Deutsche Bahn announces 17 new train services to Poland

Deutsche Bahn has announced it will run more routes between Berlin, Leipzig and Poland when the national rail provider adopts its new timetable in December.

New trains connecting Berlin, Leipzig and Poland

From December 14, Deutsche Bahn and the Polish national railway PKP will expand rail services between the neighbouring countries. “17 direct services (each there and back), rather than the previous 11, will soon be available to passengers,” Deutsche Bahn said in a press release.

These services include a new direct train connecting Leipzig, Wrocław and Kraków twice per day, direct trains between Berlin and Warsaw seven times per day and two new EuroCity night train connections; the first between Berlin, Wrocław, Kraków and Przemyśl and the second between Berlin, Łódź, Warsaw and Chełm.

For passengers travelling from Munich, Nuremberg or Frankfurt, these connections will cut journey times to Poland by around two hours.

Deutsche Bahn responding to increased demand for train travel

Deutsche Bahn’s decision to increase services between Germany and Poland comes as a response to growing demand for train travel. Deutsche Bahn is expanding its direct services elsewhere, too.

In May, the German rail provider, Austria’s ÖBB and Italy’s Trenitalia announced that they will jointly run a new high-speed night train, connecting German cities with Austria and Italy. The service is expected to begin operations in 2026.

The high-speed connection is part of a wider “European Metro” pilot project organised by the European Commission. The Commission hopes to increase the number of such routes across the continent in the coming years, making train travel more appealing and reducing the demand for short trips by plane.

Since Eurostar’s monopoly over the Channel Tunnel has been lifted, several rail operators are now vying to run more direct services connecting Germany and Switzerland to the UK. According to reports from The Guardian, the Virgin Group, Gemini Trains, Evolyn, SBB, and FS Italiane have all thrown their hats into the ring. In 2024, a spokesperson from DB told the dpa that the company was also interested.