A Rail Revolution in Mazovia

Koleje Mazowieckie has grown from a regional operator using leased trains into Poland’s third-largest passenger rail company. More than 70 million passengers used its services last year, giving it about 16% of the country’s passenger rail market.

The company began operating in 2004 as Poland’s first regional-government-owned railway company. Mazovia initially held 51% of the shares, with the remainder owned by PKP Przewozy Regionalne. Four years later, the regional authorities bought the remaining stake and became the company’s sole owner.

Adam Struzik, the marshal of the Mazovia region, described that purchase as difficult but, in retrospect, one of the best decisions the authorities had made. He said the company now provides safe and comfortable travel while carrying about 70 million passengers annually.

“

It was a difficult decision, but in retrospect one of the best decisions we have made.

When the first Koleje Mazowieckie trains entered service in January 2005, the fleet consisted of 184 leased EN57 electric multiple units. Regional funding and European money later helped add newer trains, including ER75 FLIRT, 45WE IMPULS and EN76 ELF units, as well as double-decker coaches, locomotives and rail buses.

The current expansion centers on 75 ER160 FLIRT trains. Stadler Polska won the contract, valued at more than 4.8 billion złoty gross, and is building the trains in Siedlce. The operator has received the first 35 units and plans to accept 15 more by the end of the year. All the vehicles are due by the end of 2027, linking the transport upgrade to the development of the region’s rail industry.

“

We are halfway through the largest contract in the history of Koleje Mazowieckie, covering the purchase of 75 ER160 FLIRT electric multiple units.