PESA hydrogen locomotive with the main prize at TRAKO 2023

The 15th anniversary International Railway Fair TRAKO 2023, which ended in Gdańsk, was unique for PESA Bydgoszcz in many aspects. Starting from the change in the way vehicles were presented, through the new design of the stand where over 100 meetings took place and visited by over 1,000 guests, to the good news that arrived from foreign markets during the fair.

PESA started and ended this year’s TRAKO with a travel by hydrogen locomotive with a passenger train on the Gdynia – Hel – Gdynia route. First, on the Sunday preceding the fair, together with Orlen, a media trip was organized, which was educational and an opportunity to promote green technologies in transport. On Thursday afternoon, the manufacturer from Bydgoszcz invited railway carriers, local government officials, representatives of the railway industry, financial institutions and business partners to a special, historic trip. During the ride, guests had the opportunity to talk to members of the PESA hydrogen team, experts, but also people responsible for financing railway projects about the experience and the future of hydrogen on the railway.

– “By inviting representatives of the railway industry on a trip to Hel, famous Polish seaside resort, we wanted to, on the one hand, show the capabilities of our hydrogen locomotive, but, equally importantly, confirm that hydrogen drives in rail vehicles are not a far future, and the introduction of not only hydrogen locomotives, but also passenger cars powered by electric traction and hydrogen cells will happen faster than we expect,” said Maciej Grześkowiak, Director of Strategic Projects and Communication at PESA Bydgoszcz.

A novelty of the fair was the presentation of the SM42-6Dn hydrogen locomotive, which visitors could not only see, but also take a short ride in the driver’s cab. The interest in the vehicle was best demonstrated by the queue of people standing at the platform where the presentation took place throughout the fair. The PESA hydrogen locomotive also won the recognition of experts and the competition committee, which awarded the SM42-6Dn the Main Prize in the eng. E. Malinowski Competition. The jury’s decision was influenced not only by the innovative hydrogen drive solutions developed by a team of engineers from Bydgoszcz, confirmed by the certificate of approval for operation issued by the President of UTK /Polish Rail Authority/, but also by the interest of potential customers who want to replace their diesel shunting locomotives with the zero-emission, hydrogen PESA locomotive.

In addition to the locomotive, the fair also featured the Jazz tram presented as part of the celebration of 150 Gdańsk Buses and Trams. PESA’s approach to presenting new vehicles that the company is currently producing or designing was innovative, including: for ŁKA, Czech Regio Jet and Romanian Railways. They could be viewed in the special PESA VR Experience space at the stand, and guests could walk through the interiors of these vehicles using the latest virtual reality solutions.

– “For us, as a manufacturer, the most important thing was direct conversations with customers and partners, both from Poland and abroad. The number of meetings, there were over 100, and, above all, their atmosphere is optimistic. Customers appreciate our offer, development plans and approach to cooperation. I am convinced that PESA has years of dynamic development ahead of it, both on Polish and foreign markets, especially in the context of the investment plans of the 3Seas countries.” – summed up Krzysztof Zdziarski, President of PESA Bydgoszcz

During the fair, PESA signed a consortium agreement with Newag, confirming the will to continue joint work on the offer of push-pull double-decker vehicles for PKP Intercity, which announced a new tender for the supply of such rolling stock.

PESA did the fair’s proverbial “dot the i’s” during Thursday’s hydrogen trip to the Hel Penisula resort- that’s when very good news arrived from Israel. A consortium, whose partner is a company from Bydgoszcz, has been selected as the contractor for a new tram line in Jerusalem. PESA, as part of the consortium, is to deliver 132 Twist trams. The first trams produced in Bydgoszcz are to appear on the tracks of the new line in Jerusalem in 2027!