Katowice All Saints 2026: Free Rides and 18 Cemetery Lines
The essentials: On 1 November 2026 every ZTM bus, tram and trolleybus across the 41-municipality Metropolis GZM is free. The ZTM runs 18 special cemetery lines (C1-C20) on 31 Oct and 1 Nov, with C5 in Katowice from 24 Oct; trams 15, 26, 27, 38 and around 90 bus lines get denser All Saints timetables. Normal fares return on 2 November.
Silesia does All Saints differently from the rest of Poland: instead of one city operator, the ZTM - the transport authority for the whole 41-municipality Metropolis GZM, from Katowice to Gliwice, Tychy, Sosnowiec and beyond - moves the entire region. Its plan for 24 October to 2 November 2026, published on 23 October, is now live: 18 special cemetery bus lines numbered C1 to C20, holiday schedules across dozens of regular lines, and - the headline - free rides on every ZTM bus, tram and trolleybus on Sunday 1 November 2026.
If you are an expat anywhere in Upper Silesia, this is the one weekend a year when a single regional network decides to be both free and everywhere. Here is how it works.
Free rides on 1 November - across the whole metropolis
The ZTM notice is blunt: on 1 November 2026, travel on all ZTM lines is free. That means every bus, tram and trolleybus in every municipality the ZTM serves - Katowice, Gliwice, Zabrze, Bytom, Chorzów, Ruda Śląska, Tychy, Sosnowiec, Będzin, Dąbrowa Górnicza and the rest of the conurbation. No ticket, no validation, no app purchase. This confirms what the ZTM tariff has listed all year (our free transport on 1 November roundup tracked it). On every other day of the period normal fares apply - a single ZTM ticket is 4.80 zł, with the network's zone-less flat fare one of the simplest in Poland (details in our Katowice tickets guide).
The cemetery lines: C1 to C20
The core of the plan is a set of special buses marked with the letter C (for "cmentarz" - cemetery), linking transfer hubs with the biggest graveyards:
- Saturday 24 - Sunday 25 October 2026: the first line, C5 in Katowice (Sądowa - Cmentarz Komunalny), is already running this weekend.
- Saturday 31 October - Sunday 1 November: the full set of 18 lines runs - C1 and C3 in Gliwice (Central and Lipowy cemeteries), C2 Chorzów - Ruda Śląska - Katowice (Batory to the Piotrowice cemetery), C5 and C8 in Katowice (Sądowa to the communal cemetery, and Zawodzie to Francuska), C6 Będzin - Sosnowiec, C7 Chorzów - Siemianowice, C9 Ruda Śląska - Chorzów, C10 in Knurów, C11 looping through Czeladź, seven lines in Tychy (C12, C13, C14, C15, C17, C18, C19 converging on the Wartogłowiec and Barwna cemeteries), and C20 in Dąbrowa Górnicza. (The numbers C4 and C16 are simply not used this year.)
- Monday 2 November (All Souls' Day): Tychy keeps six of its C lines running (C12, C13, C14, C15, C17, C18) - the only city in the metropolis with cemetery lines on the second day.
The pattern to read: Katowice's communal cemetery on Francuska - the biggest in the region - gets C5 and C8, Gliwice gets two lines to its two main cemeteries, and Tychy gets the densest coverage of all, a sign of how large the crowds at Wartogłowiec are.
Day-by-day schedules
- Saturday 24 October: normal Saturday schedules.
- Sunday 25 October: Sunday/holiday schedules, plus bigger vehicles on some routes and the C5 already running.
- Wednesday 28 - Friday 30 October: normal weekday (school-day) schedules, with higher-capacity buses on selected lines.
- Saturday 31 October: Saturday schedules - but trams 15, 26, 27 and 38 and dozens of bus lines (the list runs to around 90, including the M-prefixed metro lines and most trunk routes) switch to special, denser All Saints timetables. All 18 C lines run.
- Sunday 1 November (All Saints' Day): the maximum. The same special timetables for trams 15, 26, 27, 38 and the reinforced bus list; every C line running; in Imielin extra minibus lines 249, 266 and 295 appear; bus line 232 is suspended. And everything is free.
- Monday 2 November: back to normal weekday schedules; bigger buses stay on lines 2 and 254, and Tychy's C lines run one more day.
Bigger-capacity buses also run in the days around the holiday on lines including 2, 8, 58, 131, 186, 254 and 699. If your usual line is on the special-timetable list, check exact departures before you leave - the ZTM asks passengers to verify times in its journey planner or app, and publishes route maps for every C line on its site.
