PKP Intercity sleeper trains: Couchette or sleeping car?

Here's what matters most about travelling overnight with PKP Intercity:

• Couchette (carriage with berths): the budget option, with a fold-down berth in a 4- or 6-berth compartment. The price includes a pillow with a case, a blanket and two sheets. Compartments are mixed-gender, with no washbasin and no refreshments.
• Sleeping car (Single, Double, Triple): a comfortable made-up bed (pillow, duvet, sheet) in a 1-, 2- or 3-berth compartment. Every compartment has a washbasin, and on international routes one of the carriage toilets has a shower.
• Deluxe compartments (Single Deluxe, Double Deluxe): the highest standard - a private toilet with a shower, an extended toiletry kit, and morning refreshments with breakfast.
• Berths are available on 19 routes - 8 international and 11 domestic.
• You buy the berth together with your travel ticket. It can't be added later, and the ticket can't be exchanged after purchase.
• On PolishTrains you order a ticket with a berth through customer support - by phone on +48 123 451 661 or by email at contact@polishtrains.eu, daily from 7:00 to 23:00. Domestic up to 30 days, international up to 60 days before departure.

A couchette is the right choice if you're watching your budget and you don't mind the lack of a washbasin or sharing a mixed-gender compartment with three or five other people. It works well for a group of friends travelling together, and for solo travellers who'd rather spend their money at the destination. A sleeping car is worth considering when comfort matters more - you sleep in proper bedding, and in the morning you freshen up at your own washbasin. If you're a woman travelling alone, sleeping cars also offer women-only compartments. A Deluxe compartment is for travellers who want the full package, including a private bathroom with a shower. Both standard sleeping cars and Deluxe can be booked as a Single, meaning the whole compartment with one berth is yours.

When you book with PolishTrains, our consultant will check the current availability of specific compartment types on your chosen train.

Here's the full comparison:

Couchettes and sleeping cars both run in a compartment carriage - a carriage divided into separate closed compartments, rather than open seating. PKP Intercity offers seven types of berth in these carriages on its night trains. Here's the full list:

• 6-berth couchette - the cheapest berth, with three levels of bunks on both sides of the compartment.
• 4-berth couchette - more room than the 6-berth version, with two levels of bunks.
• Triple - a sleeping compartment for 3 people, with a washbasin and a made-up bed.
• Double - a sleeping compartment for 2 people, the usual choice for couples.
• Single - an entire sleeping compartment for your sole use.
• Single Deluxe - the highest standard for 1 person: the whole compartment to yourself, with a private toilet and shower, an extended toiletry kit and breakfast.
• Double Deluxe - the same highest standard in a 2-berth compartment: private toilet with a shower, extended toiletry kit and breakfast for both passengers.

You'll find more about what the interior looks like in our guide to what a sleeping car looks like on Intercity.

Beyond the compartment standard you pick, three things drive the price. The route matters - international journeys cost more than domestic ones. So does when you book: tickets bought right after the booking window opens are often cheaper than those bought a few days before departure. Finally, there are any PKP concessions and discounts you're entitled to.

Your consultant at PolishTrains customer support will quote the current price for your route and chosen standard when you book - and will check berth availability on that specific train at the same time.

When you book a ticket with a berth, you don't need to worry about hidden charges - bedding is always included, and in sleeping cars you also get refreshments and a toiletry kit as part of the package.

The catering service varies by standard and route:

What's in the toiletry kit?

• Single, Double, Triple: a single-use terry towel and a bar of toilet soap.
• Single Deluxe, Double Deluxe: terry towel, bath towel, soap, all-purpose shower gel, dental kit, and single-use slippers.
• Couchette: no toiletry kit.

What can you buy from the WARS attendant?

If you fancy a little something along the way, the sleeping car attendant sells hot and cold drinks, snacks, hot instant meals, and sleep accessories such as eye masks and earplugs. You can pay by card, in cash, or in a major foreign currency. Want to know what to expect before you board? Check how to tell whether there's a WARS restaurant car on your train.

Night trains in Poland are operated by PKP Intercity (Poland's main railway operator) - night carriages run on 19 direct routes in both directions: 8 international and 11 domestic. On most of them you'll find both a sleeping car and a couchette carriage in the same train.

International connections

• Warsaw–Munich (Germany)
• Przemyśl–Munich (Germany)
• Warsaw–Budapest (Hungary)
• Przemyśl–Budapest (Hungary)
• Gdynia–Prague (Czech Republic)
• Warsaw–Rijeka (Croatia)
• Hel–Bohumín (Czech Republic)
• Lębork–Bohumín (Czech Republic)

Domestic connections

Domestic trains with couchettes and sleeping cars mainly link southern Poland with the Baltic coast - you board in the mountains in the evening and step off by the sea in the morning, or the other way round.

