Night train safety

First off, the stories about crime on overnight trains are significantly exaggerated, if not downright fiction.

Yes, theft can be an issue on trains (and elsewhere, outside of trains, in Europe), so you'll want to keep a close eye on your stuff. Getting a sleeping compartment basically solves that issue because the compartment can lock from the inside. If you have a sleeper, you can pretty much rest easy and not have to keep one eye open.

If, however, you just have a regular seat, you'll want to be a bit more careful. I've heard some people use a backpack lock to lock their packs to the elevated racks in the regular seats. I also like to keep my valuables like passports, cash, credit cards on my person, not in my bag. (I should note that I've had a regular seat for overnight trains, and never had an issue.)

Basically, though, use common sense and you should be fine.

Dave

#1 is correct. get a sleeping compartment. I have used this and similar trains on holiday (backpack) and business (suit, laptop), at least a dozen times. I don't say theft is absent, but I never encountered it and nobody around me, most of them locals using the service regularly, seemed bothered by theft risk.

I also have used the overnight trains in Poland on a dozen or so trips and never had a problem in a compartment.

If you want to take a direct train from Prague to Krakow you only have two choices.

The night train which leaves the main station at 21.09, is all sleeper, takes 9.5 hours, a ropy old 'rychlik'
The day train which leaves the main station at 14.09, takes only 7.5 hours and is EC train.

The night train gets there at 6.30 not sure what you will do there this early. I know which train I would take - the day train - plenty to see and no worries about thieves, but that's rubbish anyway. The trains are safe.

wobbers

NO for this particular train the storeyare NOT fiction or rubbish-Ive had to deal in the past with too many of claims on that. I really dont understand why some people think they promote train travels by immediately hitting at anyone who dares to tell some less positive things about using them. But since it all is EU it has indeed been much much less as before. But IF they occurred it was always, always on the PL part-after the then border checks-it is common knowledge that some PL train conductors were crooks-probably those that lost their profitable ''spy extra's when the walls fell-by tipping off thieves etc.

I slept with my passport/money/bank cards in my moneybelt under my clothes, then I could sleep soundly knowing the important things were safe! If you get the bottom bunk in couchettes you can put your bag under your bed. There probably is crime but I've never encountered it. I've grown to love sleeper trains!

Bmta is right that these stories are not fiction or rubbish. Up until two or three years ago it was very common for people to wake up without their belongings from the overnight train between Prague and Krakow. In particular the hostels in Krakow were regularly helping their newly arrived guests with police reports and so on.

Two or three years ago though, PKP started employing armed security guards to travel on the night trains (while the train is in motion, they're almost always in the restaurant car), and from then on there have been almost no reports of travellers being robbed.

That said, it's undoubtedly a good idea to still be mindful of your valuables, but it shouldn't stop you from travelling by night train. I've never heard of anyone 'having' to tie their luggage to their bodies before. Why did your friend feel she 'had to' do that?

Still, I don't think night trains in Europe are as wonderful as they're often cracked up to be. The two things I most dislike are

1) If you're travelling eight or nine hours in one stretch through Central Europe, you're missing at least three or four good places, and

2) I never get a decent sleep, and always waste the first day napping and being grumpy or trudging around waiting until last night's people get out of my bed/room, so I can get into it.

For this reason the old chestnut "but you save a night's accommoation" is, I think, a bit of a myth. If you want to spend three days in for example Krakow, but you waste the first day catching up on sleep, you have to extend your stay (i.e. pay for another night's accommodation) or miss out on things you wanted to see/places you wanted to spend time. You end up spending the same amount, but having less useable time on your trip (assuming you have fixed end date/flight to catch etc.)

Night trains are awful.

I don't know anything about crime (though I would expect some of it considering the night trains to Prague from PL and SK are full of poor migrant workers) but they are simply extremely uncomfortable. You will be happy to manage sleeping two or three hours maximum during the night.

You need to think about the difference between a couchette and a sleeper. Look at seat61.com for detailed descriptions of them both.

I've had theft problems in Poland on night trains but only in the seat compartments. The problem is that you'll have a compartment to yourself, and everything will seem safe... it'll be late... you'll slowly begin to drop off... and you'll be fair game for anyone who wants to hop on the train at an intermediate station and quickly grab something.

If you go by night, get a couchette or sleeper. If it's a busy night, ask the conductor to move you to a full couchette, so that (with five other people there) there's less likelihood that one of your fellow passengers will try to steal something. If it's a quiet night, tell the conductor you snore badly and ask him to put you in your own compartment (you may have to tip him) alone. You are not at all likely to get robbed from a couchette/sleeper, but you'll feel more comfortable with lots/no people around than with just one travel companion in the same compartment.

A final note: these trains are usually busiest Friday and Sunday night.