Czech private rail operator RegioJet has abruptly cancelled most of its planned train services in Poland just days before the new timetable was due to start on 14 December, igniting a sharp dispute with state-owned rail companies and drawing the attention of the Polish regulator. What was supposed to be a major expansion of international competition on key domestic routes has, at least for now, turned into a lesson in how fragile rail liberalisation can be.
According to PKP Intercity, the cancellations affect around 1,080 planned services and an estimated 250,000 seats that had been reserved in the Polish timetable for RegioJet but will now not be offered to passengers. The scale of the withdrawal is particularly visible on flagship intercity routes. Between Kraków and Warsaw, where six daily train pairs had been expected, only three will now run. On the busy Warsaw–Gdynia corridor, just one of the three planned pairs remains. On the Warsaw–Poznań route the change is even more dramatic: RegioJet will not operate any of the five announced services.
The move has prompted an immediate reaction from the President of the Office of Rail Transport, who has summoned RegioJet for urgent explanations. From the regulator’s point of view, the decision raises serious questions about the reliability of the operator’s commitments on the Polish market and the broader impact on passengers who were promised more choice and capacity under the new timetable. The last-minute cancellations also complicate capacity planning on the network, as train paths that were blocked for RegioJet cannot easily be reassigned to other carriers at such short notice.
PKP Intercity has been quick to highlight the scale of the disruption. The company argues that by booking train paths and then withdrawing, RegioJet has effectively removed a quarter of a million potential seats from the market at a time of high demand, especially around the Christmas and winter travel peaks. For the state operator, this is more than an operational inconvenience: it is evidence, they suggest, that the private competitor has not behaved responsibly in planning its Polish expansion.
RegioJet, for its part, rejects that narrative and is preparing to take the dispute to Brussels. The company has announced that it will lodge a complaint with the European Commission, accusing the PKP Group of obstructing its entry and development on the Polish market. Among the obstacles it cites are alleged difficulties in purchasing real estate worth more than 55 million złoty, barriers to buying advertising space at railway stations and unfavourable journey times compared to those offered to incumbents. In RegioJet’s view, these factors amount to discrimination that undermines the level playing field promised by EU rail liberalisation.
Despite cancelling most of its initial services, the Czech operator insists it has not abandoned its Polish ambitions altogether. It has promised to gradually add new trains as the season progresses, with further connections expected from mid-January. The company is trying to reassure both regulators and passengers that the current step is a tactical retreat rather than a full-scale withdrawal. Still, the gap between what was advertised and what will actually operate in December is substantial and will be keenly felt on some of Poland’s busiest axes.
For affected travellers, RegioJet has announced a form of compensation. Passengers are to receive 100 złoty in vouchers as a goodwill gesture for cancelled journeys, an attempt to cushion the blow to the company’s reputation among early customers. Whether this will be enough to restore trust remains to be seen. Rail passengers value reliability at least as much as price, and a high-profile entry followed by rapid scaling back is likely to make some wary of booking with the newcomer in the near term.
The episode also highlights the tension at the heart of European rail reform. On paper, opening domestic markets to competition is meant to bring lower prices, more innovation and better service. In practice, new entrants depend heavily on infrastructure access, station facilities and timetable slots that are often controlled or influenced by incumbent state groups. Disputes over real estate, platform access or journey times can quickly acquire a political dimension, especially when foreign operators challenge long-established national champions.
In Poland, the RegioJet case will now test not only the resilience of the new timetable, but also the credibility of the country’s commitment to competition on the rails. For passengers between Warsaw and major cities like Kraków, Gdynia or Poznań, the most immediate result is simple: fewer trains than advertised and less choice than they were led to expect. For policymakers and regulators, it is a reminder that liberalisation requires more than formally opening the market. It also demands transparent, enforceable rules that ensure new players can enter on fair terms—and that, once they do, they live up to the promises they make to passengers.