• Warsaw–Szklarska Poręba (Karkonosze Mountains)
• Gdynia–Zakopane (Tatra Mountains) - the most popular route if you're looking for a sleeping car to Zakopane
• Zakopane–Świnoujście (the Tatras and the coast)
• Cracow–Kołobrzeg (coast)
• Cracow–Hel (coast)
• Cracow–Lębork (coast)
• Cracow–Świnoujście (coast)
• Przemyśl–Świnoujście (coast)
• Chełm–Świnoujście (coast)
• Bielsko-Biała–Świnoujście (coast)
• Bielsko-Biała–Kołobrzeg (coast)

You can check timetables and departure times for any date in our train schedule.

You always buy a ticket with a berth as a single package with your travel ticket - the charge for the berth appears as a separate item on the same document. On PolishTrains, the booking is made by our customer support consultant.

Booking windows

• Domestic tickets: go on sale 30 days before departure.
• International tickets: go on sale 60 days before departure.

Bear in mind that berths sell out fast, especially before long weekends and during the summer holidays. It's worth getting in touch as soon as the booking window opens.

How to book, step by step

1. Pick a suitable connection in our train schedule.
2. Call +48 123 451 661 (charges according to the operator's tariff), use the priority line on +48 703 402 010 (the cost of a priority call is PLN 2.58 inc. VAT/min) or email contact@polishtrains.eu. Customer support is open daily from 7:00 to 23:00.
3. Tell us your route, travel date, number of passengers, and preferred standard (couchette, Single, Double, Triple, or Deluxe).
4. Your consultant will check availability, quote the current price and match you with the best option available.
5. Once you've paid, you'll get your ticket electronically.

Can you add a berth supplement to an existing ticket?

No. Under PKP Intercity rules:

• You can't buy the berth supplement on its own, without a travel ticket.
• You can't exchange a standard ticket (first or second class) for a couchette or sleeping car once it's been paid for.
• You can't book a berth yourself on the PolishTrains website - the booking is handled by our customer support consultant.

If your plans change, check the rules on refunds and ticket exchanges.

The number on your ticket tells you exactly which level you'll be sleeping on:

• Lower berth (number ending in 1 or 2): the easiest to get in and out of, recommended if you're older, travelling with children or carrying bulkier luggage. It sits 450–650 mm above the floor and has no safety strap.
• Middle berth (number ending in 3 or 4): fitted with a safety strap and still reasonably easy to climb into.
• Upper berth (number ending in 5 or 6): the most privacy. A folding ladder put up by the attendant makes it easier to climb in, and this berth also has a strap to stop you sliding out.

Want a specific berth? Tell your consultant when you book - if it's still free, we'll match the exact level you prefer.

• With a child: children up to the age of 10 can share a single berth with a parent or guardian without paying for an extra berth. Families are most comfortable in a sleeping compartment booked for their exclusive use.
• In a group or with family: the rule that berths are sold according to passengers' gender doesn't apply to children up to the age of 10 travelling with adults, or to people who want to travel together - so you can share one compartment without any problem.
• With a pet: travelling with a dog or a cat in a sleeping car is possible only if you book the entire compartment for exclusive use.
• With luggage: we've covered the rules for suitcases and larger items in our guide to luggage on PKP Intercity.
• Quiet hours: from 22:00 to 6:00 in all sleeping cars and couchette carriages.

A journey in a sleeping car follows a set routine:

1. Boarding: the WARS attendant welcomes you on board and, if you ask, puts up the ladder or makes up your bed.
2. Ticket check: this happens just after departure, so staff don't disturb your rest during the night.
3. Quiet hours (22:00–6:00): time to sleep and wind down.
4. Wake-up call: the attendant wakes passengers at the time agreed in advance - no later than 30 minutes before you reach your destination.
5. Daytime on board: if you're travelling on after waking up, the crew folds the beds away and turns the compartment into roomy seating.

It mostly comes down to how much you're willing to pay for privacy.

• You're travelling alone and counting every penny - a 6-berth couchette. You get bedding and a berth, and you share the compartment with five other people.
• You're travelling with a group of friends - a 4- or 6-berth couchette. The couchette carriage is mixed-gender, and in sleeping cars the gender rule doesn't apply to people who want to travel together.
• You need a proper night's sleep before work or sightseeing - Triple or Double. A made-up bed, a washbasin in the compartment, and refreshments included make a real difference.
• You're travelling as a pair and want the compartment to yourselves - Double or Double Deluxe.
• Privacy matters most to you - Single or Single Deluxe. The whole compartment for one person, and in the Deluxe version with a private toilet and shower.
• You're a woman travelling alone - ask your consultant about a women-only compartment in a sleeping car.

Whichever you pick, you order the berth through PolishTrains customer support - on +48 123 451 661 or at contact@polishtrains.eu, daily from 7:00 to 23:00. Domestic tickets up to 30 days and international up to 60 days before departure.