PKP Intercity

Company type	JSC
Industry	Rail transport
Founded	1 September 2001; 24 years ago (2001-09-01)
Headquarters	Warsaw,Poland
Key people	Janusz Malinowski[1] CEO Dariusz Grajda Chairman of the supervisory board
Products	Express Intercity Premium (EIP) Express Intercity (EIC) Intercity (IC) Twoje Linie Kolejowe (TLK)
Services	Long-range and international passenger transport
Revenue	2,950.5 millionzł[2] (2019)
Operating income	186.4 million zł[2] (2019)
Net income	141.1 million zł[2] (2019)
Total assets	5,992.6 million zł[2] (2019)
Number of employees	8,936[3]
Website	Official website

PKP Intercity is the subsidiary of thePKP Group responsible for long-distancerail passenger transport in Poland. It operates around 350 trains daily, connecting large agglomerations and smaller towns inPoland. It offers its services under TLK,InterCity, Express Intercity andExpress Intercity Premium brands. The company also provides most international rail connections to and from the country. In 2023, the company reported an 18.2% of market share in terms of total number of served passengers in the country.^[4]

PKP Intercity came into existence as a result of a major restructuring of the state-owned Polish railway operatorPolskie Koleje Państwowe which, in 2001, was divided up into several different companies that were operated as independent entities on a commercial basis.^[5] This restructuring was aimed at separating railway operating activities from the management of Poland's railway infrastructure. PKP Intercity is a subsidiary of PKP Group, a state-owned holding company for various other railway-orientated subsidiaries.^[5]

PKP Intercity introduced a new standard of service in the Polish rail sector.^[5] Certain trains operated under the InterCity brand offer onboard snacks and most featureair conditioning. Over time, the range of services provided by PKP Intercity has expanded; in 2005, PKP Intercity launched the TLK (Lowcost Trains) brand, an alternative service level aimed at less affluent passengers.^[6]

In 2006, PKP Intercity inaugurated its first modern Customer Service Centre at Warsaw Central station; one year later, the second such facility was opened in Poznan.^[6] By the late 2000s, it operated the largest segment of passenger rail services in the country; in 2007, PKP Intercity transported 11.6 million passengers, up by almost one million from 10.7 million passengers in 2006.^[5] By 2007, it was drawing up plans to purchase new locomotives and to further upgrade existing rolling stock.

In May 2011, PKP Intercity awarded a contract valued at €665 million to the French rolling stock manufacturerAlstom covering the manufacture and supply of 20 ED250New Pendolino high speed trains. It additionally covered the provision of all maintenance activities for up to 17 years and the construction of a new maintenance depot.^[7][8] These trainsets, each comprising seven cars, were built to PKP Intercity's individual specifications; whilst capable of attaining a maximum speed of 250 km/h, carrying up to 402 passengers, and incorporating various noise minimisation measures, they intentionally excluded the optionaltilting mechanism.^[9][10]

On 17 November 2013, a new speed record for Polish railways was set when the Pendolino ED250 reached a speed of 291 km/h (181 mph).^[11] Furthermore, on 24 November 2013, the final day of tests on the CMKCentral Rail Line, the Pendolino reached 293 km/h (182 mph).^[12] On 11 September 2014, Polands's Railway Transport Office (UTK) announced that the ED250 had been certified for operation at up to 250km/h in accordance with the relevantTechnical Specifications for Interoperability (TSI).^[13][14] They are operated on existing conventional lines between major city groups such as Warsaw-Gdansk-Gdynia, Warsaw-Krakow, and Warsaw-Katowice, delivering significantly shortened journey times over traditional rolling stock, traversing the route between Warsaw and Gdansk in two and a half hours.^[9] In the 2020/21 timetable, ED250 routinely operated at a scheduled speed of up to 200 km/h (124 mph) along selected stretches of the Warszawa - Gdynia and Central Rail Line routes.^[15]

Various other schemes were underway during the late 2010s, such as the retrofitting ofWi-Fi apparatus throughout the various types of rolling stock to provide passengers with mobile internet access, having completed work on 171 PKP Intercity cars and 40 combined sets by August 2018.^[16] One year later, a contract valued at €247 million was issued by PKP Intercity to the Swiss rolling stock manufacturerStadler Rail for the manufacture and delivery of 12Stadler FLIRT electric multiple units in an eight-car long configuration as well as a 15-year maintenance period; these feature both first class and second class compartments along with an onboard lounge bar area and accessibility adaptions for persons of reduced mobility.^[17]

In 2024, PKP Intercity signed a contract with H. Cegielski – FPS for the delivery of 300 modern railroad carriages. The contract with the Polish rolling stock manufacturer is worth PLN 4.2 billion (ca. EUR 1 billion). It also covers an option for the production of additional 150 carriages, which would increase the total value of the deal to PLN 6.35 billion (EUR 1.47 billion). The new carriages will be designed to reach the speeds of 200 km/h and are expected to be delivered in 2028.^[18] They will also be authorised for operation in Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Lithuania and Slovakia.^[19]

The company runs the following train categories:

• Express InterCity Premium (EIP, EIC Premium) – domestic exclusivehigh-speed trains (ED250New Pendolino) between major cities with obligatory reservation.
• Express InterCity (EIC) – high-standard express trains between major cities and popular tourist destinations:
• InterCity – affordable high-standardexpress trains and fast trains with obligatory reservation; higher standard and priority than TLK but the same fare. Exclusive high-standard express trains –Pesa Dart andStadler Flirt also run under the InterCity brand.
  • EuroCity (EC) – international high-standard trains, reservation obligatory, on domestic routes runs under InterCity and Express InterCity brand,
  • EuroNight (EN) – international night trains with obligatory reservation.
• Twoje Linie Kolejowe [pl] (TLK, "Your Rail Lines"; formerly calledTanie Linie Kolejowe, "Cheap Rail Lines" from 2005 to 2011) – affordable fast trains with obligatory reservation (with some exceptions); lower standard than InterCity. Some overnight TLK trains such as Rozewie and Ustronie providecouchette andsleeper cars. A limited number of shorter-route TLK trains is 2nd-class only. Usually run by older locomotive-hauled rakes and more rarelyPesa Bydgostia EMUs orSN84 DMUs.
  • Międzynarodowy (M) – international fast train (lower standard than EuroCity)
  • Międzynarodowy nocny – international night train (lower standard than EuroNight)

• 
  EP05
• 
  EU07
• 
  EP07
• 
  EU07A
• 
  EP08
• 
  EP09
• 
  EU44Husarz
• 
  EU160Griffin
• 
  EU200Griffin

• 
  SM42 (6D)
• 
  SM42 (18D)
• 
  SU42
• 
  SU160Gama

• 
  ED74 Bydgostia
• 
  ED160FLIRT³
• 
  ED161Dart
• 
  ED250 Pendolino

• Rail transport in Poland
• Polish locomotives designation

• Official list of all PKP IC trains
• Online timetable

• Railway companies of Poland
• PKP Group companies
• Polish brands
• Companies based in Warsaw
• Transport companies established in 2001
• Polish companies established in 2001
• Polish Joint-stock companies

• CS1 Polish-language sources (pl)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from January 2014