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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

 

 

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.

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.

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.

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 !  

 

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

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/

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.

Thank you most kindly for the perspective.  It all fits, now.

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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