Warsaw Szybka Kolej Miejska (SKM) S3 Fast City Rail from Warszawa Centralna to WAW
Map Below: SKM from Warszawa Centralna to Warszawa Lotnisko Chopina
TRAIN: Warszawa Centralna to Warszawa Lotnisko Chopina
DATE: Tuesday, September 9, 2014
OPERATOR: Szybka Kolej Miejska (SKM) Fast City Rail
TRAIN NUMBER: S3
TRAIN TYPE: Subway/City Rail
CABIN: Single Class
DEPARTURE - SCHEDULED: 1:43pm // ACTUAL: 1:52pm
ARRIVAL - SCHEDULED: 2:03pm // ACTUAL: 2:07pm
DURATION: 15 minutes
DISTANCE: Approx. 12 miles
I hadn’t planned to make a separate post about this train trip until I read
a blogger’s post that “[t]he Warsaw metro isn’t tourist friendly.” I understand from where the blogger is coming; however, I disagree because I think part of traveling is learning a bit about the people, culture, and customs of the places to which one travels. From this perspective, I think the railway service in Warsaw, especially to and from the airport, is wonderfully friendly for tourists. The train service is operated by two companies: Szybka Kolej Miejska – SKM (Fast Urban Railway) and Koleje Mazowieckie – KML (Masovian Railways). We took SKM both from and to the airport and the airport provides
a detailed webpage with a lot of information and the Public Transport Authority of Warsaw (ZTM) has a great
route planner webpage. This train has connected to the airport for only 2 years, so, there isn’t as much historical information available for tourists.
I found it very easy to purchase a ticket at the airport (with a Chip+PIN credit card) and, if one has sufficient coins, onboard. The duration of the trip to/from the airport from/to central Warsaw is very quick and smooth. The trains were very clean and convenient and not crowded. The train is very easy to take with large luggage. The fare each way is extremely reasonable (4.40 PLN ~ $1.29 USD). The trains avoid any traffic congestion.
However, I do think there are some specific areas where improvements could be made. One thing that kept confusing me was that the same station was sometimes referred to with different names (e.g., Warszawa Centrum / Warszawa Centralna). Another aspect that I think could be improved is the acceptance of paper money for tickets onboard the trains (as far as I could tell, only coins were accepted in the automated machine). A final aspect I had difficulty with was purchasing a ticket at Warszawa Centrum / Warszawa Centralna (which is primarily served by inter-city trains) – I couldn’t find ticket machines specific to SKM/ZTM in the station and the woman at the ticket window was unable to sell me a ticket (though she did break a paper bill I had so I had sufficient coins to purchase a ticket onboard with ease).
We arrived on the platform (after being unable to purchase a ticket at Warszawa Centrum / Warszawa Centralna station) with the plan to use coins to purchase a ticket onboard. The train was delayed (a delay that was posted to the departures board). Once the train arrived, we moved to the first car in order to purchase our tickets. The process was extremely simple. There are also activation stamps near the train doors; however, I’m not sure if tickets purchased onboard require activation (we did so with our inbound tickets purchased from the machine in the airport station though).
The trains are modern, fast and comfortable. We quickly selected our seats and the train whisked us away. We arrived in the airport station shortly after 2:00pm for our scheduled 4:30pm departure.
Photo Below: Departure Platform - Szybka Kolej Miejska – SKM (Fast Urban Railway) from Warsaw Centrum to Warsaw Airport
Photo Below: Departures Board - Szybka Kolej Miejska – SKM (Fast Urban Railway) from Warsaw Centrum to Warsaw Airport
Photo Below: Well-Signed Platform - Szybka Kolej Miejska – SKM (Fast Urban Railway) from Warsaw Centrum to Warsaw Airport
Photo Below: Train Arriving in Station - Szybka Kolej Miejska – SKM (Fast Urban Railway) from Warsaw Centrum to Warsaw Airport
Photo Below: Boarding Train - Szybka Kolej Miejska – SKM (Fast Urban Railway) from Warsaw Centrum to Warsaw Airport
Photo Below: Onboard Train - Szybka Kolej Miejska – SKM (Fast Urban Railway) from Warsaw Centrum to Warsaw Airport
Photo Below: Additional Seating Options - Szybka Kolej Miejska – SKM (Fast Urban Railway) from Warsaw Centrum to Warsaw Airport
Photo Below: Seating - Szybka Kolej Miejska – SKM (Fast Urban Railway) from Warsaw Centrum to Warsaw Airport
Photo Below: Onboard Ticket Machine - Szybka Kolej Miejska – SKM (Fast Urban Railway) from Warsaw Centrum to Warsaw Airport
Photo Below: Onboard Ticket Purchase from Machine - Szybka Kolej Miejska – SKM (Fast Urban Railway) from Warsaw Centrum to Warsaw Airport
Photo Below: Ticket Activation / Validation Stamp - Szybka Kolej Miejska – SKM (Fast Urban Railway) from Warsaw Centrum to Warsaw Airport
Photo Below: Onboard Routemap (Live-Updated with Progress) - Szybka Kolej Miejska – SKM (Fast Urban Railway) from Warsaw Centrum to Warsaw Airport
Photo Below: Arrival at Airport - Szybka Kolej Miejska – SKM (Fast Urban Railway) from Warsaw Centrum to Warsaw Airport
Photo Below: Directional Signs at Airport Station - Szybka Kolej Miejska – SKM (Fast Urban Railway) from Warsaw Centrum to Warsaw Airport
Photo Below: Train at Airport - Szybka Kolej Miejska – SKM (Fast Urban Railway) from Warsaw Centrum to Warsaw Airport
Photo Below: Train Ticket Machines at Airport Station - Szybka Kolej Miejska – SKM (Fast Urban Railway) from Warsaw Centrum to Warsaw Airport
Photo Below: Train Ticket Machine Instructions at Airport Station - Szybka Kolej Miejska – SKM (Fast Urban Railway) from Warsaw Centrum to Warsaw Airport
