Poland. Transport
, ostatnia aktualizacja 2012-06-08 13:02:31
The most popular ways to travel in Poland are by car and train. Young Poles often choose cheap and comfortable bus lines - "Polski Bus". You can also travel with new airlines "OLT Express" offering reasonable ticket price, or national Polish Airlines "LOT".
Train
Polish State Railways (pl. PKP) offer different travel speeds, depending on the type of train. You can travel around the country or abroad with intercity, express and slow trains. Each type of train connects big cities in the country.
Both getting information and buying tickets is possible via internet or directly on the railway station. See PKP website for the timetable. If you need help and you are unable to ask anybody, call the information centre.
The closest foreign cities are Berlin, Prague, Lviv, Bratislava, but it's also easy to catch a train to Vienna and Budapest.
Express trains are far more comfortable than the slow trains. Both express and intercity trains are divided into sectors - 1st and 2nd class. Commonly restaurant cars are available in many fast trains. Night and long-distance trains have special sleeping coaches.
Bus
Bus often delivers you to destinations unattainable for train. Local and international bus connections are available in Poland. All towns and cities have bus stations, making it possible to reach even a small village by bus. Check the bus timetable website to find your ideal connection.
Tickets are sold on a bus station or directly by the drivers. Some bus companies like „Polski Bus” allow passengers to buy tickets via Internet. Timetables and ticket prices are available on bus stations and Internet websites.
Bus lines such as „PKS Polonus” and „Polski Bus” offer comfortable travelling conditions and reasonable prices. Some towns and villages provide a microbus service. Sometimes this might be the only one way to reach certain destinations. The tickets are sold directly by the drivers.
Airplane
Travelling across the country on an airplane becomes more and more popular every day. New airlines, OLT Express, offer a wide and reasonable range of connections between some of Poland’s main cities: Warsaw, Gdansk, Wroclaw, Szczecin, Poznan, £ód¼, Katowice and Cracow. Each city has an international airport. To check the timetable and connection prices visit the OLT Express website. Note that official airline in Poland is Polish Airlines LOT.
Car
There are many different types of roadways in Poland. A motorway is marked with „A” (A4, A1) on a blue board. Most of the motorways are paid. National roads are assigned with white numbers on red background. Be aware of frequent repairs! Provincial roads are the hardest to navigate.
Speed limits
built-up area - 50 km/h
outside of built-up area - up to 90 km/h
residential zone - 20 km/h
one-lane express roadway - up to 100 km/h
two-lane express roadway - up to 120 km/h
motorway - 140 km/h
Speeding and other fines
up to 10 km/h - up to 50 z³
11-20 km/h: 50-100 z³
21-30 km/h: 100-200 z³
31-40 km/h: 200-300 z³
41-50 km/h: 300-400 z³
exceeding 51 km/h: 400-500 z³
Handling a phone while driving - 200 z³
Overtaking on pedestrian crossing - 200 z³
Dimmed or non-visible brake light - 100-300 z³