Poland’s 63-year-old electric train to return to service after repairs
Poland’s oldest electric train still in service, EN57-038, nicknamed Babcia (“Grandma”), will return to passenger operations after repairs. On Saturday morning, it is due to begin weekend services between the town of Tłuszcz and the village of Mostówka northeast of Warsaw, Notes from Poland reports.
A train dating back to 1963
The EN57-038 electric train left the production line on 9 May 1963 at the Pafawag plant in Wrocław. For decades, it carried passengers in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship, including in Kraków, Tarnów, Nowy Sącz and Sucha Beskidzka.
In 2003, the train was transferred to the Masovian Voivodeship, where it has operated ever since. After the repairs, it will run the 10-kilometre route between Tłuszcz and Mostówka on weekends.
EN57-038 belongs to the EN57 series of electric trains, which Pafawag produced from 1961 to 1993. A total of 1,429 such trains were built. A significant number of them are still in use, but EN57-038 is the oldest among those in operation.
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Modernisation and the plant’s history
During the latest work, the monitoring system and toilet were modernised. The restroom now uses a closed-cycle system, meaning waste is not discharged directly onto the tracks.
The train had previously undergone periodic modernisations and maintenance. In 2022, its historic yellow-and-blue livery, associated with the Pafawag plant, was restored.
Czesław Sulima, operations director of the regional carrier Koleje Mazowieckie, said that the company invests in modern rolling stock while also recognising the importance of tradition. According to him, Babcia has become part of the history of Polish railways and will carry passengers again after the repairs.
The history of the Wrocław plant dates back to the 1830s, when the city was part of Germany and was called Breslau. After World War II, the enterprise became the property of the Polish communist state. In 1997, it was acquired by Germany’s ADtranz, which was taken over in 2001 by Canada’s Bombardier Transportation; the latter was acquired in 2021 by France’s Alstom.
