Czech open-access operator Leo Express has launched regular domestic services between Warsaw and Kraków, entering one of Poland’s core intercity corridors as it strengthens its international links to Prague in a major expansion drive that brings ever more competition to the Polish network.
The private Czech operator began running the new trains on Sunday 1 March, marking its first sustained domestic presence between Poland’s two largest cities. The inaugural service departed Warszawa Wschodnia at 07:21, calling at Warszawa Centralna, Warszawa Zachodnia, Opoczno Południe and Włoszczowa Północ before reaching Kraków Główny. From there, trains continue internationally via Ostrava, Olomouc and Pardubice to Prague, formalising a through Warsaw–Kraków–Prague connection under Leo Express branding.
The launch is a major shakeup for rail liberalisation in Poland as the state-backed PKP Intercity has effectively been the only long-distance operator on the Warsaw–Kraków corridor up until now, with other trains on the line largely limited to regional services. More than 100,000 tickets have already been sold in Poland ahead of the launch, according to the company.
The departure was preceded by a platform event attended by representatives of infrastructure manager PKP PLK, the Centralny Port Komunikacyjny (CPK) project, and the Czech and Spanish embassies. Leo Express CEO Peter Köhler was also there to catch the inaugural train: “Railway competition brings significant savings for public finances and taxpayers,” he said. “We demonstrate that key routes can operate without subsidies, fully on commercial risk.”
Service pattern and stops
Leo Express is initially operating two daily services in each direction on the Warsaw–Kraków–Prague corridor. Departures from Warsaw are scheduled at 07:21 and 22:36, with return departures from Kraków at 03:25 and 18:45.
On the Kraków–Prague section, frequency will rise to three daily services in each direction, increasing to four on weekends. In addition to the core stops between Warsaw and Kraków, Prague–Kraków services will call at Oświęcim. One train will also serve Ratiboř, Rybnik, Tychy and Mysłowice, providing new direct links to major urban centres in southern Poland and the Czech Republic. From April, the operator plans to introduce a connecting bus from Kraków to Lviv in Ukraine.
Leo Express expansion phase
The Warsaw–Kraków route in Poland is set to increase to four daily services in each direction by mid-June, part of what Leo Express describes as the largest expansion in its history. The company is also preparing a new international connection linking Poland (Przemyśl, Rzeszów, Kraków) with the Czech Republic (Ostrava, Olomouc, Prague) and Germany (Dresden, Leipzig, Erfurt, Frankfurt Airport). In parallel, new Czech Republic–Slovakia services on the Prague–Pardubice–Olomouc–Bratislava route, using low-floor Talgo trains, are planned for introduction in the first half of the year.
The expansion of its services is part of Leo Express’s new drive under Renfe’s majority stake in the company. Taking over the Czech private operator in December 2021, the Spanish state-backed operator has since pushed Leo Express to broaden its international footprint — including expanding cross-border services into Germany, Poland and stepping into Slovakia with contracted regional operations — alongside its open-access long-distance offer.