Poland should renegotiate its Pendolino deal - Piechociński
Poland’s Deputy PM Janusz Piechociński said that the PKP’s (state-owned rail operator) deal with French Alstom regarding the delivery of high-speed Pendolino trains should be renegotiated.
“We ordered and paid for different Pendelino rail stock than the manufacturer is now proposing,” Piechocinski said.“We must see an effective enforcement on the part of PKP SA and PKP Intercity of [Alstom’s] obligations,” he added.
Piechociński was referring to a recent article in Puls Biznesu, which stated that Alstom wants to deliver the Pendolino trains with the proper certification allowing them to travel up to 160 km/h and not 250 km/h as originally planned. The additional documents and tests that would allow the trains to move faster would be provided at the later date.
Polish Infrastructure Minister Elżbieta Bieńkowska also said that PKP will receive “trains that it ordered not ones that producer wants to give us.”
Polish railways PKP ordered twenty new Pendolino train sets worth €400 million, with the first expected to arrive in Poland in May. The first high-speed trains are expected to start riding in mid-December.
