Key takeaways
- The Swing is a tram, not a railway vehicle: built by PESA in Bydgoszcz, multi-section and low-floor throughout.
- Fastest way to recognise it: low floor plus articulated build plus PESA styling – the car number confirms it.
- The Swing and the Twist are siblings: both from PESA, from two vehicle generations; easy to mix up from a distance.
- The Polish PKP letter system doesn't apply here – trams carry manufacturer type numbers and operator car numbers instead of letter codes like EN57.
- The Swing doesn't run in scheduled service in Germany – it's a subject worth a trip to Polish cities.
Contents
Fact file
| Vehicle type | Low-floor articulated tram for urban services |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | PESA Bydgoszcz (Poland) |
| Construction | Multi-section car body with a continuous low-floor section |
| Product name | "Swing" – marketing name for a PESA tram family |
| Track gauge | Standard gauge (1,435 mm) on the Polish standard-gauge networks |
| Typical use | Urban tram services on Polish networks |
Identifying features
Is this really the class in front of you?
- Several short car bodies with bellows gangways – not a single rigid car
- Continuous low entrance with no steps at the doors
- Large, deeply drawn-down windscreen in a rounded cab shape
- Operator's car number prominent on the front and side – the unambiguous identifier
- Tram setting: overhead line above the street, kerb-height stops, no platform
Updated: August 2026 – A multi-section, low-slung tram rolls along a Polish main street, its doors opening flush with the kerb-height stop: that’s the typical picture of the PESA Swing. This page shows you how to identify the vehicle, why it escapes the PKP letter logic, and how to get a handle on it photographically.
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What is the PESA Swing?
The PESA Swing is a low-floor articulated tram from the Polish manufacturer PESA in Bydgoszcz. “Swing” isn’t a technical code here but a product name for a tram family delivered, in various versions, to several Polish transport operators.
Operationally, it’s clearly categorised: an urban vehicle for tram networks, not a railway vehicle. It runs on tram tracks in the street, stops at kerb-height stops rather than platforms, and shares the road space with cars and pedestrians. Anyone looking for Polish railway vehicles such as the PKP EN57 is in the wrong place here – these are two completely separate worlds, each with its own rules, its own designation systems and its own photography strategies.
How to place a PESA tram in the field
Three observations are enough for a rough identification, and they work even from a moving bus or from across the street.
Check the entrance height
No step between the stop and the vehicle floor? Then you have a low-floor vehicle. Older high-floor types need two to three steps – that's the fastest way of all to filter by generation.
Count the car bodies
Count the bellows gangways. A multi-section train of short bodies points to the modern low-floor generation, a single rigid car to older types or to trains coupled from several solo cars.
Read the car number
The operator's number on the front and side is the only truly unambiguous identifier. Note it down – without it, every sighting stays a guess.
Practical tip: build before detail
Front and light design change from batch to batch on trams, because operators order differently. Rely on robust features first – entrance height, number of joints, vehicle length – and only then on design details.
Why Polish trams are designated differently from PKP vehicles
Anyone who’s looked into Polish railway vehicles knows the PKP letter-and-digit system: the first letter stands for the traction type – E for electric, S for diesel – the second for the intended use: U for universal, T for freight, P for passenger train, M for shunting service, N for railcar. That’s how designations like EU07, ET22, SM42 or EN57 come about.
This logic doesn’t apply to trams. They aren’t railway vehicles and were never included in this scheme. Instead, there are two levels:
- The manufacturer’s type designation – for Polish trams, traditionally a number plus letters, where an appended N classically stands for standard gauge and lower-case letters mark build variants. The widely used Konstal 105Na is the textbook example.
- The transport operator’s car number – the number you actually see on the vehicle, which makes a sighting unambiguous.
The product name “Swing” sits across all of that: it’s marketing, not an official designation. How such numbering systems work in general, and how to work your way systematically through an unfamiliar vehicle, is explained in the guide to identifying classes; the Europe-wide vehicle number used for railway vehicles is covered in the article on reading the UIC number and its check digit.
