How to return to Ukraine from Poland, Hungary, Germany, and Austria by train: Routes and prices. Photo: dw.com
Ukrzaliznytsia (UZ) has increased the number of trains to return Ukrainian refugees home. During May, about 500,000 people returned to Ukraine by rail.
Oleksandr Pertsovskyi, the head of Ukrzaliznytsia's passenger traffic, told The Page that the number of trains had been increased in response to the huge demand for returning people to Ukraine.
"Every day, 2 Intercity trains from Przemysl depart from Poland to Ukraine, and from June 11, another night train to be added that didn’t run before. It will have a capacity of up to 500 passengers. We also added cars to the train that goes to Warsaw," Pertsovskyi stressed.
Ukraine now has the most extensive system of passenger communication with Poland. However, Poland has connections with trains from Austria and Germany, so the lion's share of Ukrainians return home through Polish railway junctions.
According to him, with the help of UZ evacuation trains, about 4 million people were evacuated from Ukraine during the 3 months of the war. During May, 500,000 Ukrainians returned home by train.
"Just as we evacuated people, so we are returning everyone. In general, we are the first to enter cities when they are liberated. The railway takes passengers to all cities controlled by Ukraine," said Pertsovskyi.
How much does it cost to return to Ukraine? Ticket prices for refugees
Unlike evacuation that was free of charge, returning home will be charged. Prices for Ukrainian trains are quite affordable. One can get from Przemysl to Odesa in a compartment for 1,000 UAH. (train No.36). From Warsaw to Kyiv — for 1,200 UAH (train No. 24 Chelm — Kyiv), night Intercity Pshemshl — Kyiv costs a little more than 800 UAH (2nd class).
Trains to Ukraine from Poland and Hungary, connection with Germany and Austria
Daily routes from Poland to Ukraine:
- Train No. 24 Helm — Kyiv. It runs daily, departing at 16:05, arriving in Kyiv at 7:29. Passengers from Warsaw can easily get on this train. They first need to get to Chelm by Polish train No. 82106 Piła Główna, Warsaw — Chelm. The train leaves Warsaw at 12:06 and arrives in Chelm at 15:17.
- Train No. 32/31 Przemysl — Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia. Departs from Przemysl at 16:00, arrives in Dnipro at 13:21/13:41, in Zaporizhzhia — at 15:51. Easy train interchange for passengers from Warsaw (Polish train IC 13105 leaves Warsaw at 5:41 and arrives in Przemysl at 12:02), Poznan, Wroclaw, Opole, Katowice, Krakow, and Rzeszow (Polish train IC 7300) leaves Poznan at 5:23 and arrives in Przemysl at 14:55).
- Besides that, one can also get to Przemysl from Wroclaw, Opole, Katowice, Krakow, and Rzeszow by Polish IC 6302 that departs from Wroclaw at 8:20 and arrives in Przemysl at 14:55.
- Train No. 36 Przemysl — Odesa. It departs from Przemysl at 18:39 and arrives in Odesa at 11:33. You can get to Przemysl for an easy train interchange by train IC 105 that departs from the Austrian city of Graz at 5:26, passes through Vienna, Ostrava, Katowice, and Krakow and arrives in Przemysl at 17:03.
- Train No. 54 Przemysl — Kyiv. The train departs from Przemysl at 18:39 and arrives in Kyiv at 9:21. To get to this train, one can use the route similar to the route for train No. 36 Przemysl — Odesa.
- Train No. 68 Warsaw — Kyiv departs daily at 17:49 and arrives in Kyiv at 13:12. This train has a convenient connection with trains EIC 5404 (departs from Gdynia at 13:27, runs via Sopot and Gdansk and arrives in Warsaw at 16:27) and EC 45 (departs from Berlin at 9:38, runs via Frankfurt and Poznan and arrives in Warsaw (15:53).
- Intercity+ train No. 706 Przemysl — Kyiv departs from Przemysl daily at 10:15 and arrives in Kyiv at 22:34. You can easily get to it from the train IC 83173 that departs from Świnoujście at 17:33, runs through Szczecin, Zielona Gora, Wroclaw, Katowice, and Krakow and arrives in Przemysl at 9:32.
- Intercity+ train No. 715 Przemysl — Kyiv departs from Przemysl daily at 23:10 and arrives in Kyiv at 11:25. You can get to the train from the trains:
- EC No. 57 Berlin — Przemysl (via Frankfurt, Zielona Gora, Wroclaw, Katowice, and Krakow), departing from Berlin at 10:35 and arriving in Przemysl at 21:05;
- ІС №115 Prague — Przemysl (via Ostrava, Katowice, and Krakow) that departs from Prague at 10:02 and arrives in Przemysl at 20:17;
- IC №53102 Gdynia — Przemysl (via Sopot, Gdansk, Bydgoszcz, Poznan, Wroclaw, Katowice, and Krakow) that leaves Gdynia at 9:49 and arrives in Przemysl at 22:29.
Routes from Hungary to Ukraine:
- Train No. 149 Budapest (Keleti station) — Kyiv departs at 19:40, arrives in Kyiv at 19:43. One can transfer to the train to Budapest from the trains:
- IC 205 Zagreb — Budapest (departure from Zagreb at 10:05, via Balatonfenyves, Balatonlelle, Siofok, arrival in Budapest (Deli Station) at 16:24;
- IC 205 Zagreb — Budapest (departure from Zagreb at 10:05, via Balatonfenyves, Balatonlelle, фтв Siofok, arrival in Budapest (Deli Station) at 16:24;
- RJX 65 Munich — Budapest (departure from Munich at 11:11, via Salzburg and Vienna, arrival in Budapest (Keleti station) at 18:19);
- IC 279 — Budapest (departure from Prague at 10:56, via Kolin, Brno, and Bratislava, arrival in Budapest (Nyugati Station) at 18:20.
- Train No. 34 Budapest (Nyugati Station) — Mukachevo departs from Budapest at 7:23 and arrives in Mukachevo at 15:30. One can transfer to it from the trains R2959 Lajosmiže — Budapest (departure from Lajosmiže at 4:41, arrival in Budapest at 6:47) and R2739 Monor — Budapest (departure from Monor at 6:07, arrival in Budapest at 6:52).
- There are 6 trains available on the Zahony — Chop route, as well as the Zahony — Mukachevo train.
Recall that according to the UN, as of May 25, more than 6.8 million people left Ukraine. Most of them went to Poland — more than 3.5 million people.