POLAND: Wielkopolskie voivodship has awarded Stadler a 553m złoty contract to supply local passenger operator Koleje Wielkopolskie with 10 Flirt electric multiple-units. The Marshal’s office says the trainsets are needed because residents have come to love rail travel, with 31 million passengers carried on local services last year.
The EMUs ordered on March 12 are intended to increase comfort and reduce energy consumption and operating costs. There is an option to order 10 more trains, which would take the total value to over 1·1bn złoty.
Five-car EMUs
The 160 km/h EMUs will be used from early 2028 on routes from Poznań to Zbąszynek via Nowy Tomyśl, Mogilno via Gniezno, Kalisz via Środa Wielkopolska and Ostrów Wielkopolski, and Krzyż via Wronki. They will also be used on routes to Piła via Rogoźno, Rawicz via Leszno, and Kutno via Września, Konin and Kłodawa.
The five-car EMUs will have a capacity of up to 632 passengers, including more than 250 seated. They will have spacious entrances, a high proportion of low-floor space and full accessibility for passengers with reduced mobility. They will be equipped with ETCS, air-conditioning, CCTV, wi-fi, defibrillators, a passenger counting system, accessible toilet, space for six bicycles, emergency intercoms and passenger information in Polish, English and Ukrainian.
Long, spacious and lightweight
The order ‘is a significant event for Wielkopolska, as we will receive very modern and passenger-friendly trains, already proven on Polish tracks’, said Marshal Marek Woźniak. ‘Funding for the vehicles is secured in the Wielkopolska voivodship budget, but we hope that some funds will be secured from the European Union.’
Deputy Marshal Wojciech Jankowiak added that the procurement had taken into account price, delivery date and weight, with Stadler’s offer deemed to be the best. ‘This is something new for us, as until now we have mainly operated trains manufactured by Pesa Bydgoszcz’, he said. ‘These are very modern units — long, spacious and lightweight.’
The EMUs will be designed locally at Stadler’s engineering office at Poznań, and manufactured at its Siedlce plant.
President of Stadler Polska Radosław Banach said the Siedlce factory had produced more than 650 Flirts for operators in 18 countries, with 127 operated in Poland by Koleje Mazowieckie, Łódzka Kolej Aglomeracyjna, Koleje Śląskie and PKP Intercity. ‘These are proven, comfortable trains, with excellent reliability’, he said, adding that the company plans to recruit an additional 20 engineers this year.