Where you’ll realistically come across the Swing
The Swing is a vehicle of Polish urban networks. For German-speaking spotters, that means no scheduled service in Germany, but a worthwhile destination for a trip across the border. From eastern Germany, several Polish tram cities are within day-trip range.
| Location | Chance of a sighting | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Polish major-city networks with a modern fleet | high | The low-floor generation runs in regular service there |
| Central interchange hubs in the network | high | All lines converge, many vehicles in a short time |
| Terminal stops with a turning loop | medium | Quiet standing times, good light, clean side views |
| German tram networks | very low | No scheduled use |
| Depots and stabling sidings | none | Operational railway land – not accessible, no subject |
Fleets change over time
Which network operates how many Swing vehicles shifts with follow-up orders, refurbishments and tenders. Don't rely on older lists from the network; check the current situation via the operator's fleet overview and community sightings.
Anyone planning a visit does best combining a network map with live data. How to use maps and real-time information for tram spotting is shown in the guide to the tram spotter’s map.
See what's out there before you set off
Community sightings show you which vehicles were last reported – before you get in the car or on the train.
Photography tips for a long low-floor tram
A multi-section tram is a different photographic animal from a locomotive. It’s long, it moves slowly, and it almost always stands in a visually cluttered setting of overhead wires, road signs and parked cars.
Move further back, use a longer focal length
At short distance, a wide-angle lens distorts the long train beyond recognition. More distance plus a moderate telephoto keeps the proportions intact.
Shoot on a curve, not a straight
A curve reveals the articulated build – exactly the feature that defines this design, which gets lost in the frame on a straight section.
Use the stop as a stage
While it's stopped you have time for the number, the front and a side view. Stay within the passenger area and don't block any doors.
Expose for the bright bodywork
Bright liveries blow out quickly against backlight. Better to underexpose slightly and lift the shadows afterwards.
The basic technique – choosing your position, the plane of focus, panning – is covered in the guide to tram photos. What kit actually makes sense in urban traffic, and where you’re weighing yourself down unnecessarily, is in the tram spotter’s equipment overview. And because advertising wraps on trams change constantly, keeping a clean sightings log is especially worthwhile here.
Common mix-ups and how to rule them out
It points to a PESA Swing if …
- the vehicle is low-floor throughout
- it's made up of several short car bodies with bellows gangways
- it's running on a Polish tram network
- the car number belongs to the Swing series according to the operator's fleet list
Look more closely if …
- the vehicle looks like a PESA but seems newer – it could be a Twist
- a full advertising wrap obscures the shape
- you only see the rear end or a partial view
It's not a Swing if …
- you count several steps at the entrance – then you're looking at a high-floor type such as the 105Na
- the vehicle stops at a platform on railway tracks
- it's a solo car with no articulation
Conclusion
The PESA Swing is a good entry point into the world of Polish trams: easy to recognise as a modern low-floor design, harder to tell apart in detail from its sibling, the PESA Twist. Combine the build with the car number and you’ll get it right; go on overall impression alone and you’ll mix them up sooner or later. And because the PKP letter system deliberately doesn’t apply here, it’s worth keeping the two designation worlds cleanly apart.
In short
Low floor, multi-section, Polish urban network: that's the starting point for a PESA Swing. The car number turns it into a solid sighting – everything else stays a guess.
Your tram sightings in one place
Car number, line, date and photo captured together – so you can see which vehicles you're still missing on a network.
Summary
- The PESA Swing belongs to the first major low-floor tram generation from Bydgoszcz and shapes the look of modern Polish urban networks.
- You can identify it by its build and manufacturer's design; the car number, checked against the operator's fleet list, gives you final certainty.
- Which networks run how many vehicles changes with tenders and follow-up orders – check the current situation on site.
- Photographically, a tram calls for different technique than a locomotive: short distances, a lot of clutter around it, and constantly changing light between rows of buildings.
