PKP Intercity carried 8.8 million passengers during the winter holidays

PKP Intercity carried 8.8 million passengers during Poland’s winter holiday travel period, which ran from January 17 to March 1, 2026. That was around 9% more than a year earlier and 18% more than two years ago. The total included 2.8 million children and teenagers.

The operator said its trains carried an average of 200,000 passengers a day during the holiday period. The busiest day was February 22, when nearly 265,000 people travelled on PKP Intercity services.

Heavy demand on Warsaw routes and leisure destinations

The strongest demand came on links between Poland’s largest cities, especially from the Tri-City area, Kraków, Łódź and Poznań to Warsaw. Popular leisure destinations included Zakopane, Szklarska Poręba, Karpacz, Krynica-Zdrój, Kłodzko, Kołobrzeg and Olsztyn. PKP Intercity also reported strong intra-regional traffic, particularly in Mazovia, Pomerania, Greater Poland and Lesser Poland.

Organised groups also accounted for a visible share of demand. During the winter break, the operator handled 1,300 group trips for around 41,000 passengers. That was 24% more than two years earlier. The most popular group routes included Kraków to Warsaw, Warsaw to Zakopane, Łódź to Warsaw and the Tri-City to Zakopane.

More services and extra coaches

During this year’s winter holidays, passengers had access to more than 530 PKP Intercity connections a day. That was more than 100 above the level recorded two years earlier. Across the full period, the operator ran more than 23,000 domestic and international trains.

To add capacity, PKP Intercity strengthened 254 trains with extra coaches. More than 275 additional coaches were attached in total. For year-on-year comparisons, the company used matching 44-day winter holiday periods in 2026, 2025 and 2024.