POLAND: PKP Intercity has ordered 32 more Griffin 200 multi-system locomotives from Newag under an option the operator values at PLN 775.3m net, roughly EUR 180m. The order takes a January 2024 contract from 63 to 95 units and the Griffin 200 fleet to 110.
Newag notified the exercise of the option in a stock exchange filing. PKP Intercity presented the decision the same day at the Economic Forum in Karpacz, with infrastructure minister Dariusz Klimczak. PKP Intercity chief executive Janusz Malinowski and Newag chief executive Zbigniew Konieczek both took part.
PKP Intercity puts the option at PLN 775.3m net, or PLN 953.65m gross, subject to price indexation. Newag’s filing puts it at PLN 945.6m net, around EUR 220m, and the full contract at approximately PLN 2.807bn net, roughly EUR 650m. Both figures cover delivery and maintenance, and the two parties have not reconciled them.
Fleet and delivery
The Griffin 200, series EU200, joins 96 Griffin EU160 locomotives already delivered. Once all deliveries are complete, the Griffin fleet will number 206. PKP Intercity attributes the decision to a low failure rate on the first Griffin 200 units in its own operating data.
Twelve of the 63 locomotives in the base order have been delivered, and the operator expects 20 of them by the end of 2026. The base order is due to complete by the end of the first quarter of 2028.
The 32 option units follow in 2028 and 2029. Newag has 14 working days from the notice to present their delivery schedule.
Approval beyond Poland
Newag has completed the authorisation tests and applied to extend the locomotive’s approval to the Czech Republic and Slovakia, according to PKP Intercity. The first commercial run in the Czech Republic is planned from December 2026.
Malinowski named the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Austria and Hungary as the countries the Griffin 200 is to be approved for. PKP Intercity has named Prague, Budapest, Vienna and Berlin as destinations for the locomotive. Authorisation in Germany and Austria is still under review.