Connect Gdańsk, Sopot and Gdynia

Szybka Kolej Miejska (SKM) "Rapid Urban Railway" the Tri-City equivalent of a metro, the fastest and cheapest way to move between Gdańsk, Sopot and Gdynia. Round the clock 365 days a year, you can travel between Gdańsk Central, Sopot and Gdynia Central, through Rumia as far as Wejherowo, stopping off en route at such Gdańsk districts as Wrzeszcz, Zaspa, Przymorze or Oliwa, and Orłowo, Redłowo or Chylonia in Gdynia. The entire Gdańsk Central - Gdynia Central route consists of 15 stops in total; at peak times trains, usually painted in a characteristic combination of blue and yellow, run every seven minutes.

SKM in the Tri-City carries around 130,000 passengers daily and over 40 million annually. As well as this, separate SKM trains connect the Tri-City with Tczew and Słupsk.

The idea behind the urban railway goes back to the mid-40s and the beginnings of the Tri-City's reconstruction after the ravages of war. The SKM was put into operation as early as the beginning of the 50s, on its own track, separate from the long-distance line. From today's perspective the investment might have seemed rough-and-ready: for two decades you could only travel from Gdańsk to Gdynia on the so-called "Blues", ex-Berlin S-Bahn carriages , which had found their way to Poland as part of war reparations, and were powered with the aid of . . . warship rectifiers.

The German rolling stock wasn't replaced until as late as the 1970s - superseded by the EN57 type trains, many of which are still running today.

A few years back, a separate SKM track, which had connected Gdańsk Central and Nowy Port since 1951, was closed. It is going to be reopened to carry football fans to the PGE Arena during the Euro 2012 Championships. The coming years will see the construction of another SKM track, this time connecting Gdańsk and Gdynia with Lech Wałęsa Airport in Rębiechowo.

Before travelling on the SKM you need to remember to buy tickets. Special tickets apply, which can be bought at separate ticket offices at train stations (They have to be stamped before getting onto the train!), from ticket machines on platforms or from the conductor at the front of the train (but then they're more expensive). Ticket inspection on the SKM trains is not the most pleasant of affairs but this slight inconvenience can be compensated for by the party atmosphere on the train on weekend nights.

www.skm.pkp.pl

Source: M. Baran, P. Gulda "Do it in the Tri-City! Alternative guide". The bilingual guide you can buy in Cultural Shop.