The Old Tram Station

Trams are not as common as they used to be here in Toruń. We now only have a few lines which basically run between east and west of the city connecting the district of Rubinkowo with the old town. Up to the early 1970s there used to be a tram line that ran right down the middle of Ul. Szeroka in the old town. That has long since gone. These pictures are of the old tram station to the west of the old town. Today it's now the main depot and is also where you have to go to pay a fine for forgetting to have a ticket! It's interesting to see the snow ploughing tram. Poles certainly know how to tackle the winter!

The Two Trams

Tram number 3 (in the foreground) waits for the green light to allow access onto the track which is currently being used by tram number 2. Tram line 3 will take passengers from the east of Toruń past the zoo and Bydgoska Park to the west of Toruń. Tram line 2 goes from the east to the speedway stadium. A tram ticket is the same price as a bus ticket (currently 2,70PLN).

GUEST'S GALLERY: The Snowballed Wall

Image courtesy of Pete Tunnicliffe

Winter brings snow; snow brings snowballs!! Here is a really artistic shot taken in the Old Town of Toruń by our guest photographer Pete Tunnicliffe.

Snowballs can be fun, but they can also be really annoying. Two nights ago, as I was travelling by bus from Toruń to one of the neighbouring villages...a group of young Polish yobs suddenly threw snowballs at the side of the bus. A bit of harmless fun perhaps? Not when one of them had a rock inside which shattered the side mirror! The driver suddenly made an emergency stop and was physically pissed off! Needless to say the yobs ran away like a bunch of cowards! Probably afraid the driver will tell their mummies!! After all...everyone knows everyone in a Polish village!!! ;-)

English on the Buses!

Here is a new novel idea to learn English...on the local city buses! The idea is simple...two video screens show English words or simple English phrases with the Polish translation next to them. Passengers have nothing else to do but just read and learn.

Shame that some of the slides have mistakes though. For example, it's trivial but why does 'to go to work' have a full stop after it? After all it's not a sentence. Apparently, there are also some spelling errors on some of the other slides. Though these remain to be seen by TDP!

All Aboard the Long Distance Coach

You don't just catch trains from Toruń Miasto train station. Outside the main entrance, long-distance coaches depart on a daily basis to a variety of destinations around Europe. The main coach company these days is Sindbad which recently took over the former competitor Orbis Transport.

Scenes from the Railway

Toruń's Miasto station is the closest train station to the old town...but it's not the main one (that one is situated on the other side of the river!). It's also pretty dingy and as you can see full of grafiti. It also has the odd tanker train rolling through it. The joys!

Ferry Across the Vistula

For years there has been a boat ferrying Torunians across the small stretch of the Vistula to see the picture postcard panoramic view of the old town. This is the original Katarzynka ferry which is now a static historical monument. During the summer months you can hop on its replacement which is called originally...Katarzynka II!!

Return to Poland

The plane mainly full of Poles heading back home.

Didn't realise that kid on the right was spying on me until later!! :-)

My plane back to Poland -complete with special Polish Tourism logo. Not sure why they had to check the left engine immediately after landing though!!

Flew back to Poland last week on board LOT Polish Airlines. Nice new Embraer jet but a very costly trip as was forced to buy a last minute ticket as my original booking had been cancelled - long story!.

On the plus side TORUŃ DAILY PHOTO is now back and will continue to put up some new photos and posts all about our favourite Polish city!

Budget Shopping and Cheap Transport

Do some cheap shopping at Netto (a Polish cash and carry style supermarket) and then head off on a bus from the adjacent bus station.

Theme Day: Edges

It's that time of the month again...the City Daily Photo Theme Day...and today it's all about edges. Thought that this photo of Toruń's slick and modern bus station is the perfect example to reflect edges. How many edges can you count?

For all the other theme day posts around the world please click the link.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

On board the Night Train!

This shot was taken this evening on board an ARRIVA train heading through the Polish wintry countryside towards Toruń Glowny. It was bang on time...and cheap as chips, but lengthy ticket queues at the station.

A New Perspective on Things

Looking out from the 3rd floor of the new B&B Hotel in Toruń. Interesting view onto the street. You can just make out the number 1 tram heading from the suburb of Rubinokowo.

The Bus Seat

Got on one of the new city buses today and was surprised to see that it has colourful, new seats complete with pictures of some of Toruń's historic buildings. A nice touch!

The Village Bus

Like in many countries...VEOLIA Transport runs much of the country's public transportation system. Every day Veolia buses interwene through Poland's country roads bringing people from A to B. This bus is heading from Lułkowo a small village 10km north of Toruń. Captured at 9am yesterday taking commuters to work.

The Tramway

Toruń has a couple of main tram lines...but 30 years ago it had more (including one which went right through the Old Market Square). Tickets to ride on a tram cost 2,50PLN and are the same price as a city bus. Make sure you buy them before hand and get it punched in the on board machine. Failure to do so will result in a costly fine!

Bus station at night

This is the central hub of all Toruń's buses. You can even hop on a coach all the way to England from here!

The End of Ryanair in Bydgoszcz?

Financial disputes have cast an air of uncertainty over the future of Ryanair flights from Bydgoszcz airport. The latest is that Ryanair will suspend all their flights from the airport from the end of June. If that's the case it will be a major spanner in the works for Toruń's tourism which does depend on Bydgoszcz being it's closest airport (albeit a minor one).

Bydgoszcz Ignacy Jan Paderewski Airport (http://www.plb.pl/index.php?lang=en), lies about 45kms west of Toruń (accessible by train, coach or bus connections). Situated in a clearing in a forest, the airport has daily flights to London Stansted, Dublin, Düsseldorf-Weeze, Liverpool, Birmingham, East-Midlands and Bristol.

The plane in the top image was the inaugural Ryanair flight from Bristol to Bydgoszcz which took place 3 days ago. TORUŃ DAILY PHOTO were on board for the occassion!! A great service...will be a big shame if it all disappears due to bloody money!!!

Tram Seats

Wonder where all these different tram passengers are heading to? A nice capture of a moment of public people watching.

Homeward Bound (in ALL weathers!)

Toruń's main bus station is always the centre of activity...even when its way below zero and loads of snow! This is the main point of call for local commuters coming into Toruń by bus. Most tourists arrive by train to the station from Warsaw.