Kraków 2025-03-19 

InterCity Train „Sienkiewicz” 3526 Kraków Główny – Olsztyn Główny.

PKP InterCity.

PKP InterCity is a Polish rail carrier that belongs to the PKP group. It deals with the transport of passengers on long routes. In Poland, it has a 15% share in passenger transport in terms of the number of passengers, but 53% in transport measured in passenger-kilometer scale. The company was established on August 30, 2001, employing 1,500 employees. Currently (2023) it employs over 8,100 employees. The company transports passengers under the brand; Twoje Linie Kolejowe (TLK), InterCity, Express InterCity and Express Intercity Premium. The carrier uses electric and diesel locomotives with classic wagons and EZT. Under the Express Intercity Premium brand, it uses 20 EZT ED250 Pendolino trains.

Initially, the competitor was the company Przewozy Regionalne, which in 2008, transferred express trains to InterCity. At that time, part of the rolling stock and employees were transferred to the InterCity company. With the introduction of the EZT ED250 Pendolino trains, the company began to make a profit. Pendolino trains are serviced at the Warszawa Grochów station.

In December 2014, after years of trials, the InterCity long-distance train category was created. These trains were reinforced with new purchases. EZT Flirt and EZT Dart were purchased, with a travel speed of 160 km/h. PKP InterCity currently has (2025) 32 Stadler FLIRT3 electric multiple units, designated as ED160. The first 20 trains were ordered in 2013 and delivered by December 2015. In 2019, the carrier ordered an additional 12 vehicles of this type, deliveries of which began in 2022. Each of these eight-unit trains is 150 meters long and offers 360 seats, including 60 in first class.

The electric locomotives were renovated and modernized, some of which were adapted to a travel speed of 160 km/h. Many “Y” series cars were subjected to extensive renovations and modernization. The renovations also concerned restaurant and bar cars. The company also has sleeping cars and cars with places to lie down. Since 2010, postal cars have no longer been used in Poland.

Initially, the InterCity company did not have its own locomotives, because during the transformation period, all locomotives were transferred to PKP Cargo. This turned out to be a bad solution. Therefore, the company gradually acquired new or modernized electric and diesel locomotives. In 2008, the company purchased 10 multi-system Eurosprinter ES64U4 Taurus electric locomotives to service international trains.

In 2009, InterCity had the following locomotives: 1 EP05, 157 EP07, 169 EU07, 9 EP08, 47 EP09, 50 SM42 (SP42), 19 SU45. In 2014, 10 SU160 Gama and 20 SM42-1000 Newag were purchased.

In 2020, Olkol renovated 23 electric locomotives to the EU07A standard. Among other things, electric motors were replaced with asynchronous motors (without commutators). The speed of the locomotives increased from 125 km/h to 160 km/h.

In 2010, InterCity had 3,131 cars. By 2015, the company had modernized 218 cars. The renovations were carried out by Polish companies: HCP (FPS – Fabryka Pojazdów Szynowych), Pesa Bydgoszcz, Newag Nowy Sącz and ZNTK “Mińsk Mazowiecki”. By 2015, 54 new cars had been purchased. In the period 2016–2018, another 176 cars of the following series were renovated: 111A, 141A, 144A, 145A.

In 2018, InterCity ordered 81 new cars from Fabryka Pojazdów Szynowych (HCP). In April 2018, InterCity ordered the renovation of 70 cars of the 111A, 112A and 140A types. In 2019, a contract was signed for the renovation of another 10 cars of the 145Ab type, to the standard of restaurant cars.

In 2021, the company completed the acceptance of 60 multifunctional cars of a higher standard 111A-30 COMBO with facilities for disabled passengers, families with small children and for transporting bicycles.

Currently, in 2023, the InterCity company has electric locomotives: 1 copy of EP05 (speed 160 km/h), 227 copies of EU07, EP07 (speed 125 km/h), 1 copy of EP05 (speed 160 km/h), 23 copies of EU07A (speed 160 km/h), 9 copies of EP08 (speed 140 km/h), 46 copies of EP09 (speed 160 km/h), 10 copies of EU44 Husarz (speed 230 km/h), 30 copies of EU160 Griffin (speed 160 km/h). 10 multi-system locomotives E4MSUa Newag have been ordered with a travel speed of 200 km/h, for international trains. In 2023, during tests, the E4MSUa locomotive reached a speed of 240 km/h.

In 2025, according to the latest information, PKP InterCity has 66 EU160 Griffin locomotives, manufactured by the Nowy Sącz factory NEWAG. In March 2025, the carrier received another five copies of these locomotives, increasing their number to 66 copies. In total, PKP Intercity ordered 96 locomotives of this series, which means that 30 vehicles remain to be delivered.

