Krakow is significantly expanding its high-capacity tram fleet: on 1 December, the municipal transport company MPK Kraków and PESA Bydgoszcz signed a contract for the delivery of 20 new low-floor trams over 43 metres long. The contract is worth PLN 461.1 million net (PLN 23.06 million per vehicle or 5.45 million per vehicle). Delivery is scheduled between the third quarter of 2028 and mid-2029. We reported on the framework agreement here:
The new vehicles supplement the existing fleet. This means that Krakow will in future operate a total of 57 of Poland’s longest trams – primarily on busy lines such as the heavily frequented line 52 (Czerwone Maki P+R – Os. Piastów). Once they are in service, the last triple trains of the high-floor 105Na as well as some of the ex-Vienna E1 series can be completely replaced there.
The new vehicles, which are over 43 metres long, feature 100% low-floor access, air conditioning, video surveillance, a modern passenger information system for visually impaired passengers, a wheelchair ramp and a corresponding multi-purpose area. All 20 trams will also be equipped with defibrillators (AED). One vehicle will additionally be equipped with batteries that enable overhead line-free operation over a distance of around 3 km – a first for vehicles of this length in Poland.
The purchase is being financed by a low-interest loan from the state development bank BGK as part of the National Reconstruction Plan (KPO), with a fixed interest rate of only 1% and a term of 20 years. MPK CEO Rafał Świerczyński emphasises that these conditions reduce operating costs without burdening municipal tariffs.
MPK is already planning further investments: up to 40 additional trams – including ten more 43-metre cars and 30 approximately 33-metre-long single-ended vehicles – are to be procured in the coming years in order to achieve the goal of a fully low-floor and air-conditioned fleet.
05.12.2025
