en.Wedoany.com Reported - Polish railway operator PKP Intercity has submitted a notification to the Polish Railway Transport Authority, planning to launch a new daily international passenger service between Warsaw and Kyiv.
According to the submitted documents, the route within Poland runs from Warsaw West Station to the Dorohusk border crossing, forming part of the Warsaw-Kyiv-Warsaw international line. The train is planned to operate daily from December 13, 2026, until December 13, 2031.
The timetable shows that the train to Ukraine is scheduled to depart from Warsaw West Station at 6:46 PM, expected to arrive at Dorohusk at 10:00 PM, and depart from the border crossing at 11:10 PM. The final destination is Kyiv Passenger Station. The full timetable, including arrival time in Kyiv and the return train schedule, has not yet been announced. The stopover of over an hour at Dorohusk is for border procedures and the necessary continuation of the journey on the Ukrainian railway network.
The train will serve only international travelers. PKP Intercity does not plan to sell tickets for purely domestic journeys between Polish stations along the train's route; passengers cannot use this train solely for travel between Warsaw and a station within Poland. This restriction aims to ensure train capacity is reserved for passengers traveling to or from Ukraine.
The new service organized by PKP Intercity will complement the international rail connections that Ukraine has revived in recent years. As of October 10, 2025, Kyiv is once again directly connected to Bucharest. Sleeping cars operated by Ukrainian railway operator Ukrzaliznytsia run on the Kyiv-Ungheni-Bucharest North line, which is part of the international Prietenia (Friendship) train connecting Bucharest and Chișinău. The train departs Kyiv at 6:30 AM, arriving at Bucharest North at 6:47 AM the following day; in the opposite direction, it departs Bucharest at 7:10 PM, arriving in Kyiv at 7:34 PM the next day. The route via Ungheni and Chișinău restores the direct Bucharest-Kyiv train that was suspended due to the pandemic, a service previously operated under the name "Bukovina" but via a different route through Vicșani and Vadu Siret.
The notification to Polish authorities marks the beginning of an administrative process and does not equate to the final launch of the train. Before the service is introduced, conditions for infrastructure access, available routes, the final timetable, and cooperation terms between PKP Intercity and the Ukrainian railway operator must be determined. If the necessary approvals are obtained, the new daily train will provide an evening direct connection between Warsaw and Kyiv and expand rail links between the Ukrainian capital and EU member states.
