“Due to difficult weather conditions, trains traveling from Poland to the Czech Republic are ending their run in our country,” PKP reported. “International communication with the Czech Republic has been closed until further notice, some lines have been closed, mainly due to the lack of communication on the Czech side,” said Minister of Infrastructure Dariusz Klimczak. Trains stopped running to the Czech Republic on Sunday night. The ban is in effect until further notice.
PKP cancels connections with the Czech Republic
For connections from Warsaw, the last station will be Rybnik and Racibórz, and for connections from Przemyśl and Krakow, Czechowice – Dziedzice. In the other direction, train traffic will be the same. The initial stations will be in Rybnik, Racibórz and Czechowice – Dziedzice. Due to floods and strong winds, trains are also not running on about forty sections in the Czech Republic itself. Among others, the main rail route between Ostrava and Olomouc is closed.
“Due to heavy rainfall, it is not possible to launch replacement bus transport towards the Czech Republic,” explains PKP. Such a possibility was offered, among others, on the Kłodzko Miasto – Strzelin routes for the “Heweliusz” train from Wrocław and Jelenia Góra – Kędzierzyn-Koźle for the “Szczeliniec” train from Kraków. However, flooded streets led to the station that even replacement transport, among others, for the “Heweliusz” and “Śnieżka” trains on the Wrocław Główny – Strzelin section had to be canceled.
Flooded train stations in southern Poland
The Ministry of Infrastructure reports that heavy rain has caused major problems at railway stations in southern Poland. In Kłodzko, the station was closed due to flooding and the staff was evacuated. In Bielsko-Biała, the water from the flooded communication tunnel drained on its own. The lifts leading to platforms 1, 2 and 3 are flooded there. In Wałbrzych, the communication tunnel leading to the platforms was also flooded. There is about 40 cm of water there. The situation is similar in Rybnik.
“Railway workers are constantly monitoring the weather conditions throughout Poland. In order to maintain traffic flow, patrols have been carried out on 1,600 km of tracks. Rapid fault removal teams, network trains and protective locomotives are on constant alert. Regional crisis management teams are operating in Wrocław, Sosnowiec, Kraków and Poznań,” the ministry states.
Trains delayed by 6382 minutes
Unfortunately, despite assurances, many connections are canceled or severely delayed. Since Saturday, the following sections have been closed: Piechowice – Szklarska Poręba, Jelenia Góra – Rybnica, Jelenia Góra Zachodnia – Jelenia Góra Sobieszów, Prudnik – Nowy Świętów, Łambinowice – Nysa and the Głuchołazy station.
On Saturday alone, there were 86 incidents on the railway caused by weather conditions. This caused a delay of 451 passenger trains for a total of 6,382 minutes. Therefore, we recommend checking the announcements on the official PKP website [LINK] and on the Passenger Portal [LINK].
PKP also announced that “passengers who wish to cancel their journey due to traffic disruptions caused by adverse weather conditions in southern Poland may do so and will receive a full refund. They only need to report to the ticket office and say that the cancellation is due to weather conditions and flood risk.”