en.Wedoany.com Reported - On August 6, Polish regional rail operator POLREGIO signed a firm order with PESA Bydgoszcz for the procurement of 6 PESA Elf electric multiple units (EMUs), with the contract also including an option for 16 additional vehicles. The initial 6 EMUs will be delivered within 35 months of the contract signing and will be used for urban agglomeration and interregional passenger services in Poland.

This signing marks a follow-up milestone in the EMU procurement project launched by POLREGIO earlier this year. POLREGIO initiated the procurement procedure at the end of January, with a base order of 6 electric multiple units and an option for up to 16 additional vehicles. PESA and Newag competed in the tender, and PESA won with a bid of PLN 968.748 million including tax. This bid corresponds to the potential total procurement scale of 22 vehicles; the order quantity would only reach 22 if POLREGIO exercises all options, so this amount should not be directly described as the contract value of the current firm order for 6 units.

The new trains will have a maximum operating speed of no less than 160 km/h and will be equipped with air conditioning, dynamic passenger information systems, and onboard video surveillance, as well as wireless internet, 230V power sockets, USB charging ports, and bicycle storage spaces. The vehicles will feature accessible design to meet the travel needs of passengers with reduced mobility.

According to the previously announced procurement arrangements, if POLREGIO exercises all 16 options, PESA must complete delivery of all 22 vehicles by the end of 2029. The specific deployment regions and operating routes for the new trains have not yet been determined and will be arranged based on POLREGIO's capacity needs and the results of funding approvals under the EU's "Infrastructure, Climate and Environment European Fund" program.

When POLREGIO selected PESA as the winning bidder in May, the two parties had not yet completed the contract signing process. With the firm order now in place, the project has moved from the award stage to the vehicle design, production, and delivery preparation phase; whether the 16 options will be exercised still depends on subsequent funding and vehicle configuration arrangements.