Week after week, PKP Intercity sets more transport records, although the company is still unable to use 36% of its passenger cars that have become idle. It will take another two years to reach the level of 20% of abandoned cars. The carrier’s fleet also covers 87% of the demand for rolling stock in the summer timetable. What else do we know about the current situation of the company?
More transport, more passengers.
It is worth noting that this year, as part of the holiday schedule, PKP Intercity operates an average of 454 trains per day, which is 31 more than in the same period last year. In response to our questions regarding the availability of the company’s rolling stock, the PKP Intercity press office stated that, apart from the aforementioned trains, the company also operates additional trains during periods of “increased passenger traffic”.
In addition, PKP Intercity regularly reinforces its trains with additional carriages and multiple units, which now operate in double sets, like some connections operated by Pendolino. The result of these activities has been record transport results for the company, with 37 million passengers transported in the first half of the year.
Almost all Pendolinos, Flirts and Darts are played.
The high availability of rolling stock is not only stated by the carrier’s authorities or the Ministry, but above all by the numbers. As the press office of PKP Intercity told us, the carrier currently has 19 of the 20 ED250, the famous Pendolinos, available for driving or undergoing planned/corrective maintenance. The last “platypus” is out of service due to a collision. In the case of both generations of Flirts, of which the carrier has 32 units, two train units are out of service due to a collision, while the remaining 30 trains are in operation or undergoing continuous maintenance.
The ED161 multiple units, the famous arrows made by Pesa, are starting to have very good availability. Currently, the company has 19 of the 20 trains at its disposal, and only one of them is parked awaiting repairs after the collision. In the case of the “Edyty” – ED74 multiple units, 2 of the 14 multiple units are out of service due to the collision. The rest are at the disposal of the carrier, which is looking for alternative uses for them, as we wrote about here.
36% of vehicles are still not working
The head of the transport company, Janusz Malinowski, also spoke about the state of rolling stock of PKP Intercity, answering the questions of the deputies during the meeting of the subcommittee on railway transport. Malinowski noted that on the day he took office as head – April 19 this year – 40.6% of passenger cars and 50% of passenger cars capable of traveling at a speed of 200 km/h were out of order. At the moment, the availability of wagons has increased slightly, and currently 36% of wagons are out of order – it will take about two years to reach the level of 20% of wagons out of order. At Remtrak, we urgently limited repairs to level P5 so that the company could carry out as many repairs as possible at level P4, which gives us 75 wagons per month. Malinowski said that this does not mean that there are 75 additional wagons per month, because some of the wagons are allocated for necessary inspection and repairs.
The carrier’s president also said the company is trying to shorten the time it takes to transfer wagons from one train to another as much as possible, and that its current rolling stock usage is “at maximum.” This also means it will have to return for further repairs much sooner.
Currently, PKP Intercity has 1,314 wagons in operation.
9 years and 8 more locomotives
Janusz Malinowski said that the carrier’s operational work is constantly growing, although this has not yet been accompanied by a significant expansion of rolling stock.
– Compared to 2015, PKP Intercity carries 80% more passengers, we have 149 additional wagons, that is, 12% more. Already from this comparison we see the problems. The situation is similar with locomotives, since 2015 we have added… 8 locomotives – the head of PKP Intercity noted.
Interestingly, the rolling stock coverage for the summer schedule is 87% – meaning that 13% of the required rolling stock, for example, must be found operationally – Malinowski added.
A real and noticeable improvement in the situation is expected in 2026, when the first vehicles from FPS H. Cegielski will be purchased a few days ago, and the first dual-traction Impuls 3 vehicles from Newag will be put into service.
Problems with locomotives
The company’s president also pointed out the low reliability of PKP Intercity’s locomotives, which, in his opinion, is mainly due to the extended life of old electric locomotives.
– The situation with electric locomotives will be under control by the end of December due to the acceleration of deliveries of locomotives manufactured by Newage. From December this year the situation will be relatively orderly and in the coming years most of the old locomotives will be withdrawn and kept only for museum purposes. Every old locomotive replaced by a new one makes a measurable impact – our locomotives currently travel about 30,000 miles. kilometers per year.
Double decker train units are planned.
The parliament also discussed the plans for the future purchase of the carrier. President Malinowski confirmed that PKP Intercity wants to purchase double-decker multi-unit trains with a capacity of 600-700 people, which will help to carry more passengers on the current length of the platforms, as it is no longer possible to extend the trains with additional carriages.
– Many trains heading to the seaside today have 14-15 cars and there is nothing that can be done about it – said the head of PKP Intercity, who said that last weekend, from Friday to Sunday, PKP Intercity transported more than 812,000 passengers.
European Union at 250 km/h
PKP Intercity also plans to purchase 250 km/h trains. If we have 40 Pendolinos today, we will be able to sell all the tickets for them. In May, the occupancy rate of ED250 trains was about 70%, and it has been increasing since then.
The transport company is also interested in planned high-speed transport, for example on line Y, from Warsaw to Poznań/Wrocław via Łódź, although acquiring rolling stock for this task will be the next step in purchasing the combined trains.
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