PKP Intercity executive allegedly clashed with staff on Pendolino, halting train near Opole

How the dispute started

On Tuesday, 20 October, Pendolino EIP 1604 was running from Warsaw Wschodnia to Wrocław Główny when a dispute broke out in the first-class catering area between Warsaw and Częstochowa. According to internal service notes cited by railway media, clean cups ran out while staff were serving meals. A trainee from WARS, the onboard catering staff, offered the passenger hot coffee in a paper cup or asked him to wait until clean crockery arrived. The passenger reacted with fury, vulgar language and a demand for immediate service. Forsal reports, based on three sources, that the passenger was Wojciech Partyka, the executive director for commercial affairs at PKP Intercity.

The alleged confrontation near Częstochowa

Before the train reached Częstochowa Stradom, the executive allegedly entered the crew compartment and told the train manager that the whole crew would be taken off duty. According to the crew's account, the pretext was a female conductor who had carried a drink into the driver's cab. Staff say the executive repeatedly insulted his subordinates. When the train manager tried to step out to clarify the situation, the executive allegedly used physical force and pushed him back into the compartment. WARS employees witnessed the scene, according to the same notes.

Medical emergency and halted train

As the train manager's condition deteriorated, an ambulance was called to Opole Główne station. Forsal, citing a note published by the Bezpieczna Kolej profile, gives the ambulance arrival at 19:50 and the transfer of the train manager to the WCM hospital in Opole at 20:40. The incident was registered as a workplace accident. Removing the female conductor and hospitalising the train manager left the train without the staffing that regulations require, and the driver exceeded his permitted working time during the enforced stop, TVP Info reports. Forsal says the Pendolino did not continue from Opole Główne, while TVP Info reports that the empty train reached Wrocław almost three hours late.

Passengers and the company's response

Most reports put the number of passengers moved to other trains at about 400, while Forsal gives about 360. TVP Info names IC Konopnicka and IC Wyspiański as the replacement trains, whereas Forsal names Konopnicka and Ossoliński, the latter arriving from Vienna. PKP Intercity's social media profile asked the public to refrain from firm judgements while the matter is examined.

“Publishing one-sided accounts, without knowledge of all the circumstances, may lead to erroneous conclusions and an unfair assessment of the people concerned.”

Forsal reports that employees it spoke with fear the case will be swept under the carpet. MP Michał Moskal announced an inspection of the matter, according to the same outlet.