Poland - part 1

It's not often I'm taking the Arlanda Express train, as I'm usually traveling by train to Europe. But this time, and actually many times onwards I will be flying for different reasons. Today I'm traveling to Poland.

X3

The service is frequent, departure is each 15 minutes, the trip takes about 20 minutes

Many seats onboard, some are not in use due to Corona

It's not cheap to travel with Arlanda express, sometimes the train ticket is more expensive than the flight

It may still be Corona time, but the flight is fully booked - no chance to keep the safe distance here. Face masks are mandatory

Complimentary snack and drink onboard the KLM flight

I'm visiting Poland for business, but I have also time to see some trains in the evening

Outside my hotel, there is an ancient train - not sure how it got here

The line close to my hotel is the railway no 131 from Chorzów Batory - Tczew, or basically from Katowice to Gdansk. As it turned out the line has very busy traffic, especially when it comes to freight trains, which are of interest to me.

BR233 970 belongs to DR Class 130 family - locomotives produced in the Soviet Union in Luhansk, Ukraine from the 1970s onwards, and imported into the GDR, they are nicknamed Ludmilla.

This one has Oxar Rail Rent livery

Railway line 131 was built as a freight line, hence it avoids large cities (except Bydgoszcz). The line runs through five provinces and 18 counties. It largely coincides with one of the most important infrastructure investments in the Second Polish Republic - the coal mainline. Line No. 131 was built and opened in fragments in the years 1852–1933. In the years 1965–1974, the line was electrified. It is the longest (493 km) line managed by PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe, a mainline, almost entirely double-track, standard-gauge, electrified of national and European importance as part of the CE 65 line. (Wikipedia)

My location is somewhere between Bydgoszcz and Laskowice - this was the best spot I could find on this day

ET22

EP09

EP07

EN71

After several passenger trains, it is time for some freight trains

181 077, Škoda 31E from LOTOS Kolej Sp. zo o.

186 242 from PCC Intermodal SA and Alpha Trains

E6ACT, Newag Dragon

Newag Dragon's project is the first Polish electric locomotive project for 19 years. The idea to design and offer a six-axle goods locomotive came around as the company was engaged in refurbishing old ET22 six-axle goods locomotives and decided that it would make more sense to offer a new locomotive rather than a wide-ranging refurbishment. (Wikipedia)

ET41

ET22

EU07

This cat was surprised to see me here

EP07

DB Class 628 (VT628 in Poland)

186 248

Locomotive approved for Germany, Austria and Poland