The cemeteries on most visitors' lists
Katowice's Cmentarz Komunalny on Francuska is the region's giant - a vast, wooded 20th-century cemetery where the crowds justify two dedicated bus lines. Gliwice's Central Cemetery, Chorzów's municipal grounds near the Batory district, and Tychy's Wartogłowiec complex draw the rest of the region's biggest crowds. The customs are the same as everywhere in Poland: tidy the grave, lay chrysanthemums, light a znicz lantern, and expect the most beautiful - and busiest - hour to be just after dusk. Sunset on 1 November is about 16:15; on a Sunday with shops closed, buy candles and flowers by Saturday. Monday 2 November is a normal working day. Our All Saints' Day in Poland guide explains the tradition, and when the season turns festive the Katowice Christmas market opens on the market square in late November.
Other cities' plans: Poznań (also free), Łódź (free every year), Warsaw, Kraków, Wrocław, Gdańsk and Szczecin.
Why Silesia's plan is different
In Warsaw or Kraków, All Saints transport is a city story. In Upper Silesia it is a regional one. The Metropolis GZM is a continuous urban area of around 2 million people where crossing a city border on a tram or bus is an everyday, invisible event - the same ZTM ticket works from one end of the conurbation to the other. That is why the authority can run a single, coordinated cemetery network: a family in Katowice with graves in Chorzów and Gliwice can visit all three on one free Sunday, changing between regular lines and C buses without ever thinking about which city they are in. It is also why the plan spreads so wide - 18 special lines across ten towns is a bigger cemetery operation than anywhere else in Poland this year. For newcomers, the weekend doubles as a quiet lesson in how the conurbation fits together: the C-line hubs (Katowice Sądowa, Chorzów Batory, Tychy Dworzec PKP, Gliwice's central cemetery loop) are the same transfer points you will use all year.
Practical notes for the day
- One network, one free day. Because the ZTM is a single regional operator, the free day covers cross-city trips too - a Katowice to Gliwice tram ride on 1 November costs nothing, just like a two-stop hop.
- Board any door and skip the app. There is nothing to validate on the free day; expect the busiest vehicles between about 10:00 and dusk.
- Crossing the region for family graves? The C lines are built for hub-to-cemetery trips - ride a regular line to the hub (Katowice Sądowa, Chorzów Batory, Tychy Dworzec PKP) and change onto the C bus.
- Watch for the one suspension. Bus 232 does not run on 1 November; neighbouring lines cover its route.
*Details verified against the ZTM service notice in force 24 October - 2 November 2026 and the Transport GZM announcement of 23 October 2026. Cover photo: a tram at a stop in Katowice, by HJ Mitchell (CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons). Photo below: the Katowice communal cemetery on Francuska street, 2021, by Adrian Tync (CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons).*
Frequently asked questions
Is public transport free in Katowice on 1 November 2026?
Yes - and not only in Katowice. Every ZTM bus, tram and trolleybus across the whole Metropolis GZM (41 municipalities, including Gliwice, Tychy, Sosnowiec, Bytom and Zabrze) is free on Sunday 1 November 2026. Normal fares apply on all other days.
What are the C lines in Silesia for All Saints 2026?
They are 18 special cemetery buses numbered C1 to C20 (C4 and C16 are not used). C5 in Katowice starts on the weekend of 24-25 October; all 18 run on 31 October and 1 November across Katowice, Gliwice, Chorzów, Ruda Śląska, Sosnowiec, Będzin, Knurów, Czeladź, Tychy and Dąbrowa Górnicza. Tychy keeps six C lines on 2 November.
Do trams run on All Saints' Day in Katowice?
Yes. On 31 October and 1 November 2026, tram lines 15, 26, 27 and 38 run on special, denser All Saints timetables, alongside around 90 reinforced bus lines. All tram travel is free on 1 November.
Is anything different on Monday 2 November 2026?
The network returns to normal weekday schedules and fares. The exceptions: Tychy keeps six cemetery lines (C12, C13, C14, C15, C17, C18) running for All Souls' Day, and bigger buses stay on lines 2 and 254.
Where can I check exact departure times?
The ZTM publishes full route maps for every C line and the special All Saints timetables on its website (rj.transportgzm.pl and metropoliaztm.pl) and in its journey planner and app. Check before leaving - dozens of lines run to changed schedules on 31 October and 1 November.