In 2025, according to the latest information, PKP InterCity has 15 EU200 Griffin locomotives. The president of PKP InterCity, Mr. Janusz Malinowski, informed that the company has concluded contracts for 110 EU200 locomotives, 15 of which have already been delivered.

Currently, in 2023, InterCity has diesel locomotives: 17 SM42 (6D) locomotives, with a speed of 90 km/h, 10 SM42 (18D) locomotives, with a speed of 90 km/h, 17 SM42 (6D) locomotives, with a speed of 90 km/h, 10 SU42-1000 (6DI) locomotives, with a speed of 90 km/h, 10 SU160 Gama (111Db) ​​locomotives, with a speed of 140 km/h. 10 SM42-2000 (6D-FPS) locomotives, with a speed of 90 km/h, have been ordered. The best of these locomotives are the SU160 Gama, which have worthily replaced the SU45 locomotives, and there are SU42-1000, which are perfect for short passenger trains on wire-free lines.

In May 2023, the modernization process of 14 ED74 electric multiple units, or the popular “Edyta”, was completed at the PESA Mińsk Mazowiecki plant. The trains were included in the network of connections in the amount of 7 trains. The original ED74 is a 4-car, so they were connected in pairs. The trains run on routes with a travel time of less than 4 hours, because there is no bar in the train. It is also impossible to walk through the entire train while driving. Nevertheless, the ED74 trains are very modern, quiet, fast and comfortable for passengers.

Passenger service.

In 2001, the carrier launched online ticket booking. Since 2005, online ticket sales have been launched. Seating was determined by a system. Then, the possibility of choosing a seat was introduced to a limited extent: by the window or by the aisle. In 2009, the carrier began selling tickets through ticket machines. In 2014, the carrier began selling tickets via mobile phones, via the SkyCash mobile application. In 2015, ticket sales began in some Polish Post offices. Since 2017, online ticket sales with one transfer were launched. Until now, tickets had to be purchased separately. Since 2021, online selection of a specific seat by a passenger has been possible.

Since 2014, the possibility of using mobile internet on some trains and to a limited extent was introduced. Since 2015, access to multimedia websites was launched, including through cooperation with the Google portal.

Train IC 3526 – SIENKIEWICZ

The train IC 3526 – SIENKIEWICZ is operated by EZT ED160 Stadler Flirt3. The train IC 3526 – SIENKIEWICZ departs from Kraków Główny station for Olsztyn Główny station at 10:06. It covers the route in: 6 hrs 18 min. Distance 550 km.

Kraków Główny 10;06. Miechów 10;35. Sędziszów 10;56. Jędrzejów 11;10. Kielce Główne 11;41. Suchedniów 12;11. Skarżysko Kamienna 12;19. Radom Główny 12;44. Warka 13;08. Piaseczno 13;25. Warsaw Służewiec 13;35. Warsaw Zachodnia 13;45. Warsaw Central 13;50. Warsaw East 14;06. Legionowo 14;20. Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki 14;29. Ciechanów 14;57. Mlawa City 15;11. Działdowo 15;23. Nidzica 15;39. Olsztynek 15,58. Olsztyn West 16;19. Olsztyn Główny 16;24.

EZT ED160 Stadler Flirt3.

On 18 November 2013, PKP InterCity (at that time a TLK company) ordered 20 FLIRT electric multiple units for long-distance traffic from Stadler Polska (Switzerland) and Newag (Poland). InterCity was to connect the cities of Warsaw, Kraków, Katowice, Olsztyn, Gdańsk, Gdynia and Szczecin. Traffic was to be conducted on different routes than the InterCity Premium ED250 “Pendolino” trains. The contract amounted to PLN 1.156 million gross. The contract refers to the service of the trains for a period of 15 years. The name FLIRT stands for Fast Light Innovative Regional Train.

The vehicles were delivered on the agreed date and put into service in December 2015. The trains were designed for a speed of 160 km/h. The EZT FLIRT series ED160 was built as a 1st and 2nd Class train and is accessible to disabled people. There is a bar car inside. There is air conditioning, comfortable seats, full information for passengers, toilets in a closed system. In theory, the train offered higher travel comfort than classic passenger cars, at the same ticket price.

The ED160 trains were built at the Stadler Polska plant in Siedlce and are serviced here. Newag supplied, among other things, a complete passenger information and monitoring system and some components and parts. The trains were built in 2015.

The ED160 trains began running on 13 December 2015. The trains were directed to the following routes: Kraków – Kielce – Warsaw – Olsztyn, Kraków – Łódź – Poznań – Szczecin, Warsaw – Bydgoszcz, Kraków – Łódź – Bydgoszcz and Gdynia – Bydgoszcz – Łódź – Częstochowa – Katowice.

