PKP Intercity is Poland’s state-owned long-distance passenger rail operator. It runs domestic inter-regional and international trains, with the inter-regional services provided under a public service contract with the Ministry of Infrastructure.
PKP Intercity was established on 1 September 2001 in the restructuring of the Polish state railways and became a joint-stock company on 2 January 2008. Its sole shareholder is PKP S.A., the holding company of the PKP group. Janusz Malinowski has been president of the management board since 2024.
The operator carried 89.2 million passengers in 2025, up from 78.5 million in 2024, and 44.7 million in the first half of 2026. At the end of 2025 it had 9,865 employees and 478 traction vehicles, including 392 locomotives and 86 electric multiple units. The 2026 timetable includes 57 international trains, 17 more than in 2025.
The Ministry of Infrastructure signed a 10-year public service contract with PKP Intercity on 14 January 2021, covering inter-regional services from 2021 to 2030 and worth PLN 21.09bn at signing. From the end of 2030, the 4th Railway Package requires such contracts to be tendered, with only narrow exceptions for direct award.
Fleet orders
PKP Intercity’s investment programme for 2025–2030 in rolling stock and infrastructure amounts to almost PLN 28bn, and its group strategy targets 109.5 million passengers in 2030. In January 2024 the operator ordered 63 multi-system locomotives for at least 200 km/h from Newag for nearly PLN 2.3bn gross. It took up an option for 32 more in September 2026.
A July 2024 contract with coachbuilder H. Cegielski covers 300 coaches for 200 km/h, with deliveries moved from 2026 to 2027. Newag is also building 35 hybrid multiple units for PLN 3.36bn gross, with the first unit due in early 2027.
In November 2025 PKP Intercity signed a contract with Alstom for 42 double-deck electric multiple units with 30 years of maintenance, with an option for 30 more units. Stadler Polska challenged the tender, and the court rejected its complaint in July 2026.
High-speed procurement and punctuality
PKP Intercity is procuring 20 trains for 320 km/h, with an option for up to 35 more, for the planned Polish high-speed lines. Four bidders have qualified: a consortium of Pesa and Hitachi Rail STS, Alstom, Siemens Mobility and Talgo. The contract is planned for 2027.
Punctuality has fallen as services have grown. In 2025, 76.33% of PKP Intercity trains arrived less than six minutes late, and the share fell to 68.2% in the second quarter of 2026.
PKP Intercity’s timekeeping depends on the network managed by the infrastructure manager PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe (PKP PLK). Its modernisation works under the National Railway Programme run alongside the growth in services.