Previously, thanks to EU funds, the Lower Silesian operator acquired hybrid and electric trains. Once deliveries of the new batch of diesel trains are completed, KD’s rolling stock fleet will number over one hundred vehicles (108 units, to be exact).
“Railway transport is the region’s circulatory system. If we want to encourage residents to use trains, we must work continuously to improve our transport offer. The electrification of railway lines is the government’s responsibility, and I hope that funds from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan will enable PKP PLK to make the necessary investments in this area in our region,” explains Paweł Gancarz, Marshal of Lower Silesia.
Marshal Paweł Gancarz mentioned Ząbkowice Śląskie, Dzierżoniów, Bielawa and Świdnica, among other places, as destinations that the new trains will reach. Ultimately, however, the new vehicles will appear wherever railway lines lack overhead catenary.
“Railway transport is a system of interconnected vessels. On branch lines, smaller trains bring passengers to the main lines, where we travel by sprinters: faster and larger trains. This is how it works in the world’s most advanced railway countries, and this is what we are doing in Lower Silesia,” notes Michał Rado, Deputy Marshal of Lower Silesia responsible, among other things, for railways.
“I hope that, over time, the government will electrify further lines in our voivodeship, particularly the Podsudecka Main Line—a route running through Jawor, Strzegom, Świdnica, Dzierżoniów and Ząbkowice Śląskie. Electrification has been discussed there for years, but above all, so has increasing the speed at which trains can travel,” he adds.
Koleje Dolnośląskie has the fastest trains of all regional operators in Poland. Transport needs are growing, including on peripheral lines, hence the decision to purchase diesel-powered vehicles.
“A major challenge lies ahead of us, one set by the people of Lower Silesia themselves, who have fallen in love with railways. It is for them that we are improving the service in places where there is still no catenary and we cannot serve them with electric trains,” says Damian Stawikowski, President of Koleje Dolnośląskie. “We secured the financing through a loan obtained from PKO Bank Polski.”
The vehicles from the Pesa factory in Bydgoszcz are two-car trains with 115 seats. They reach speeds of up to 120 km/h. Their Rolls-Royce engines enable the use of environmentally friendly fuel with nearly 90% lower CO2 emissions.
Each vehicle costs PLN 29.24 million net, and the first of them will arrive in Lower Silesia by June 2027 at the latest. The agreement just signed provides for the delivery of 10 units, while an option allows for the purchase of a further 20. The management of Koleje Dolnośląskie is intensively seeking potential sources of financing.
“So far, we have often delivered trains ahead of schedule, including the Elfs used by Koleje Dolnośląskie passengers,” notes Krzysztof Zdziarski, President of the Management Board of Pesa Bydgoszcz. “After many years, we are beginning production of the first white-and-yellow Pesa 231M eco-diesel trains. We already have considerable experience in this area, as the Czechs have ordered more than 100 such vehicles from us,” he adds.
The Bydgoszcz-built eco-diesel vehicles, which the Czechs have named RegioFoxes, operate, among other places, in the Hradec region of the Czech Republic, just across the border with Poland. Soon they will also serve the picturesque routes of Lower Silesia. They will also be able to travel across the southern border, as these trains will be certified for both Polish and Czech tracks.