PKP Intercity unveils biggest tender ever for double-deckers
Another huge investment for the Polish rail operator. PKP Intercity has announced plans for its biggest train order ever, launching a tender worth more than 2.3 billion euros for 42 double-decker electric multiple units. There is also a possibility of extending the order by another 30 double-deckers, all part of plans to boost long-distance travel in Poland and prepare for the liberalisation of the country’s rail market, which is expected to start in earnest after 2030.
PKP Intercity’s largest-ever order, considering the number of combined trains and the value of the tender at almost PLN 10 billion złotys (€2.3bn), is designed to keep the company competitive in the future. It hopes to fend off private operators that are set to hit the tracks from the start of the next decade, saying that it needs to invest in modern, fast rolling stock that can seat many passengers and stay economically efficient to keep its market position.
As part of the tender, the Polish carrier plans to buy 42 double-decker electric multiple units with a 30-year maintenance period. On top of that, the document allows for another possible 30 vehicles. Some 55 per cent of the 2.3 billion euros will go on the vehicles, with the option for more trains amounting to more than 3.9 billion euros. PKP Intercity said if all goes well, it expects all the vehicles to arrive in just over six years after the contract is signed.
All mod cons
The vehicles are intended to serve popular passenger routes in Poland, including those from Warsaw to Gdańsk, Łódź, Olsztyn, Wrocław, Kraków, Białystok, and Terespol. PKP wants the trains to ideally have a minimum speed of 200 km/h, with two power supply systems: 3 kV (DC) and 25 kV (AC) and be specifically adapted to long-distance journeys for around 500 passengers.
The company also wants the trains to have all the mod cons, like personal power sockets and USB options, as well as being kitted out to EU standards, meaning they will be equipped with ETCS level 1 and 2, and adapted for people with reduced mobility.
PKP Intercity investing
2024 has seen a slew of big rolling stock projects for PKP Intercity. At the beginning of the year, the carrier signed a contract with the Polish company NEWAG for the purchase of 63 multi-system electric locomotives, with an option to order another 32 and provide a 5-year maintenance service. Up until the latest tender, this had been their largest-ever order for a single series of vehicles, valued at just over half a billion euros.
In the spring, PKP Intercity signed another order for multifunctional COMBO cars. As part of periodic repair and modernisation, 50 type 112A cars are set to be transformed into these universal vehicles, with H. Cegielski – Fabryka Pojazdów Szynowych contracted for the job.
Then, in July, the carrier signed another agreement with NEWAG for the purchase of 35 dual-drive traction units, with a maintenance period of 10 years of use. That deal was valued at three-quarters of a billion euros. And if that wasn’t enough, during the summer PKP and H. Cegielski – Fabryka Pojazdów Szynowych signed a contract for the delivery of 300 new railcars, with an option for another 150 vehicles, valued at around 973 million euros gross. They are set for service as early as 2026.
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