PKP Intercity orders 42 Alstom Coradia Max double-deck trains

Lire en français : PKP Intercity signe 6,9 Md zł avec Alstom pour 42 Coradia Max

Poland's long-distance operator PKP Intercity will add 42 Alstom Coradia Max double-deck trains to its economy-category InterCity services from about 2029. The contract, signed on 12 November 2025, is worth 6.9 billion zloty, about 1.6 billion euros, including 30 years of maintenance.

The six-car trains will run at up to 200 km/h on routes from Warsaw to Gdańsk, Łódź, Olsztyn, Wrocław, Kraków, Białystok and Terespol, Alstom said. "We want the first passengers to be able to board the new trains in about three and a half years," PKP Intercity chief executive Janusz Malinowski said in the manufacturer's statement. PKP Intercity expects all 42 units to be handed over by early 2032 and holds an option for 30 more.

Of the total, about 4.1 billion zloty covers the trains and 2.8 billion the maintenance, according to PKP Intercity. Alstom will handle preventive, corrective and overhaul work as well as cleaning, using its HealthHub platform for condition-based maintenance.

Capacity for a fast-growing operator

The order answers a demand problem. The operator carried a record 89.2 million passengers in 2025, up 14% on 2024 and 31% on two years earlier, and forecasts 96 million for 2026, it said on 29 January 2026. Each Coradia Max will offer more than 550 seats across four double-deck end cars and two single-deck intermediate cars, and two units can run coupled together.

Accessibility is designed around Polish platforms. Boarding is step-free from 760 mm platforms, with automatic lifts for other heights. Inside, the operator lists first and second class, quiet zones in both, family areas, space for bicycles and large luggage, Wi-Fi and power sockets.

Built for two voltages and ETCS

The units will be dual-voltage, 3 kV DC and 25 kV AC, so they can run in both Poland and the Czech Republic. They will carry ETCS Levels 1 and 2, onboard diagnostics, GPS and interior and exterior CCTV, PKP Intercity said. Fitting both ETCS levels from the outset means the trains will not need retrofitting as more Polish lines switch to the European system.

Production stays in Poland. Car bodies and final assembly will be handled at Alstom's Chorzów works in Silesia, which PKP Intercity says employs about 2,500 people, while bogies will come from Nadarzyn near Warsaw. Alstom previously supplied PKP Intercity with 20 Pendolino high-speed trains, delivered more than a decade ago. More than 500 Coradia Max trains are in service or on order across Europe, Alstom said.

Funding is largely borrowed. PKP Intercity has signed a 15-year loan of up to 3 billion zloty with state development bank BGK and PKO Bank Polski to help pay for the trains and other projects, Railway Pro reported. The operator's investment plan for 2025 to 2030 totals 20.3 billion zloty.

The next step is design: Alstom says the final technical solutions for the Polish market will be developed at Chorzów before the first trains enter service around 2029. A similar double-deck strategy is under way in Paris, where an €8bn tender covers 300 trains for RER C.

Sources: Alstom, press release (12/11/2025); PKP Intercity, press release (12/11/2025); PKP Intercity, 2025 results (29/01/2026); Railvolution (15/11/2025); Railway Pro, BGK and PKO BP loan.

Photo: a Coradia Max double-deck unit of Luxembourg's CFL, from the same Alstom family as the PKP Intercity order, July 2024. Tohma, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Article written with the help of AI from the sources cited above, reviewed by the TrainsNews editorial team. Real photo, credited below the image. Spotted an error? contact@trainsnews.com – Our AI charter