The first train is now undergoing static tests and PKP Intercity says production is well underway on the remaining sets with 35 vehicles already completed.

PKP Intercity awarded Alstom a €665m contract in May 2011 to supply and maintain the non-tilting emus, which will have a maximum speed of 250km/h and accommodate up to 402 passengers. The trains will be equipped with ERTMS together with Polish, Czech, Austrian and German signalling systems, and will be capable of operating under 15kV ac and 25kV ac electrification as well as the standard Polish 3kV dc system.

Deliveries will begin next year and the trains are expected to enter service on Warsaw – Gdansk and Warsaw – Krakow/Katowice services from December 2014, operating under the EIC Premium brand. The trains will also be used on services from Warsaw to Gliwice via Katowice, Wroclaw via Opolde, and Rzeszow via Tarnow.

Alstom will maintain the fleet for a period of at least 17 years at a purpose-built depot at Warsaw Grochow.