PKP Intercity, Poland’s national rail carrier, has seen 16 % more passengers use its services since the beginning of the year than in the same period last year. PKP Intercity announces that it will carry 67 million passengers by the end of the year – 8 million more than in 2022.

According to a report presented by the company, from January to October 2023, 56.5 million people used PKP Intercity services. In the same period in 2022, the number of passengers of the national carrier was at 48.8 million. This represents an increase of 7.7 million people, or almost 16 %.

“We expect to carry 67 million passengers in 2023, more than double the 2015 figure. This would not have been possible if it had not been for the multi-year implementation of our rolling stock strategy, our bet on remote sales channels, our opening up to sales via partners’ platforms and apps under unified terms of business, or the structuring of our carrier offering. Today, we can confidently say that the direction of PKP Intercity’s development is clearly indicated and the development strategy we are pursuing is a response to the contemporary needs of passengers”, says PKP Intercity vice-president Tomasz Gontarz.

The year 2023 is a record year for PKP Intercity in many respects. Each consecutive month is the best ever compared to the same months of past years. October 2023, for example, saw 5.8 million passengers, making it better than October 2022, when 5.2 million passengers chose to travel by train.

PKP Intercity is upgrading its rolling stock all the time. Last week, the company signed three contracts for the modernisation of traditional compartment wagons. The agreements were signed with the H. Cegielski and with the Bydgoszcz-based PESA factory. Under these contracts, 40 carriages will be refurbished. They will gain new seats, air conditioning and Wi-Fi access.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński