Alstoms Pendolino fleet starts commercial service on the Polish network

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Alstoms Pendolino, the first high-speed train to operate in Poland, entered in service today. This inauguration opens a new era for railway travels in Poland, offering passengers enhanced comfort, safety, new standards and shorter travel time between the northern and the southern parts of the country. The Pendolino trains will be operated on existing lines by PKP Intercity [1] to connect the main cities of Warsaw, Gdansk, Gdynia, Krakow, Katowice and Wroclaw.

The PKP Pendolino has seven cars and can carry up to 402 people in three classes: first, second, and dedicated close compartments for families. The cars are all equipped with air conditioning, passenger information on LED screens, table and sockets for each passenger, high luggage capacity, and bicycle storage.

Other services provided on the trains are a wide restauration area with bar and tables, and universal accessibility including external elevator and a wide toilet accessible on wheelchair. In cooperation with Alstoms Design & Styling center, the Polish designer maradDesign has created the graphic design and colors, and the Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro has conceived the aerodynamic front end that covers the crash absorption system.

With this commissioning, Alstom confirms its expertise in the high-speed sector and the success of one of the best-seller high-speed trains in the world, the Pendolino, which has been optimised to fit the needs of the countrys railway network. Alstom is proud to take part in this breakthrough in the history of Polish railways said Andreas Knitter, Alstom Transport Senior Vice President Europe. 

This commissioning follows the contract worth 665 million awarded by PKP Intercity in 2011 to supply 20 high speed trains, the full maintenance of the fleet for up to 17 years and the construction of a maintenance depot, in Warsaw. The 12 000 m2 newly-built depot is equipped with the most high-tech servicing tools. Alstom employs today 92 people in the depot. This figure will reach 130 at full capacity. 

In September 2014, the Polish Office of Rail Transport, responsible for the supervision of the railway sectors safety in Poland, certified the Pendolino trains. During the tests performed, the Pendolino beat its own speed record with 293 km/h, establishing also Polands highest ever speed record on rail. 

The trains have been manufactured in Savigliano, Italy, the Alstom centre of excellence for Pendolino. The traction and auxiliary have been manufactured in Sesto, Italy, the bogies and motors, have been respectively produced in Le Creusot, Ornans, France and the on-board electronics come from Villeurbanne, France and Charleroi, Belgium.

The European Union is supporting sustainable transportation initiatives and allocated 74 million for this high speed project in Poland. An additional 10 billion will be granted within the EU cohesion fund 2014- 2020 to further support the development of the Polish railway network. With 20,000 km of tracks, Poland has the 3rd biggest railway network in Europe.

[1] PKP Intercity is the Polish national operator in charge of long-distance passenger transport.

About Pendolino

Designed to run at up to 250 km/h and optimised for both high-speed and conventional lines, Pendolino has been sold to operate in 14 countries worldwide [2] and is currently crossing seven European borders.  This range of trains is designed to offer excellent passenger comfort and seamless international travels. Pendolinos success since 30 years lies on its modularity and flexibility. It can be fully customised from interior layout to the number of cars [3], voltage power supply, train width, track gauge and suspension. Pendolino can also be configured for operation under extreme climate conditions, up to 45° and -45°C. Today, more than 1200 high speed trains in service in the world -around one third of the total- use Alstoms technology and have been tailored to the particular needs of our 20 high speed customers.

[2] Austria, China, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and United Kingdom.
[3] Versions sold from 3 to 11 cars

Alstom in Poland

Marek Gawronski
Tel.: +48 696171563
marek.gawronski@chq.alstom.com