country pass for Poland is only valid from the border tariff point. You'll need an extra ticket to the border if you start from Berlin, but a saver ticket to the first station in Poland will probably be cheaper. Compare what prices DB and PKP offer. AFAIK PKP is often cheaper. That ticket will already come with a reservation. You can book a domestic reservation from Rzepin on the PKP Intercity website.

Thank you most kindly.  On comparing prices, a 3 day Interrail pass was cheaper than round trip Berlin Warszawa, so I just bought the 3 day pass, and will ask the DB counter to sort out the rest.

Sent a note to DB customer service, who responded that it was a bit early to try and place reservations for June.  It would be nice to know how early is possible.  Will post any updates or learning here.

Karla
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nellieb1y wrote:

Sent a note to DB customer service, who responded that it was a bit early to try and place reservations for June.  It would be nice to know how early is possible.  Will post any updates or learning here.

Normally international trains to/from Poland can be booked 60 days in advance but sometimes it is shorter because of engineering works or a timetable change. The summer timetable takes affect on 11 June so that may be the cause.

Please ask questions in the community and not via a private message. That's the quickest way to get a response. I don't work for Eurail/Interrail.
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It's most odd, the interrail app says either pass travel not available, buy full fare… or unavailable.   The DB site also says it's not possible, and now we're a month out.   

So yes, I could wait in a queue on the 12th at the Hauptbanhof to get the reservations in person.  I cannot do it in person earlier, because I will only arrive in Berlin that same morning.  So… lots of good facts, but, what do I do?  

Thanks !  

 

Karla
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Did you buy a 3-day One-country Poland pass ? Then as rvdborgt advised you need to either book a regular ticket to Rzepin, the first stop in Poland (through bahn.de) or a ticket to the border point (but this is only possible at train stations)

Then you'll need a seat reservation for the domestic journey available on PKP's website

Maybe you could go to a NS ticket counter and ask

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nellieb1y wrote:

It's most odd, the interrail app says either pass travel not available, buy full fare… or unavailable.   The DB site also says it's not possible, and now we're a month out.

The rail planner app can't book reservations. The DB website can't book reservations only for these trains (only ticket + reservation). In addition, PKP still haven't opened reservations for the new timetable. You can check that on https://www.intercity.pl/

nellieb1y wrote:

So yes, I could wait in a queue on the 12th at the Hauptbanhof to get the reservations in person.  I cannot do it in person earlier, because I will only arrive in Berlin that same morning.  So… lots of good facts, but, what do I do?  

You can only wait.

Once reservations are open, you could e.g. call DB and then collect your reservation or ticket from a ticket machine.

If you still only have a pass for Poland, you can, once reservations are open, also book a ticket from Berlin to Rzepin online yourself. Compare DB and PKP prices.

Please ask questions in the community and not via a private message. That's the quickest way to get a response. I don't work for Eurail/Interrail.
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Thank you most kindly for the perspective.  It all fits, now.

Karla
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Btw is it really cheaper with any pass ? You could get a 85% refund and then buy regular tickets

Berlin - Warsaw cost 34.90€ one-way incl. seat reservation (available right now) and tickets within Poland are quite cheap

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