What It's Like To Ride A Sleeper Train From Warsaw, P0land, Through War-Torn Ukraine To Kyiv
Intro
For the next portion of my Ukraine trip, I wanted to touch on the most unbelievable experience I had riding the overnight sleeper train from Warsaw to Kyiv onboard a Ukranian sleeper train. Getting to Ukraine is a bit of a challenge and one that I didn't think would be as challenging as it turned out to be. However, with that being said, this train ride put a lot into perspective for me.
For now, this is only a first look into the journey. I will eventually get around to publishing a full review of each segment.
How It Happened
On a brutally cold Thursday morning in London, the first obstacle would consist of getting to the Polish capital, Warsaw. The night before was filled with laughs, a fantastic dinner, and even conversations with a silver medalist at the Olympics!
Flights from London to Warsaw are plentiful, but I chose to fly with LOT due to my star alliance, gold status, and access to the United Club in London!🙂
A certain scared feeling entered the void; what was I getting myself into?
Once I landed in Poland, the first obstacle of the trip came into contention. Unfortunately, English is the only language I speak, and I had to somehow figure out a way to find where to pick up my train tickets. I had booked my tickets with Polrail since the Ukranian app was sold out, and they only mail tickets??!
On a brutally cold and eerie evening, I eventually found the location for where my tickets were located in downtown Warsaw.
With tickets picked up, a quick shopping trip was in order. It was vitally critical that I prepared for what was going to be one of the strangest nights of my life. Snacks, water, a beanie, a small blanket, and even a puffer coat were purchased (it was almost winter).
Ahh, with my train set to depart at 17:49, I had about an hour and a half to kill at the Polish downtown station. Or so I thought...
It turns out that the train departing to Kyiv actually departs from Warszawa Wschodnia, which is the East station. At 5 pm local time, I somehow had to find a way from Warszawa Centralna to Wschodnia. In Warsaw rush hour traffic, combined with not being able to find my Uber driver, I was a little worried.
Well, I thankfully made it 20 minutes to spare, with Ukrainians returning home, waiting to hear the platform called.
So, note: If you are taking this train, head to Warszawa Wschodnia
20 minutes before the scheduled departure, platform two was called. To be honest, I read it off the board because there is no chance that I understand Polish...
As I entered the platform, it finally hit me. I am going to Ukraine! Perhaps I am stupid; perhaps I have lost my brain cells, but a tiny part of me wondered if I might make it back.
As I stepped on board, I realized that I was in for a long first train ride. Getting from Warsaw to Kyiv isn't just one train, but it is two! In addition, a 1-year-old child decided to attend my carriage🤦♂️.
The first train lasted about 3.5 hours down to Chelm, which is in the very East of Poland and about 20 miles away from the Poland/Ukraine border.
After managing to get a little bit of sleep, I made it to the border of Ukraine. As passengers were escorted off the train, I had no idea where to go. Was I going the right way? Was I supposed to stay on the train?
Chelm-Kyiv
Located across from the original train we were on was a beautifully colored Ukrainian sleeper train.
I thought to myself, "Is this the right train? I booked a Polish train, and it says Y3".
Note: Tickets are sold through Polrail but operated by Y3 (Ukrainian train company) on this route.
By 10 pm, the conductor for our car came out. Each car features 1-2 dedicated conductors who deal with immigration, waking you up, and getting you either food or drink.
The conductor verified my details, and I was told my cabin name and bunk number (at least I think I was; it was in Ukrainian). 😅
This is it; once I get on the train, there is no going back...
Stepping onboard, I discovered "prison-like" bunks. It wasn't that bad, and I am certainly not complaining, but it did sort of remind me of a prison cell. We were given packaged sheets, a pillow, and a blanket.
Note: I am not complaining about the conditions due to my choice to visit the country; if anything, I am grateful that they allow me to be there. It just blows me away that this is how the citizens of Ukraine have to travel to leave the country. In non-worn, torn first-world countries, we have it nice...
Throughout the trip, I had to visit the bathroom frequently. Thankfully, it wasn't that bad, and this is an area which I wouldn't be too concerned about.
On the way back was different, there was no running water...
During boarding, I had a woman enter my cabin who was supposed to be staying in the bunk opposite me. We talked and talked for about an hour until the train was ready to depart. She mentioned that she was going home to visit her mum, who lives in Kharkiv. Before I left, I had been reading the news that Kharkiv was one of the worst areas of the war. She mentioned that she was a little bit scared; she mentioned that Kharkiv doesn't have any air defenses like Lviv or Kyiv.
Unfortunately, she mentioned to me that she felt more comfortable sleeping in the same cabin with other women, so she left.
10 minutes later, after the train had started moving, a Polish businessman entered... We talked for a little bit, but he was tired and mentioned he had to leave at 4 am.
As we pushed off Chelm, the first leg wouldn't last long. About 30 minutes after we began moving, we came to a halt, and I knew that it was time to leave Poland. The Polish officials boarded the train and began to interrogate us. However, with a US passport, they quickly stamped me out.
All in all, the first stop at the Polish border took about an hour in total
Ahh, lovely. It's time to get some rest! As we motored off into the western part of Ukraine, it was another 30 minutes before we arrived. I must have dozed off as I heard "Clank, Clank," a female officer dressed in camouflage, wearing the blue and yellow flag patch, say, "Passport."
30 minutes passed by.
An hour passed by.
And almost 2 hours later, I heard another knock at the door. Our passports had been returned.
At this point, it was about 4 am, so I really had to get some sleep. My body, though, well, it didn't agree that sleep was a good idea. Tossing and turning, I came to the realization that perhaps it is just better to sit awake and contemplate my life decisions.
As my bunkmate left around 5 am (due to the delay), I must have passed out a short while after...
Because: at 11 am, I was woken up as we were on the outskirts of Kyiv (Kiev).
Surprisingly, when I eventually fell asleep, I slept really, really well for 4 or 5 hours. I woke up feeling refreshed and ready for a day of exploring Kyiv.
It was about an hour to go until Kyiv, so it was the perfect time to relax, enjoy some pringles, drink some water, and soak in these beautiful views of Ukraine. Welcome to Country 103🇺🇦!
The conductor came around to inform us that we would soon be arriving in Kyiv.
I felt gross; I needed to brush my teeth and take a shower immediately!
30 minutes behind schedule, the train pulled into Kyiv-Pasazhyrskyi station.
Note: this is the main station, and the daily departure from Kyiv-Warsaw departs from Track 1. From what I can tell
Everybody rushed off the train to meet their loved ones or family, people with flowers, people crying, and people hugging each other. It was a beautiful sight to witness, but not much different from a big airport🙂.
Note: Uber works very well near the station and is about 5 USD to downtown
17 hours after departure from Warsaw, I had finally made it to Kyiv. Excited? Scared? Find out in the next extract.
Final Thoughts
Oof, that was a long journey (primarily due to not being able to sleep for a while). However, I have to say that the experience wasn't that bad in the end. While the bunks did sort of look a little bit like a prison with the grey, I was offered pillows, blankets, sheets, and water. In addition, for most of the journey, I didn't have anyone else in my cabin.
Would I take it again? 100%. What an experience!
Just note that it might be tough to get uninterrupted sleep due to the amount of interruptions by immigration.
Stay tuned for the full review of each sector soon!
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