photo: PKP Intercity/PKP Intercity Presents Rolling Stock Plans for 2023
The intensive implementation of the investment strategy 'PKP Intercity - Railway of Large Investments' is underway. After the historic year 2022, the Polish national carrier is not slowing down and announces further investments. The signing of significant contracts and the acceptance of new or modernised vehicles are planned for the next 12 months. These will strengthen the rolling stock fleet, enabling the company to offer journeys in greater comfort and increase transport accessibility.
In the last quarter of 2022, PKP Intercity's rolling stock park was strengthened by the first 2 of 12 FLIRT electric multiple units from the STADLER factory in Siedlce. In the coming months, the carrier will take delivery of another ten units, thus completing an order worth more than one billion zlotych. FLIRT trainsets are equipped with acoustic soundproofing to increase the comfort of the journey and with systems for recovering electrical energy generated during braking. FLIRTs were designed with the environment in mind, as the materials used in the construction of the vehicles are environmentally friendly and recyclable. In the new trainsets, passengers can take advantage of numerous amenities, including air-conditioning, electrical sockets, GSM/LTE signal boosters and wireless Internet.
The national carrier's fleet will soon be strengthened by ED74 electric multiple units, which are undergoing modernisation at the PESA plant in Mińsk Mazowiecki. The last 2 of the 14 ED74 units are due to be received in the first half of the year. The modernised vehicles are equipped with, among other things, air-conditioning, Wi-Fi, access to an electrical socket and mobile signal boosters. They are also adapted to the needs of people with disabilities, and each depot offers a space designed to carry bicycles.
During the first quarter, deliveries of new light shunting locomotives will also be completed as part of a contract with CZ Loko for the supply of 10 such vehicles. The new light diesel locomotives will be used for shunting work and putting together wagon trainsets on sidings.
In 2023, the carrier's fleet will be strengthened by the first of 10 multi-system locomotives from New Sącz-based Newag. The contract was signed in October 2021, and PKP Intercity has the right to extend the order to 15 vehicles. The multi-system locomotives will travel up to 200 km/h, allowing the efficient use of modernised railway lines. In addition, they will have homologation for six countries, allowing them to run wagon trainsets not only on Polish but also on European rail networks.
The carrier's fleet will be strengthened by modernised wagons of various types, as the acceptance of units upgraded under various contracts will begin – among others, within the framework of an order for the modernisation of 90 wagons from FPS H. Cegielski in Poznań and a contract for the modernisation of 14 111/112ALux wagons, signed with the COMPREMUM and TRANSTRAIN consortium. The fleet will also be strengthened by the first wagons of the 152A and 154A series, which are undergoing major repairs at the fifth maintenance level (P5). The work is being carried out by PESA Bydgoszcz. The carrier will also receive 60 wagons modernised internally by PKP Intercity Remtrak. The plant's operations are the result of the massive investments and modernisations that PKP Intercity has carried out in recent years.
"We are systematically implementing our investment strategy, which is changing the railway for the better and allowing us to continuously improve the quality of the services offered. 2023 will bring further strengthening of our rolling stock and the conclusion of contracts, the effects of which will be felt soon. In such a difficult economic period, our massive investments are also real support for the Polish railway industry," says Jarosław Oniszczuk, a member of the board of PKP Intercity.
New contracts in 2023
PKP Intercity is also planning to sign further vital rolling stock contracts for 2023. Already in the first quarter, a contract will be signed with the Nowy Sącz-based company Newag for the delivery of 20 electric locomotives. The acceptance of the first units is planned for the end of this year. These will be similar to the EU160 Griffin locomotives known and operated by PKP Intercity.
A contract for the delivery of the eagerly awaited push-pull trainsets will also be signed this year. It provides for the purchase of 38 seven-car double-decker trainsets together with 45 multi-system electric locomotives.
Another significant contract scheduled to be signed in 2023 is for the delivery of 63 multi-system locomotives, and the option right that will be included in the contract will allow the carrier to extend the order by an additional 32 units.
In 2023, PKP Intercity also plans to award the largest tender in the carrier's history, in terms of the number of units ordered, for the purchase of 300 new coaches with an option to extend the order by another 150 units. Implementation of the contract will bring a new quality to the tracks, both in terms of technical solutions and design. The new carriages will be equipped with facilities becoming standard on PKP Intercity trains. These will include, among others, inductive chargers or additional luggage space located under the seats (in some carriages). The newly ordered carriages will also feature a new design, providing travellers with greater comfort. The interiors will have a new paint scheme with a more cosy and intimate feel. The prepared project is a set of stylistic and functional solutions which will become a recurrent, intuitive and characteristic standard of PKP Intercity.
The national carrier also plans to expand the pool of COMBO coaches. There are already 60 units of this type on Polish tracks, which meet the various needs of travellers. These multifunctional carriages of a higher standard have appropriately soundproofed interiors, and inside, you will find family compartments, compartments for people with disabilities, including those in wheelchairs, a compartmentless section and space where bicycles can be transported safely. A tender for the modernisation and modification of 50 more carriages to the COMBO standard will be launched in 2023 – PKP Intercity wants to sign the contract before 2024. Also, by this date, a contract is planned for the P5 level repairs of 40 Z1A/B coaches.
Source: PKP Intercity