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.”