Sleeper train fact sheet – Krakow to Lviv

“Control!”. I slowly woke up as the shouting and knocking on the door got louder. The lock clicked. Whilst I was still regaining conscious, one of my two friend – a lighter sleeper – had already opened the door. The border guard stepped inside and we all scrambled for our passports. We were on the sleeper train from Krakow (Poland) to Lviv (Ukraine). This means we’re leaving the European Union and border control is strict – regardless of whether it’s 0200 in the morning. We got our passports stamped and tried to get back to sleep – four more hours until our destination.

The Ukrainian sleeper trains are a greatly efficient and affordable way to travel. They are mighty old “Soviet trains”, but surprisingly comfortable and clean. The journey is an adventure and we got the added excitement of a nightly border control! If you to are considering the sleeper train for travel around Poland and Ukraine, keep on reading this fact sheet for my experience and practical tips.

The sleeper train and facilities

Carriages and berths

The wagons of the Krakow – Lviv sleeper train consist of a long corridor, lined on one side with three-person compartments. During daytime, people sit on a large padded bench. During night-time, each compartment is converted into a three-tier berth. The compartment floor and benches are covered with tapestry that looks like it dates from the Soviet era, just like the train itself.  

The train guard set up the three-tier berth construction for us and we made our own beds with the bedding provided. Each passenger gets 2 pillows, a mattress and a blanket as well as a sealed plastic bag with freshly washed pillow cases and sheets to cover the mattress and blanket. I thought the result was a very comfy bed – this was the first time I got a mattress on a sleeper train and it really helps. The one downside was the temperature. It was mighty hot all night and the windows cannot be opened. On previous sleeper train journeys, I have always felt pretty chilly, so I came armed with my sleeping bag and thermal layers, but I didn’t need any of this.

The compartments are not particularly spacious, but they are cleverly designed with enough space for luggage. There were even coat hangers. I slept in the upper berth and kept my bags on a shelf right next to my head (a great advantage in case you are sharing a compartment with strangers).

Washroom facilities

I was prepared for the worst, but the washroom facilities on the sleeper train were not bad at all. Each compartment has its own basin. There are two toilets in each carriage, with toilet paper and soap provided. Cleanliness deteriorated throughout the journey, but at least we started off with clean loos.  

Charging & connectivity

If you want to charge your electronic devices charged during the night, a power bank is your best option. Each compartment is fitted with one socket, but they are old and look dodgy. None of us wanted to leave a phone charging during the night as we were worried about boosts when the train halted in station (and general irregular power supply).

Needless to say, there is no wifi aboard the Krakow – Lviv sleeper train. Connectivity with phone signal and data was also limited (I checked my phone a couple of time when I woke up and was always without signal). If you have a European SIM card, don’t forget that entering Ukraine means leaving the EU and steep roaming charges will apply!

Safety

I felt very safe on the Krakow – Lviv sleeper train. All passengers were quiet throughout the journey and kept themselves to themselves. You do hear stories of petty theft on the trains, but all in all the sleepers between Poland and Ukraine have a good reputation.

The compartment can be locked. I was travelling with two friends, so we had the compartment to ourselves. This made the journey a lot more relaxed than it would have been with two strangers as we didn’t have to watch our belongings closely and could take turns going to the bathroom.

Food & drinks  

The sleeper train doesn’t have a dining car or any food for sale on board, so I recommend stocking up on snacks. Small bottles of water were available in the compartments, but not enough for the evening and next morning.

The journey on the sleeper train

Boarding and getting ready for bed

The sleeper train starts its journey in Wroclaw and reaches Krakow just after 2030. It halts for about 10 minutes and leaves Krakow at 2042. This long halting time is useful, as the train is very long (I reckon close to twenty carriages) and we had no idea where to go. As soon at the doors opened, I scouted for a train guard and showed him our tickets. He then showed us to the right carriage.

After Krakow Central, the train makes a couple of short stops. We used these to make the beds without falling of the wobbly ladder! After that, the train will gently cruise for the next few hours. The total journey time from Krakow to Lviv is 8.5 hours. This sounds like a perfect night’s sleep, but the border control at the Polish – Ukrainian border will rain on that parade.

Border control and gauge changing

We reached by Przemyśl (the border station between Poland and Ukraine) after 0100. The train halts here for the train guard and the border officers to make their way through the train and check the passports. The border officer gave my passport A LOT of scrutiny (even calling over a colleague and making a phone call), but I got my stamp and got back to sleep. Barely 30 minutes later, we were woken up again. This time the Ukrainian border officers checked the passports and give us our entry stamps.

Przemyśl is also where the train gets split as different carriages go to different destinations. When we got off the train in Lviv, I realised that only three carriages were left! Finally, and most excitingly, Przemyśl is where gauge changing takes place. Many of the former Soviet country railways such as Ukraine use a wide gauge, whereas Poland used the standard European gauge. At the Polish – Ukrainian border, gauge changing is not as inefficient as it used to be. New gauge changers were installed in 2003. This means the wagons remain connected and locked on the same undercarriage whilst the wheels are moved apart or closer together. For an hour or so, our carriage moved back and forth as they split the train and passed the wagons through the gauge changing facility.

I’ve been told that sniffing dogs are often brought aboard, and luggage is checked as the Polish – Ukrainian border is popular for cigarette smuggle, but this didn’t happen when we travelled. On the way back to Poland (on a daytime train), customs brought in a dog and a couple of people in our carriage were picked for luggage checks.

Arrival in Lviv

We reached Lviv at 0610. Note that there is a one hour time difference! We’d set our alarm, but the train guard also makes a round through the train, knocking on the doors, twenty minutes before arrival. Despite the relative comfort of the sleeper train, we were groggy after all the interruptions during the night so the 40 minutes’ walk to the city centre was much needed, as well as the coffee and croissants we got after reaching our hostel. Taxis and trams are available outside the station in case you don’t fancy walking.

Cost and buying tickets

I bought the tickets for the Krakow – Lviv sleeper train online via the Ukrainian Railways website. It was surprisingly easy and straightforward. The website is available in English and I could pay with my foreign credit card. I was able to select the berths of my choice in a given wagon. However, I was not able to select the wagon (which was not an issue since they are all the same). Booking opens three months in advance. I booked the tickets a month in advance and about half of the wagon was already booked. On the day of travel, it was nearly full.

The tickets were 42 euros each. They were labelled as “second class sleeper”, but as far as I could tell from the website, this was the only fare available. The prices don’t vary if you book further ahead or closer to the date. 

It is also possible to buy the tickets from the Polish railways. However, for travel to Ukraine, they are not bookable online. You would need to phone up the ticket office to book and pick up the tickets in person at the railway station before you travel. This sounded like a lot of hassle, so I was glad I found the option to book via the Ukrainian railways. 

Whatever way you use to book, make sure you have a couple of printed copies of the tickets. The train guard will check and collect the tickets after boarding. But later we were asked to show our tickets again to another train guard. We got off the hook with the digital tickets on our phones, but the guard clearly didn’t like it.

Continuing the journey?

If you are looking for more inspiration about travelling around Eastern Europe by rail, check out my blog posts about Warsaw, Gdansk and Malbork Castle.