A new agreement with Czech Railways is the largest Poland’s PESA has undertaken in the last few years. PESA defeated another Polish company, Newag, in the tender, and earlier, Spanish CAF-a was excluded due to its offer failing to fulfill basic requirements.
Czech Railways signed a framework contract with PESA which foresees the delivery of 160 locomotives within 8 years. This is the maximum version of the order. The first agreement foresees a delivery of 33 vehicles for over €113.5 million.
PESA will deliver combustion vehicles of the newest generation dedicated for regional travel to the Czech national carrier. These trains will be similar to the Links already utilized by the Czech Railways. Passengers will be familiar with them under the name RegioShark.
The units will be equipped with a modern European Train Control System (ETCS). On the inside, the vehicles will have 115 seats, areas for people with disabilities, air conditioning and Wi-Fi. The trains will also be adapted to the needs of people in wheelchairs.
Ivan Bednarik, the General Director of Czech Railways, stated that the trains currently used by the carrier no longer fulfil the expectations of clients and cannot be equipped with the ETCS system. The carrier will gradually replace the old trains with the new ones produced by PESA.
Starting in 2023, the new trains will be introduced in the Central Bohemian Region, the Pardubice region, the South Bohemian Region, the Vysočina Region, and in Prague.
PESA CEO Krzysztof Zdziarski said that Czech Railways and PESA have had years of good cooperation behind them.
“The RegioSharks used since 2014 were and still remain our best business cards. I assure that the new generation vehicles will be a technological step forward and will guarantee Czech passengers security and comfort. They will be equipped with the most modern and low-emission Stage V class engines and with technical solutions fulfilling European norms,” he said.
So far, PESA, located in the town of Bydgoszcz in central Poland, has received 23 foreign approvals and has delivered 253 trains and 172 trams to foreign clients. PESA vehicles are used by railway carriers in Germany, Italy, Czechia, Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine. PESA trams are used by passengers in Moscow, Kiev, Sofia, Cluj, Szeged, and Kaliningrad.
