Train Review: EIC (Second Class)

The Express InterCity (EIC) is a Polish train which mainly connects larger and smaller Polish cities with each other. While I loved the First Class of the Polish Express InterCity Premium, I did find the Second Class of the Express InterCity average at best. Learn more about the experience in our extensive and detailed train review!

Traveling in the Express InterCity Second Class was something I wasn’t really keen on to be honest. As our frequent readers know, I’m a fan of First Class in trains. Second Class always seems to be crowded which makes working way tougher.

Especially taking into account that the price difference usually is minimal, I tend to always opt for First Class. Neverhteless, I decided to go for the Express InterCity Second Class for the sake of a review! The experience was, to put it mildly, average.

Seating in the Express InterCity Second Class

The thing about the Express InterCity trains in Poland is that they are just mixed up out of dozens of different kinds of wagons.

That said, it’s roulette whether you get a new or an old car, and it’s also a funny game to find out whether you’ll be seated in a compartment car or not.

That said, I took the opportunity to take pictures of both even though the train was extremly crwoded. I found the seats in the open plan car to be worn out, while the ones in the compartment car were more modern.

Yet, the former were actually more comfortable than the slimmer seats in the compartmenet car. The seat pitch was okay in both areas and so was the seating comfort. Nevertheless, the atmosphere in the Express InterCity Second Class was not very relaxed.

A full car with even some people standing doesn’t really make up for a good place to work.

Food in the Express InterCity Second Class

I didn’t have food in the Express InterCity Second Class, but the catering is the same as in the Berlin-Warszawa-Express Second Class, which I reviewed earlier.

Also, there’s a restaurant car which comes with the same offerings as the one in the Express InterCity Premium First Class, which I also reviewed earlier.

Entertainment in the Express InterCity Second Class

While the entertainment options in Polish trains usually are rather limited, I always find it amazing that there is free Wi-Fi, even in the Express InterCity Second Class. While this may sound amazing in theory, it is not in practice, at least when the train is full with people. The speed was so slow that I was not able to load a single website or even get a massage sent via WhatsApp. Besides the Wi-Fi, there was no entertainment at all in the Express InterCity Second Class.

Bottom line Express InterCity Second Class

The seats in the Express InterCity Second Class may be old and worn out (in most cars), but the seats are totally fine when it comes to comfort. That said, I’d actually recommend the Express InterCity Second Class for shorter journeys. For longer journeys or for passengers that, like me, want to work during the journey, I wouldn’t recommend the Express InterCity Second Class at the same time.

There are no tables in compartment cars and only small tables in open plan cars. Also, the atmosphere is really stressful when the cars are filled up with the people. Last but not least, the Wi-Fi doesn’t seem to work when there are too many passengers.

 

Find more train reviews in our “Specials” section!