DB and PKP to Expand Cross-Border Rail Services Between Germany and Poland

From mid-December 2025, Deutsche Bahn (DB) and PKP Intercity (PKP) are expanding their joint long-distance rail services, increasing the number of direct daily connections between Germany and Poland by more than 50 percent.

Starting on 14 December, 17 daily train pairs will operate across the border, up from the current 11. The additional capacity will provide a two-hourly service on the Berlin–Warsaw route, with seven trains in each direction.

What’s more, a new direct connection will link Leipzig with Wrocław, Kraków and Przemyśl, close to the Ukrainian border, operating twice daily in each direction. One of these services will start and finish in Przemyśl, offering the first fast rail connection from central Germany to southern Poland and the Polish–Ukrainian border.

Michael Peterson, DB Board Member for Long-Distance Passenger Transportn said:

International long-distance transport is booming. We also want to significantly expand rail traffic between Germany and Poland. The new rail connections to the economically strong regions of southern Poland and to the border with Ukraine are of great economic and political importance.

The new timetable is designed to reduce journey times for passengers travelling from Munich, Nuremberg and Frankfurt to Wrocław by around two hours, with coordinated transfers in Leipzig.

Night services will also be expanded. A new overnight Eurocity train will run between Berlin and Przemyśl via Wrocław and Kraków, and another between Berlin and Chełm via Łódź and Warsaw. The existing ‘Chopin’ night train between Munich and Warsaw will gain additional carriages, extending through Kraków to Przemyśl. This will create new direct overnight links between southern Germany and southern Poland.

Janusz Malinowski, CEO of PKP Intercity said:

Rail transport is creating increasingly strong connections between European cities. As the largest long-distance rail passenger carrier in Poland, PKP Intercity is pleased to contribute to this. We are seeing great interest in the direct connections to and from Berlin. We expect that the other destinations will also be similarly popular with our passengers.

The new services are scheduled to begin with the Europe-wide timetable change on 14 December 2025.

The journey between Leipzig and Wrocław will take around three and a half hours. The 570-kilometre Berlin–Warsaw route will continue to be served non-stop by Eurocity trains operated jointly by DB and PKP.