Warszawa Centralna — Attraction in Warsaw

I arrived today, September 29, 2022, from Krakow at 20:25 on the train EIP 3500;

I went to the taxi station in front of the station's building, where there was a long line of taxis waiting;

The first taxi was with the lights of, and approaching him, he said to me that I needed to pay 100 PLN to go from the station to Krakowskie Przedmiescie. I said him that I would pay for the amount on the taximeter and that he had no right to ask more, and he said that it was a special deluxe Taxi. It didn't seem so;

I went to the second taxi in the line, with the lights on, and I said,d to him that I was going to Krakowskie Przedmiescie, and he immediately told me that it was to pay 70 PLN. I told him that the law is that I should pay what will be in the taximeter, and he answered me that he was waiting for somebody, which was evidently false;

So I went to the third taxi, and he told him the address where I needed to go. He began to fabricate, and I insisted that they did not have the right to do that, and the law ordered to ask what would indicate the taximeter. He had the toupé of asking if I thought I was his boss. I answered him that certainly not, but that all should obey the law; I informed him that I would make a complaint, but he didn't answer;

Seeing that they were acting as a "team" and needing a taxi for health reasons that don't permit me to walk without serious pain, I went to the National Police in a corridor on a lower level of the station, thinking that they would assist me or at least do something. I entered and was received by a young policeman, who seemed to be the person in charge. In the beginning, he spoke English but suddenly, when he perceived the problem, he began to say "nie rozumien," "nie móvie angielsku," etc. He understood what I was saying but didn't want to assist me for some personal convenience or something else.

I am sad that the City of Warsaw permits something that could qualify as a kind of mafia of taxi waiting for passengers before the station. But much worst, and now I fear there is a sort of collaboration with some policemen. This policeman was not alone; the room became a fool with the other police who came to hear... in silence. I asked them if nobody would do anything and the answer was a heavy silence!

I went to Aleja Jerosmilski and called a taxi. The drive cost 14,00 PLN!

I live in Poland, and I like Polish people very much: they generally are very gentle and work hard without complaining. Today I saw a very different Poland nested in the Warsaw Central Station.

I have lived in several countries, and Poland has been one the most agreeable to live, especially because of the Polish people. I am astonished by what happened, and I ask you to take due notice, act in consequence and inform me. May I hope that it is not a kind of xenophobia or discrimination for...

I arrived in the evening with a luggage, and was looking for ATM center. Couldn't find any. So I went to the only money changer there so I could buy tickets for local transport. The change rate wasn't the greatest, but okay. In the big hall of the central station I couldn't find automats selling local tickets, only counters selling tickets for Polish speed trains. So I went down again, found several automats but couldn't get the ticket I needed. You have to look for the machine with "t" writing (big, red color). It happened that the machine didn't print paper tickets. Very confusing. So I went upstairs again to the big hall and asked people there. Luckily somebody was so helpful and went with me to a ticket machine outside the station. It was the same machine I saw before, but this one could print a paper ticket. In February 2024, a 20 minute ticket costs 3,40 zloty, a 75 minute one costs 4,40, zloty. You can use it for buses, trams and metro. If you stay a bit far from the central station and you need some connections, better buy the 75 minute ticket. The station was not so easy to navigate. I couldn't straight away find toilet sign, for example. Finding trams was not so easy either. It would be great if there's signage showing the numbers and directions "before" one has to walk so far to a tram stop only to find that one gets to a wrong stop. I think the station could be more user friendly with more and...

Overcrowded PKP Intercity Train with No Seat – Poor Booking Experience

We wanted to take a day trip during the holiday season with my brother who only visits once a year, so we bought train tickets from KOLEO. (Returning Gdansk to Warsaw) During the booking process, no seat assignment was offered, and I didn’t think much of it because I’ve never had an issue traveling by train before.

Unfortunately, the return train was 54 minutes late, and it was completely overcrowded. People were standing, and although we were seated, we were told to give up our seats by passengers claiming they had paid for them. We ended up standing for the entire ride back. I have never experienced anything like this before — it felt like I paid to be humiliated.

After looking into it, I found out that in some Eastern European countries, trains get extremely crowded during the holiday season, and this kind of experience is common. Just a warning: always make sure to select your seat when booking, or you might find yourself, like me, being woken up in the middle of the night after just 4 hours of sleep, standing in the middle of a train while everyone else is asleep around you.

I’m especially frustrated that there was no clear information about this situation during the booking process. The system doesn’t warn or inform passengers about potential standing-room-only scenarios, and that’s unacceptable. I truly regret...