Poland’s largest rail operator, PKP Intercity is to raise prices on its routes by an average of 3.43 percent due to higher running costs and electricity prices.

PKP Intercity marketing Director, Katarzyna Zimnicka-Jankowska told Polish Radio that “the last price rise was last year,” adding that apart from the one-percent VAT hike at the beginning of 2011, “this price rise is a reflection of the company’s operating costs.”

The price rises are linked to the distance travelled on the operator’s routes. One-way tickets purchased for PKP Intercity’s cheaper TLK trains are to go up between 0.3 and 2.5 zloty (0.08 to 0.65 euro), while tickets for the flagship Express Intercity services are reported to increase between 0.7 and 4.3 zloty (0.18 to 1.1 euro) gross.

Season tickets, as well as seat reservations and sleeper prices are to remain unchanged, including the popular weekend ticket and other offers on the company’s most popular routes, including the TLK service between Warsaw and Krakow.

The changes are expected to come into effect today, Tuesday. (jb)