PKP Intercity has selected Warsaw-based SIM Factor to supply four additional locomotive simulators as part of its ongoing investment in safety and training infrastructure.
The agreement is scheduled for delivery within seven months of signing. The new devices will complement existing simulators already in use at other company locations, including Gdynia, which earlier this year became home to Poland's first Griffin locomotive simulator installed outside Warsaw. Previously, PKP Intercity operated simulators in the capital for EP09 and EU44 locomotives, in service since 2015.
The systems simulate various real-world operational conditions, such as adverse weather and unexpected events at level crossings, including vehicle and animal intrusions. Training staff can trigger fault conditions or incidents to evaluate driver responses and adherence to safety protocols. Each simulator includes a software package featuring over 8,000 km of railway lines and constantly growing , digitally recreating routes such as Warsaw–Gdynia, Katowice–Kraków, Poznań–Wrocław, and Warsaw–Szczecin, with infrastructure details including signals, stations, and landmarks.
All PKP Intercity drivers undergo regular simulator sessions to assess reaction time, signal interpretation, and compliance with operating rules. The devices are also used in licensing exams supervised by the national rail regulator and in post-incident evaluations.
Broader deployments of SIM Factor systems
In parallel to the PKP Intercity contract, SIM Factor continues to deliver simulator systems across the railway sector in Poland and beyond.
A SMART Lite simulator is scheduled for deployment at the new SKPL Cargo training centre in Lublin. The system includes a full instructor station, GSM-R radio replica, ETCS simulation, and profiles of both electric locomotives and EMUs. The training environment spans over 8,000 km of virtual routes and now includes the SD85 (DM90) unit as an AI vehicle.
By the end of August 2025, SIM Factor had delivered 12 educational simulators to schools in Tłuszcz, Ostrów Wielkopolski, Bydgoszcz, Katowice, and Siedlce. A total of 15 schools in Poland are now using SIM Factor devices, which share core technology with commercial simulators used in operator training and national licensing assessments.
The company has also delivered mobile simulators, including a custom-built electric locomotive trainer integrated into a trailer for Lubelski Węgiel Bogdanka. This solution includes a motion platform, instructor station, observation area, and a route database with over 8,000 km, compliant with UTK standards.
R&D and international projects
SIM Factor also recently secured EU co-financing through the European Funds for Mazovia 2021–2027 programme to develop a six-degree-of-freedom (6-DOF) motion platform. The project budget is around EUR 913,000, with EU funding covering nearly half that amount.
Internationally, the company is delivering a Stadler Flirt simulator to Tallinn University of Applied Sciences in Estonia. The system will be mounted on a 6-DOF motion platform and support both 1435 mm and 1520 mm gauge vehicle training. It follows earlier deliveries to Lithuania and Latvia.
SIM Factor has also supplied two German route sections—Hamburg–Lüneburg and Riesa–Dresden—for ČD Cargo. These routes, totaling 105 km, have been fully recreated within the simulator environment.