In 2019, InterCity ordered another 12 ED160 FLIRT trains. The contract amounted to PLN 1,050 million. Their tests began at the beginning of 2021. During the tests, the trains were designated ED150 series. It was similar with the first 20 ED160 trains. In March 2021, the last of the 12 trains was built. The trains were designated ED160-021 to ED160-032.

ED160 design.

The ED160 train consists of 8-car sets, non-compartment. Inside there are 60 1st Class seats in a 2+1 arrangement with a passage in the middle. In 2nd Class there are 294 seats in a 2+2 arrangement with a passage in the middle. In the bar car there are 8 seats for consumers. Additionally, there are 6 folding seats in the train. In the InterCity company, the FLIRT train sells only tickets with seat reservations, but Stadler Polska provides standing places in the train. The entire EZT ED160 train set is 152.90 m long.

The structure of each car is made of closed profiles, made of aluminum alloys, welded using welding machines. Each car has one pair of doors, which are single-leaf, automatic, jump-sliding. The width of the entrance is 0.94 m. Inside the car there are internal doors that divide the cars into zones. The interior is quiet and the train’s shock absorption is very good. The floor is even along the entire length of the train, without any steps, at a height of 1.18 m from the railhead. The train is air-conditioned. There is full information for passengers. Passengers have access to six toilets in a closed system. The passenger seats are individual with blue upholstery. The seats have individual additional lighting. Passengers have access to 230 V sockets and wireless internet. Each carriage has windows made of smoked glass. The windows are mounted in rubber profiles. The windows have small tilting windows for emergency ventilation.

The first and second carriages are intended for 1st Class passengers. The first carriage also has space for bicycles, skis and strollers. Additionally, the second carriage has a service compartment and service rooms for the train crew. There is a shower and toilet for the crew. The second carriage has a bar and space for disabled passengers. There is a toilet for disabled people here. The next five carriages are 2nd Class. The length of the carriages varies. The first and eighth carriages are the longest. In these cars, in addition to the engineers’ cabins, there is a large electronics compartment. The fourth and fifth cars are of medium length. The shortest cars are: the second, third, sixth and seventh.

The train has ten bogies. Six bogies are Jacobs-type rolling bogies. The Jacobs bogies have air suspension. Two bogies are driving bogies. These are the first and tenth bogies. Each of the driving bogies has two 500 kW motors. The fifth and sixth bogies are traditional rolling bogies.

There are automatic couplers at the beginning and end of the train. The train can move in multiple traction. A maximum of two trains. Automatic couplers are used for this connection. The connection between the cars is by means of Jacobs bogies, or more precisely, the cars in the sets are connected to each other by spherical joints.

The train does not have external rear-view mirrors. Instead, cameras are installed, thanks to which the engineer has a better view of the external image of the train.

A cooling fan is installed on the roof of each car, used to cool the drive equipment elements, the network choke system, the rectifier water cooler and the traction motors. One air conditioner for the passenger compartments is also installed on each car.

T-T ED160 data:

Axle arrangement Bo’2’2’2’2’+2’2’2’2’Bo’. Track width 1.435 m. Train length 152.90 m. Width 2.82 m. Height 4.12 m. Diameter of all wheels 0.92 m. Service weight 257,000 kg. Three-phase asynchronous drive motors with a power of 4 x 500 kW. Traction 3 kV DC. Acceleration 0.6 m/s2. Design speed 160 km/h.

Train attributes: The route is operated by EZT Stadler. Seat reservations are required. There are Class 1 and Class 2. The train has catering services (cold and hot dishes). Air conditioning. WiFi. 230 V power sockets. Baby changing table. The train is accessible for people in wheelchairs (carriage D). Possibility of transporting bicycles. Conductor shipments. There is a quiet zone on the train. The train has no compartments.

Wagon B, 1 – Motor car and driver’s cabin. There are 37 seats in the car. Class 1.

Wagon C, 2 – Trailer car. 23 seats. Toilet. Class 1.

Wagon D, 3 – Trailer car with bar. 8 seats + 2 wheelchair spaces. Toilet. Class 2.

Wagon E, 4 – Car with motor carriage. 54 + 6 (for passengers with bicycles) seats. Toilet. Class 2.

Wagon F, 5 – Car with motor carriage. 60 seats. Toilet. Class 2.

Wagon G, 6 – Trailer car. 56 seats. Toilet. Class 2. This car is the same as car H.

Wagon H, 7 – Trailer car. 56 seats. Toilet. Class 2.

Wagon A, 8 – Engine car and driver’s cabin. The car has 60 seats. Class 2.

Written by Karol Placha Hetman