Growing interest in online sales
Update: 2014-10-22, 15:57 (1)
Published: 2012-08-21, 18:58
There is a growing interest in PKP Intercity online tickets month after month. Until June 2012 the carrier sold almost 0.5 million tickets online for the TLK trains. It is almost as many as in the entire 2011. The most popular tickets among Internet surfers are those on the Cracow and Poznan to Warsaw routes. The carrier predicts that by the end of the year the online sale will constitute 16% of all sales.
There is a growing interest in PKP Intercity online
tickets month after month. Until June 2012 the carrier sold almost 0.5 million
tickets online for the TLK trains. It is almost as many as in the entire 2011.
The most popular tickets among Internet surfers are those on the Cracow and
Poznan to Warsaw routes. The carrier predicts that by the end of the year the
online sale will constitute 16% of all sales.
The tickets for the entire PKP Intercity
network of connections – Twoje Linie Kolejowe (TLK), Express (Ex), Express
InterCity (EIC) and international BWE (Warsaw-Berlin) and BGE (TriCity-Berlin)
– can be purchased at
www.intercity.pl. You
only need to register in the system and select the relevant connection. You
will be then automatically redirected to the e-IC website
https://bilet.intercity.pl where you can
pay for the e-ticket. The final step is to select
the form of the ticket – the client can print it out or save it on an
electronic device, e.g. smartphone, tablet or laptop. The train attendant will simply
scan the QR Code on the ticket during the control. From 15 April 2012, the PKP
Intercity passengers can purchase tickets by means of any portable device with the
Internet access without the need of printing them out. The tickets for domestic
connections are available in the 30-day presale, and the tickets for international
connections in the 60-day presale.
There
are many advantages of buying the online tickets – e.g. lower price,
timesaving, comfort. “Transferring as many transactions as possible to
the e-channel is one of our main goals in the commercial area. For the summer holidays, we
have increased considerably the pool of the Super Tickets, which let you travel
on the Ex or EIC trains for only 29 PLN on any given route in Poland. We have
seen a noticeable growth in the quantity of online ticket sales. In 2010, it was 3.4%, in 2011
it was 5.7%, and we estimate that by the end of this year it will reach 11% -
16%. Since January
2012, we have sold almost as many tickets as in the entire 2011” – says
Małgorzata Sitkowska PKP Intercity spokeswoman. She adds – “The greatest number of transactions
falls on transport peaks, for instance during Christmas or long weekends
between 11:00 and 12:00 a.m. The most popular connections among the Internet
surfers are: Cracow – Warsaw – Cracow, Poznań – Warsaw – Poznan and Katowice –
Warsaw – Katowice”.
Another
step in developing the original ticket booking system was to introduce the sale
for international connections. From May 2012, via
www.intercity.pl you can purchase the tickets for
international connections
Warsaw –
Berlin – Warsaw (Berlin Warsaw Express) and
Gdynia – Berlin – Gdynia (Berlin Gdynia Express).
The passengers can buy online round-trip
tickets, i.e. Warsaw/Gdynia – Berlin – Warsaw/Gdynia or online single tickets,
i.e. Warsaw/Gdynia – Berlin. The tickets for the journey from Berlin to Warsaw
or TriCity are only available at the ticket offices due to the international
regulations of honoring online tickets. Unlike the tickets available in the e-IC
booking system for domestic connections, online tickets in communication with Germany
still need to be printed before the departure. The online tickets are available
in the 60-day presale. We are working on implementing the sale for
international connections.
Selected online tickets from the offer
Super Ticket is a pool of competitively priced tickets which
can be purchased for the second class connections in the Ex and EIC trains or for
the first class TLK “Łodzianin” trains on the Łódź Kaliska – Warszawa Wschodnia
– Łódź Kaliska route. Super
Tickets are only available online. They are discounted independently of the
distance. In the case of the Ex and EIC trains, the tickets priced at 29 PLN are sold first, then – when the
pool is exhausted – the system offers the purchase of tickets priced at 39 PLN, 59 PLN and 79 PLN. In the case of
the TLK “Łodzianin” train, the Super
Tickets are available at 29 PLN. The tickets can be purchased in
presale at least 30 and no later than 3 days prior to the journey.
Cheap Couchette. If the TLK train has the couchette cars
without bedding, you can book such a seat within the Cheap Couchette offer. For the seat without bedding, the passenger
will only pay 25.50 PLN (+ the ticket cost). The tickets in this offer can be
purchased at the ticket offices or with the train ticket inspector.
How to purchase the ticket online?
You only need to:
1. Register online and log in the e-IC ticket booking
system on www.bilet.intercity.pl (it takes up to 5
minutes to register; you only register during your first transaction).
2. Select any of the connections operated by PKP
Intercity – EIC/Ex/TLK/BWE/BGE.
3. Pay via online transfer or by credit card
4. Save the ticket on your electronic device as a PDF
file or print it out.
5. Present the ticket to the ticket inspector on the display
of the device or show the printed version.
Please note that due to the IT maintenance of the e-IC
system between 11:30 p.m. and 1:00 a.m. the tickets cannot be purchased online
at these hours.
For detailed information about
promotional offers, statutory discounts and timetables, go to
www.intercity.pl. Passengers who do not have access to
the Internet can call the Railway call center at 19 757 (landline and
mobile) or inquire at the Intercity information desks located at the train stations
throughout Poland.