PKP Intercity considering buying more Polish-made Dart trains
PR dla Zagranicy
Roberto Galea
16.03.2017 09:56
The state-owned railway company PKP Intercity has revealed that it is considering purchasing a further ten high-speed Dart trains.
The Pesa Dart train in PKP livery. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
The company signed an agreement to purchase twenty Dart trains in February 2014, paying a total of PLN 1.5 billion (EUR 0.35 billion). Over a third of the funding came from the European Union.
The contract signed in 2014 allowed PKP Intercity to purchase a further ten Dart trains, should the need arise.
“We are continually analysing this possibility. A decision will be made, but we must think about this carefully,” said Jarosław Oniszczuk, a member of PKP Intercity’s board.
The original set of twenty trains is already being used on Polish railways. They are built by the Polish company PESA and are able to reach speeds of up to 200 km/h.
The trains have previously been hailed by PESA as the “most technologically advanced train which has ever been built by a Polish manufacturer”.
PKP Intercity, which deals with long-distance passenger transport, has recently embarked upon a modernisation programme and apart from Dart trains has also acquired Italian Pendolino and Swiss Flirt trains.
Partially as a result of the new rolling stock, PKP Intercity enjoyed record ticket sales in 2016, totalling PLN 1.77 billion (EUR 0.41 billion). This was also the first time in many years that the company ended the year in the black. (sl/rg)
Source: PAP