POLAND: PKP Intercity has formally signed contracts for Alstom to supply 42 Coradia Max partly double-deck 200 km/h electric multiple-units for 4·1bn złoty and provide 30 years of full-service maintenance for 2·8bn złoty. There is an option to order 30 more of the EMUs.
Alstom had been named the preferred bidder in early September, having sumitted a bid almost 400m złoty cheaper than a rival offer from Stadler. Signing of the contract was announced on November 12.
PKP Intercity CEO Janusz Malinowski said the EMUs would bring a new level of quality to the Polish network, being fast, spacious, modern and comfortable while still offering economical travel. The first trains are expected to enter service in around 3½ years, serving cities including Warszawa, Gdańsk, Łódź, Olsztyn, Wrocław, Kraków, Białystok and Terespol.
All 42 sets are due to be delivered by early 2032
Polish production
Alstom said the Coradia Max fleet would be designed with a significant contribution from its Polish engineering team and assembled at its Chorzów site with bogies produced at Nadarzyn.
Each unit will be formed of four double-deck and two single-deck intermediate cars, offering more than 550 seats. Two units will be able to operate in multiple.
The modular design allows PKP Intercity to tailor the trains to specific route and passenger needs. The EMUs will be equipped for 3 kV DC and 25 kV 50 Hz electrification, enabling operation across Poland and the Czech Republic.
Features will include air-conditioning, free wi-fi, power sockets, reading lights, spacious luggage racks, bicycle and pushchair areas, quiet zones, family compartments and a bistro area. They will have wide automatic doors for fast boarding and alighting, with step-free boarding from 760 mm platforms and automatic lifts provide passengers with reduced mobility with seamless access from other platform heights.
Alstom will be responsible for all preventive and corrective maintenance and overhaul activities as well as cleaning services. It said the trains would bring ‘a new level of comfort and reliability’ to Poland’s busiest long-distance routes. Condition-based and predictive maintenance regimes will be supported by Alstom’s Fleet Support Centre and HealthHub digital platform.
‘With the Coradia Max, we are once again raising the bar for sustainable mobility, designed and built in Poland, for Polish passengers’, said Andrew DeLeone, President of Alstom Europe. ‘A decade after revolutionising intercity travel with Pendolino, we are proud to take the next leap forward together with PKP Intercity, delivering a fleet that embodies the future of rail: faster, greener, and more comfortable than ever before.’
