Czech open-access rail operator RegioJet has announced it will cease its domestic rail services in Poland on 3 May 2026, barely five months after its official launch on 14 December 2025.
The affected routes are the Kraków–Warsaw–Gdynia and Warsaw–Poznań corridors, which began trial operations on 18 September 2025. The company will, however, retain its international Prague–Warsaw trains (competing with rival Leo Express) and the Prague–Przemyśl service.
The company has denounced “fundamental obstruction” that it says prevented it from competing on equal terms, invoking Directive 2012/34/EU on rail liberalisation.
Among the practices cited are fare cuts of up to 70% by state operator PKP Intercity following its market entry — branded as predatory pricing — as well as the denial of ticket-sales points at stations and the cancellation of its marketing campaigns. RegioJet also alleged that it won an auction for a PKP Cargo depot in Warsaw’s Praga district in August 2025, but that the transaction was never finalised, leaving the operator without adequate maintenance facilities in Poland.
The difference, RegioJet argues, is structural: approximately 90% of PKP Intercity services are subsidised, while RegioJet operates entirely at commercial risk.
Polish rail regulator UTK also fined RegioJet on 7 April over the cancellation of 23 trains in December 2025, exposing it to a penalty of up to 2% of its turnover. PKP rejected the allegations, attributing them to “formal and technical misunderstandings”.
Chief executive Radim Jančura issued a public apology and did not rule out a return should conditions improve. Rival Leo Express, which has operated between Kraków and Warsaw since March 2026, confirmed it would remain in the Polish market.