PKP Intercity TLK: Explore Poland on This Timeless Classic Train!

Dzień dobry folks,
Welcome to this trip report from a small countryside Polish town : Sochaczew. Today we are heading to the Capital of Poland : Warsaw with PKP Intercity and their low cost offers : TLK.

- TRIP INFORMATION -
RECORDED IN AUGUST 2019
Railroad company: PKP IC (TLK)
Train type : EP07 and 111A coaches
From : Sochaczew to Warsaw Central
Time : 36 min
Price : zł 18 (EUR 3.95 - USD 4.79)

- EQUIPEMENT - iPhone XS + Dji Osmo 2

Credit photo for the thumbnail : Urbino18 on IG (Andrej Niskopodlogowy)
Credit sound :

English correction made by Michel Seignette de Kerobert

[travelKDeu]

5:57 : TLK trains are operated by old not refurbished cars without restaurant car, AC and power outlets. IC trains are operated with modernized cars or EMU's (Pesa Dart / Stadler Flirt) and contain a restaurant car. The goal of PKP iC is to replace all TLK trains with IC trains.

[anthonycubadugosz]

Maybe you didn’t feel difference between TLK and IC, but IC are always new or modernized, with air conditioning and electric plugs, restaurant car, and IC can be also a traction unit, like Stadler Flirt

[adamzieba]

EP07 belongs to a family of electric locos that was started in 1962, when Polish State Railways had ordered and bought 20 class EU06 locos from English Electric complete with a license to build them in Poland. Their design was based on British Rail class 83. Several derivative classes of EU06 were developed later in Poland.

[dharmagall]

The underground railway stations have a very special vibe.

[ignacygoebiowski]

In Poland PKP Intercity has 4 types of trains: TLK(Twoje Linie InterCity)<EIP(Express InterCity Premium)

[rsconrado]

Thanks for nice material. Regards from Poland🇵🇱. K.

[malkin_]

You were really lucky finding tidied up toilet in TLK.
Nice vid btw and u shouldn' t forget to ride with not refrubished EN57 to feel that you are really travelling by train :)

[A_Canadian_In_Poland]

I rode those a lot two years ago when I arrived in Poland, but now, those old carriages are becoming quite rare. It has been mandated that train toilets that flush to the tracks will not be permitted to operate in Poland beyond the end of 2024.

[soundria]

I'm getting a virtual railroad junkie in these covid times, thanks for that

[kbieniu]

TLK is often extended by passengers to "Tani Letni Koszmar" which means "Cheap Summer Nightmare" :P It basically has guarantee only to have wheels. The 8-person compartments are a nightmare if full, they try to replace it with 6-persons ones or the non-compartment cars. In the Intercity category one of the guarantees is not to have those 8-persons compartments

[kimberlygila]

This brings me back memories when l was in poland, polish people love their trains and the public transportation is popular there too.freight trains have right of way there.

[joeymandrews]

Wow, I'm here early... alot earlier than Northern Rail in the UK 😏😂

[munchnerkindl]

Berlin-Warsaw would be a nice track.
Besides that, good video.👍

[pliedtka]

Haven't been in Poland for almost 2 decades. There's still a lady selling tickets :)
EP-07, modernized EU-07, both of them build on base of EU-06, licenced from British design.
I like the old classic cart design from 70s, quite comfy and if you travel in group you don't invade on others privacy.

[DanielsUKT]

great video on the classic PKP intercity TLK trains i really do like the sounds of the rails as you are moving from carriage to carriage and the view out of the back and the locomotive at the front

[reiniernn]

In the first seconds there is written 60 km East of Warsaw. On the map a little later it seems Sochaczew is on the west side of Warsaw.

[necroslair]

Great video as always. And the Eastern Airlines shirt is cool also...

[osasunaitor]

2:24 "I am quite surprised but it seems that Poland is a railway friendly country"
Why are you surprised?? Poland has one of the best rail networks in central Europe. Reliable and cheap with lots of connections. I'm jealous of them!

[marcinj]

About the carriage designation here is a little bit of clarification. Old 24, 5m carriages that are true second class have 10 compartments and nothing in the designation indicates if it is with 8 seats per compartment or 6 seats. The number after B (in case of second class, first class has A and mixed classes is AB) in case of compartment cars indicates the number of physical compartments (as said before no matter if 8 seat or 6 seat) and in case of open saloon carriages it means the number of seats divided by 8 (sort of categorising into virtual 8 seat compartments) so 72 seat modernised 24, 5m carriage will be B9nopuz (p indicates completely open saloon configuration). The letter z indicates the type of power supply of the carriage. Those with z letter have electronic converter which converts high voltage provided by the locomotive to low voltage for lighting, charging batteries and other things (heating not included as it draws so much current that it must be constantly provided in high voltage without any conversion). Those without that letter have their own dynamo that is connected to wheelset so during motion the energy to lighting and battery charging is provided, when train stops the lighting power supply is changed automatically to draw from battery. Simply put during summer when heating isn't needed such carriage doesn't need to be connected electrically to locomotive, it is fully autonomous as long as the stops aren't too long to deplete batteries completely. 1st class carriages have 9 compartments which are physically bigger so more room for legs and 6 seats by definition. Actually the AB9nou/AB9nouz mixed class of the 112At type (under AB9nouz designation there are also very much different 141A-20 carriages) is a converted full first class carriage where simply in 5 of 9 compartments they changed the seating to 8 seats so the second class in this mixed carriage is a weird hybrid of 8 seat seating typical for 2nd class with the leg room that is typical for 1st class. PKP IC often runs 1st class carriages as 2nd class but they mark them by A4 paper with printed info on entrance doors, currently they don't practice permanent class reduction. However if they started such practice in future, then the carriages will be designated A9nouy. Also in all those designations the letter n means forced air heating system, carriages designated as B10ou or B10ouz have radiator heating system under seats so from passenger point of view they are the same old stock as these here unless you decide to look what is hidden under seats. As for more modern 26, 4m carriages they can be recognised by the letter m, the 2nd class is 11 compartment B11mnouz and 1st class is 9 compartment A9mnouz. 2nd class is 6 seated with leg space like in 2nd class old carriages, additional 1, 9m is used to add a whole additional compartment so between modernised old (there are better 6 seat modernisations that the 6 seat on the video) and new ones there may be absolutely no difference in compartment characteristics. 1st class in 26, 4m is even better than 1st class in 24, 5m because the number of compartments is the same but even more room for legs.

[amittesukku]

This was a neat little video! Just sent it to my foreign friend to show her that this is more like the trains I take, as opposed to a video she watched on Express InterCity Premium. I don't take any specific interest in trains, so I didn't know about the Nou(z) thing at all - I wonder if I'll be able to remember it from now on :D