POLAND’s PKP Intercity awarded its largest-ever contract by number of vehicles to H Cegielski on March 1. The operator agreed a deal for the supply of 300 new locomotive-hauled coaches for Zlotys 4.2bn ($US 1.1bn). A contract option allows PKP Intercity to order a further 150 coaches from the Poznań-based manufacturer at a cost of Zlotys 2.1bn.
The other bidder for this tender, launched in December 2022, was fellow Polish rolling stock manufacturer Newag. PKP Intercity says H Cegielski offered the lowest price for all seven elements of the tender.
The coaches will be built to a new design, with a maximum speed of 200km/h, and will be configured with both open and compartment passenger accommodation.
Each coach will be equipped with Wi-Fi, individual seat lights, power and USB sockets, as well as air-conditioning, a fire detection system and CCTV. Some coaches will include a family section incorporating a safe play area for young children.
The coaches will be used on mid-tier services, one of three new categories of service to be introduced by PKP Intercity before 2030, that will connect Poland’s largest cities. These trains will also stop at smaller destinations, and include cross-border lines.
The coaches will be authorised for operation in Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Lithuania and Slovakia and are likely to be used on Warsaw – Poznań – Berlin and Gydnia – Poznań – Wrocław – Prague services.
The 300 coaches will be delivered in a total of seven configurations:
first class open/compartment (38 vehicles)
second class compartment (40)
second class open (80)
second class compartment, PRM-accessible (38)
second 2nd class open with cycle racks
dining car (38), and
day/overnight car (26)
If the option for 150 extra vehicles is exercised, the additional coaches will be built in every one of these seven configurations, in quantities of between 13 and 40 each.
“Thanks to this order, in 2028 we will have a minimum of 300 coaches built to a new design,” says Mr Jaroslaw Oniszczuk, PKP Intercity board member. “They will allow us to offer passengers a new standard of travel and encourage even more people to use long-distance rail services.”
For details of fleet orders across the globe, subscribe to IRJ Pro.
The post PKP Intercity awards largest-ever coach contract appeared first on International Railway Journal.
