Łódzka Kolej Aglomeracyjna, short ŁKA, is a Polish railway operator that primarily offers regional transport in the Łódź Voivodeship. It is one of five different companies that offers FIP in Poland.

On its website, ŁKA provides a route map overview.

Summary

  • ŁKA accepts FIP Coupons and FIP 50 Tickets.
  • Only 2nd class available on trains, reservations are only possible on Sprinter trains.
  • Some special services are excluded from FIP.

Validity of FIP Tickets

FIP Coupon: ✅FIP Coupon for relatives: ⛔FIP 50 Tickets: ✅

FIP Coupons and FIP 50 Tickets are valid with ŁKA.

For journeys with different operators within Poland, either a continuous FIP 50 Ticket or FIP Coupons from both operators must be available.

Train Categories and Reservations

ŁKA distinguishes two train categories:

ŁKA Sprinter (ŁS)
FIP accepted Reservation possible

Regional trains operating between Łódź and Warsaw, stopping at only a few stations along the way. Some trains only stop at the most important stations of the two cities and not at all in between. Trains have the abbreviation ŁS at the beginning in journey planners followed by a specific train number.

Reservation

A free reservation is possible on these trains. However, they can also be used without a reservation. More information on the ŁKA website in Polish. Only 2nd class tickets are offered, as there is no 1st class on ŁKA trains.

ŁKA Regional Train (ŁKA)
FIP accepted No reservation possible

All ŁKA trains that do not operate on the Sprinter route between Łódź and Warsaw. Trains have the abbreviation ŁKA at the beginning in journey planners followed by a specific train number. No reservations are possible here. Only 2nd class tickets are offered, as there is no 1st class on ŁKA trains.

Ticket and Reservation Purchase

Online

Koleo Website

Reservations

Reservations for ŁS trains can be booked free of charge directly when purchasing a ticket.

FIP 50 Tickets

On the Koleo website, tickets with FIP 50 discount can be purchased online for many railway companies in Poland. To do this, FIP 50 must be added once as a discount in the Koleo customer account here.

First, you must log into a Koleo account and then switch to settings via the gear icon in the top right.

Koleo My Account

Then under My Account / Moje konto at Discount / Zniżka, add the discount Międzynarodowa Karta Zniżek FIP (50%).

Koleo Discount

Subsequently, the discounted price is displayed directly in the connection search.

Important Information

It is recommended to check the price again in a non-logged-in state before purchasing to find out whether the FIP 50 price was actually calculated. With individual railway companies, there have been incorrect price calculations in the past without the FIP 50 discount.

On-Site

ŁKA Ticket Machine

At some stations in Poland, ticket machines are available that also sell tickets for ŁKA. Additionally, they can also be found directly on trains on certain routes.

FIP 50 Tickets

Discounted FIP 50 Tickets can be purchased at the ticket machines. If possible, the discount “FIP (50%)” should be selected. If this is not available, the discount “UMOWA (ulga 50%)” should be selected.

Important Information

In the past, “UMOWA” was not always the correct option for FIP tickets. If in doubt, ask on-site whether this is indeed the correct fare for FIP tickets.

Reservations

Reservations for ŁS trains can be booked free of charge directly when purchasing a ticket.

ŁKA Ticket Office

ŁKA operates a small number of its own ticket offices. It is helpful to speak some Polish or have a suitable translation app, as English (or German) is often not widely spoken.

FIP 50 Tickets

FIP 50 Tickets for ŁKA journeys can be purchased at the ŁKA Ticket Office.

Reservations

Reservations for ŁS trains can be booked free of charge directly when purchasing a ticket. It is likely that reservations can also be booked on their own, but we cannot guarantee this.

On the Train

FIP 50 Tickets can also be purchased directly on the train. To do this, you must contact the train staff immediately after boarding. When boarding at stations that also have a ticket office or ticket machine, a surcharge for issuing the ticket on the train may be added to the ticket price. Tickets can be paid for in cash or by contactless credit card. Payment is only possible in the local currency, zloty. Reservations for ŁS trains can also be obtained here spontaneously free of charge, subject to seat availability. 1

Discounts

For regular tickets, children under 4 years travel free. Children up to and including 11 years receive a 50% discount on the adult fare. From age 12, the full adult fare applies. 2

Regardless of FIP, Polregio offers an affordable weekend ticket which, in the form of “BILET TURYSTYCZNY”, is also valid on regular ŁKA trains. It allows travel from Friday 18:00 to Monday 06:00 on all “Regio” trains of Polregio as well as all trains of KW, KMŁ, Arriva RP and ŁKA (except ŁKA Sprinter). More information on the Polregio website.

Special Tariff Conditions

Special Trains

FIP tickets are not valid on special trains operated by ŁKA.

Break of Journey

Breaks of journey are possible at any time; no documentation is required for this.

Buses

We currently have no information about the validity of FIP tickets on buses operated by ŁKA. However, we assume that at least the buses that replace a train can be used with FIP benefits.

Recommendations

Personal Tip

In addition to many connections in the Łódź area, ŁKA also offers interregional direct connections from Łódź to Poznań or Warsaw. This means that a large distance within Poland can be covered with an ŁKA FIP Coupon, without simultaneously having a PKP FIP Coupon. However, it should be noted that on many ŁKA routes, trains from PKP InterCity and Polregio also operate in parallel.

On its website, ŁKA offers a live map of its trains.

Sources