Frequently asked questions
What is the PESA Swing?
The Swing is a low-floor articulated tram from the Polish manufacturer PESA in Bydgoszcz. It's made up of several short car bodies joined by bellows gangways and is built as an urban vehicle for inner-city line services – not for railway operation on main lines.
How do I tell the PESA Swing and the PESA Twist apart?
Both come from the same manufacturer and share a lot of styling, but belong to different vehicle generations. From a distance they're easy to confuse. The reliable way is the car number on the front and side, checked against the fleet list of the relevant transport operator.
Does the PESA Swing also run in Germany?
It's not a vehicle in scheduled German tram service. Anyone wanting to see one has to travel to Polish cities – for railfans in eastern Germany, that's often a manageable day trip. Which networks currently operate Swing vehicles changes with procurement, so check beforehand.
Why isn't the tram called EN or EU like Polish railcars?
Because the PKP letter system only applies to railway vehicles. There, the first letter stands for the traction type (E electric, S diesel), the second for the intended use. Trams sit outside this system and carry the manufacturer's type designations along with the operator's car number.
How can I reliably tell a low-floor tram?
By the entrance: on low-floor vehicles, the floor at the doors sits almost at kerb height, with no steps between the stop and the vehicle. Older high-floor cars such as the Konstal 105Na, by contrast, need two to three steps – you can see that from some distance just by watching passengers board.
What belongs in a good tram sighting?
Car number, date, line and location are the minimum. It's worth adding the livery or any advertising wrap, since that changes frequently on trams. Recording this information in a structured way lets you later work out which vehicles you've already had and which are still missing.
How many PESA Swings were built?
A reliable total figure can't be given responsibly, because the family was delivered over several years, in different versions and batch sizes, to multiple operators. In practice, the number is also secondary: what matters is the fleet list of the network you're actually visiting.
Am I allowed to photograph anywhere on a tram network?
Photographing from public streets and stops is generally unproblematic, as long as you don't get in anyone's way. Depots, stabling yards and track areas, on the other hand, are off limits – they're operational railway land. Legal details vary by country and operator, and the local house rules apply if in doubt.
Log your sighting of the PESA Swing
Date, location and vehicle number logged in seconds – and visible to the community.
Related classes
PESA Twist
The PESA Twist is the newer low-floor tram family from Bydgoszcz. Here's how to recognise it in city traffic and tell it cleanly apart from the Swing.
EMUKonstal 105Na
The Konstal 105Na has shaped Polish tram networks for decades. A boxy high-floor car, usually coupled in twos – and running in countless rebuilt variants.
EMUModerus Gamma LF06AC
The Moderus Gamma LF06AC is a modern low-floor tram from Modertrans in Poznań. Its type code alone reveals its build and drive technology.
EMUPKP EN57
The PKP EN57 is Poland's most-built electric multiple unit and has been the face of Polish local services for decades. Here's how to identify it and its many refurbishments.
EMUPKP EN71
The PKP EN71 is the four-car relative of the EN57, with two powered cars. Here's how you tell the two apart in the field and how the designation fits together.
EMUPKP IC ED160 (FLIRT)
The PKP IC ED160 is a Stadler FLIRT in Polish long-distance service. The familiar FLIRT silhouette meets the Polish designation system here – here's how to read both.
Who is behind it
Groups, brands, manufacturers and operators – who owns whom and how to recognise them out in the field.
Modertrans Poznań
Modertrans Poznań isn't a global group but a niche supplier with close ties to its own home network. The company began by modernising old high-floor cars and now builds its own low-floor trams – a path several operators in Eastern Europe have followed.
ManufacturerPESA Bydgoszcz
PESA Bydgoszcz grew out of a railway workshop and is today Poland's best-known rolling-stock builder. Elf, Link, Dart and the tram families shape the picture across the whole country – and with Class 633, a PESA railcar even appears on German vehicle lists.
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