RegioJet withdrawal from Poland after PKP dispute

RegioJet withdrawal from Poland ends the Czech operator’s effort to compete on the Kraków–Warsaw route. The move comes less than a year after launch. This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

The company ties its exit to what it describes as anti-competitive practices by PKP. PKP is the state-owned railway group.

RegioJet says the problems went beyond ordinary market pressure. According to the operator, barriers affected infrastructure access, station presence, and maintenance facilities. Also, it says the dominant operator sharply cut fares after the newcomer entered the market. PKP Intercity rejects those allegations. It says it acted in full compliance with the law.

RegioJet began domestic operations in Poland in September 2025. It also announced expansion plans at the time. The company now says those services will end on May 3, 2026. At the same time, it will continue running international trains between Przemyśl and Prague via Kraków, as well as between Prague and Warsaw.

RegioJet withdrawal from Poland and access complaints

The company said this in a public statement: “a series of actions that, in our opinion, violate the principles of fair competition.” It said those actions included a lack of access to ticket sales points and promotional space at stations. RegioJet says that made it harder for passengers to use its services. It also says some planned services did not receive the required approvals. Travel times were extended as well. In addition, access to key stations and maintenance facilities was limited.

For example, the operator points to a depot it says it won through a tender. It says it could not actually use that depot. RegioJet states that it was barred from renting lines inside the facility. The company says that forced it to repair cars outdoors in unsuitable conditions. It also says more extensive maintenance had to move back to the Czech Republic.

Separately, pricing is another central part of the dispute. RegioJet says some ticket prices were cut by as much as 70%. It says that happened after it entered the Polish market. In its view, that raises serious questions about competition. The market is led by a state-owned operator. The company also says nearly 90% of PKP Intercity’s routes are subsidized with public money. RegioJet says it operated without subsidies. In addition, it claims no arrangement was reached on compensation. The issue concerns statutory discounts for certain categories of passengers.

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PKP Intercity response and ALLRAIL statement

Meanwhile, ALLRAIL commented on the case in a separate statement. The group represents new rail entrants in Europe. It called the withdrawal “a significant step backward for liberalization.” It also warned that the move could become a troubling signal for the opening of Poland’s rail market. “We share RegioJet’s disappointment at having to withdraw from the Polish domestic market at this time and welcome the company’s open communication and concern for Polish passengers,” said Nick Brooks, ALLRAIL’s Secretary General. He added that the Czech operator’s withdrawal “sets a worrying precedent, whereby the dominant operator can push competitors out not on the basis of the merits of their services, but through anti-competitive actions.”

Separately, PKP Intercity responded soon after RegioJet’s announcement. It said it had to respond. It cited “numerous inaccuracies and the one-sided nature of the narrative presented” by its Czech competitor. The Polish operator insists it did nothing to obstruct RegioJet or limit competition. It also says independent bodies make decisions on infrastructure access and route allocation. It says PKP Intercity does not make those decisions itself.

UTK investigation into RegioJet and market liberalization

The dispute follows months of difficulties for RegioJet in Poland. The company started its first domestic services in September 2025. Still, the expansion planned for December ran into trouble. In November, it delayed the launch of the Poznań–Warsaw route. Then, in December, it canceled a large number of trains. That happened only days before a full schedule was due to begin. Passengers had already bought tickets.

This week, Poland’s Railway Office, UTK, also concluded after an investigation. It said RegioJet’s conduct in December amounted to “illegal practices that violated the collective interests of rail passengers.” That finding is only the first step in a process that could eventually result in a fine for the operator.

Taken together, those developments show two things. RegioJet’s difficulties in Poland were tied to its conflict with the dominant operator. They were also tied to its own operational problems and its relationship with passengers. RegioJet and ALLRAIL present the withdrawal as evidence that Polish rail market liberalization is not working in practice. Still, the market should be open to new operators in theory. That is under European rules on railway liberalization. RegioJet says the dominant operator controls crucial points in the market, directly or indirectly. These include stations, commercial access, infrastructure, facilities, and prices.

At the same time, the company’s own record in Poland also raises questions. Service launch problems, the December cancellations, and the UTK investigation all point in the same direction. They indicate that RegioJet was also dealing with serious operational and passenger-related issues during its entry into the market.

Even so, the withdrawal has broader implications. They go beyond the specific dispute between RegioJet and PKP Intercity. A private operator with regional experience, financial backing, and ambitions for international expansion could not sustain even one major domestic route in Poland. That leaves a wider question about how open the country’s rail market really is to competition. RegioJet says it is prepared to come back when conditions become “fair and transparent.” Until that happens, its exit is likely to remain, for at least part of the industry, a warning about the state of rail liberalization in Central and Eastern Europe.

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