The renaissance of railways in Lower Silesia is taking place on a mass scale, with railway lines being built not only by PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe, the national infrastructure manager, but also by the Marshal’s Office of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship.

– Over the course of 10 years, more than a quarter of a million Lower Silesians have regained access to rail transport. At this very moment, construction or preparatory work is underway on many lines in our voivodeship. Stronie Śląskie, Lądek-Zdrój, Przemków, Lwówek Śląski, Kowary—these are just some of the towns to which trains will return after decades. We are investing heavily in modern rail transport that is accessible to residents – says Paweł Gancarz, Marshal of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship.

The lines being rebuilt by the voivodeship are not electrified, so the Lower Silesian carrier must order trains to operate them. However, to purchase them with EU funding, they must be emission-free. Therefore, Koleje Dolnośląskie is conducting a procedure that will ultimately bring new hybrid trains to Lower Silesia: electric trains combined with a second, alternative power source.

– Lower Silesia operates like a well-oiled machine: while the local government is rebuilding railway lines after years of disuse, allowing tens of thousands of Lower Silesians to regain access to rail transport, its company, Koleje Dolnośląskie, is ordering trains to operate them. Next year, new eco-friendly trains will begin arriving in Lower Silesia, followed in subsequent years by hybrid trains powered by hydrogen or batteries – says Michał Rado, Deputy Marshal of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship responsible, among other things, for rail transport.

Battery, hydrogen or supercapacitor: getting closer to modern hybrids

In a procedure unprecedented in this industry, Koleje Dolnośląskie announced an innovation partnership procedure. In short, the carrier will pay one or two manufacturers to create two prototype vehicles with electric propulsion and a second, zero-emission power source. Whether this will be hydrogen, battery or another type of propulsion is entirely up to the bidders.

After a year of testing, if everything goes well, Koleje Dolnośląskie will order up to 16 trains of precisely this vehicle model.

– Modern solutions are being tested throughout Europe: manufacturers are supplying trains with alternative propulsion to several markets, and we have also held market consultations with manufacturers. We are pleased with the numerous offers submitted in this procedure – says Damian Stawikowski, president of Koleje Dolnośląskie.

The following bidders have been admitted to the next stage:

  • PESA Bydgoszcz,
  • Siemens Mobility,
  • Skoda.

The offer from the Turkish manufacturer Bozankaya was not admitted to the next stage. This results from new EU regulations concerning decisions in procedures involving entities from third countries that are not parties to international agreements.

The three bidders will be invited to talks, after which the procedure will move to its next stage.

A new railway procurement route

An innovation partnership procedure follows a different path from the commonly used tender. It is based on cooperation and negotiations that ultimately lead to the production of prototype vehicles.

In the stage beginning now, the three entities will be invited to talks and to submit their final offers.

Once the offers have been analyzed, Koleje Dolnośląskie will be able to choose the manufacturer or manufacturers that will supply between two and four vehicles. This will pave the way for contracts to supply the trains within 30 months. Completion of this stage will launch the next one: twelve months of testing on Lower Silesian tracks.

Koleje Dolnośląskie is a regional carrier operating in four Polish voivodeships, as well as along Poland’s borders with the Czech Republic and Germany. It sets new popularity records year after year: in 2025, more than 25 million passengers traveled aboard its white-and-yellow trains. The company operates the fastest regional connections in Poland.

As the carrier sets records, the Marshal’s Office of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship is rebuilding further railway lines on a scale unprecedented in Poland: by 2029, Koleje Dolnośląskie will operate on 300 km of railway lines rebuilt and managed by the voivodeship government. The scale of the investment means that more than 200,000 Lower Silesians have already regained access to rail transport, and this number will reach a quarter of a million in the coming years.