Key takeaways
- The T says it all: towarowa means freight – the ET22 is not a general-purpose locomotive.
- Six axles set it apart from the EU07, EP07 and EP09 in a single second.
- In Polish usage the class runs under the nickname Byk, meaning bull.
- Freight service isn't scheduled: sightings depend on traffic volumes and paths, not a published timetable.
- Fleet and operators change through modernisation, sales and new vehicles – always check current information.
Contents
Fact file
| Vehicle type | Electric locomotive for heavy freight service |
|---|---|
| Designation system | E = electric, T = towarowa (freight), 22 = design number |
| Manufacturer | HCP / Cegielski (Poznań) |
| Wheel arrangement | Co'Co' – six powered axles on two three-axle bogies |
| Electrification system | 3 kV DC |
| UIC country code | 51 for Poland |
Identifying features
Is this really the class in front of you?
- Six axles on two three-axle bogies – the single clearest feature of all
- ET22 marking with running number on the body
- Noticeably longer, more massive body than the four-axle passenger types
- Found almost exclusively in front of freight trains, often long and heavy ones
- Roof equipment for 3 kV DC
- UIC number carrying the country code 51 for Poland
Updated: August 2026 – The PKP ET22 is the heavy freight locomotive of the Polish network, and one of the few classes you can genuinely identify in a single second: six axles under a long body are otherwise a rare sight in Poland. This page explains what the name means, how to place the machine with confidence, and what freight service means for your spotting.
Caught a freight train? Note the locomotive.
In freight service, chance decides – all the more reason to log every sighting properly.
What is the PKP ET22?
The ET22 is a six-axle electric locomotive for heavy freight service, built by HCP in Poznań for the Polskie Koleje Państwowe network electrified at 3 kV DC. The name states the job directly: E for electric drive, T for towarowa – freight service – and 22 as the design number.
That makes it the counterpart to the four-axle passenger and general-purpose locomotives. Where the PKP EU07 covers both jobs as a general-purpose locomotive and the PKP EP09 takes on fast passenger service, the ET22 is built for tractive effort: long, heavy trains, lower speed, more axles for more adhesive weight.
Six axles: Poland’s quickest identification feature
For Polish electric locomotives, axle count is half the battle. It’s visible from any distance and needs neither binoculars nor a legible marking.
Count the bogies
Two three-axle bogies under a long body mean six axles. Two two-axle bogies mean four axles and point to the EU07, EP07 or EP09.
Judge the body length
The freight design looks noticeably longer and more massive than the four-axle types. Once you've seen both side by side, you'll never mix them up again.
Check the train
A long freight train is the expected sight. Passenger trains are the absolute exception with the ET22.
Confirm the marking
The letters ET on the body seal the identification. The running number behind it belongs in your log.
E or S – the first question
If the marking starts with an E, the vehicle runs on electric power. If it starts with an S, it has an internal combustion engine. Only after that is it worth checking the second letter, which gives the use.
Watching freight traffic: different rules from passenger service
If you spot passenger traffic, you work from timetables. That doesn’t work in freight service – here, volume, paths and operating conditions decide what runs and when. In Poland, PKP Cargo hauls the bulk of these workings.
| Location | Chance of a sighting | What to bear in mind |
|---|---|---|
| Electrified freight main lines | high | Fast run-throughs, short reaction time |
| Stations with loop tracks | high | Freight trains regularly wait there to be overtaken |
| Marshalling and freight yards | medium | Only visible from outside and from public paths |
| Sidings serving industry | medium | Irregular, often just a few movements a day |
| Purely local passenger lines | low | Little to no freight traffic |
Operational railway land is off limits
Marshalling yards, track fields, stabling sidings and connecting tracks are operational railway land and, as a rule, private property. Watch and photograph only from publicly accessible points at a clear distance from the track. That applies in Poland just as it does everywhere else.
How to make freight workings graspable at all using real-time data is covered in the guide to tracking freight trains.
Freight traffic is getting more predictable
Community sightings show you which vehicles have just been reported where – the best substitute for a timetable.
Photographically: length is the subject
A six-axle locomotive in front of a long freight train demands something different from a locomotive portrait at the platform. The train is part of the subject – and it’s long.
- Step back further, or use a shorter focal length. If you fill the frame with just the locomotive, you lose the story. A section of the train belongs in the shot.
- A curve rather than a straight. On a curve, the train staggers behind the locomotive and becomes visible. On a straight, it disappears behind the front.
- Short shutter speeds for run-throughs. Freight trains are often faster than they look. Sharp still shots need speed.
- Don’t forget the marking. However long the train, the legible designation remains the actual information for your log.
The right focal lengths are discussed in the guide to focal length in train photography, and the technical basics in the guide to taking good photos of trains.
The UIC number and what else it tells you
Alongside the class designation, every vehicle in European service carries a twelve-digit UIC number. It’s the most stable identifier there is – independent of livery, operator and rebuilds.
It’s structured in blocks: a code for the vehicle type in the first digits, then the country code – 51 for Poland –, a vehicle number and finally a check digit. For railway service vehicles, the first two digits are 99, which sets them apart from traction vehicles immediately.
Why it's worth noting down
Class designations can change with rebuilds, and liveries change anyway. The UIC number stays. Whoever notes it can match sightings of the same machine across years – even once it's been renamed or looks different.
For photo practice, the same rule follows as for every freight subject: the frame must include the side wall. On a six-axle machine that’s easier said than done, because the vehicle is long and too tight a frame crops off the front or rear. A somewhat greater distance and a medium focal length usually solve this better than trying to fill the frame with everything at once.
One last point concerns the train formation. With freight trains, the makeup of the wagons often says more about the working than the locomotive itself: block trains of uniform wagons point to fixed flows, mixed trains to wagonload traffic. Note both down and, after a few months, you’ll recognise patterns at your location – and know when waiting pays off.
A final note on expectations: freight traffic is the segment with the biggest swings. Flows appear and end with contracts, classes get modernised or withdrawn, operators come and go. So the only thing you can really rely on is your own observation over longer periods – every dated sighting is a building block of that.
Common mix-ups
It points to an ET22 if …
- you count six axles on two three-axle bogies
- the marking starts with ET
- a long freight train is attached
- the locomotive carries pantographs for 3 kV DC
Look more closely if …
- the locomotive is running in the livery of a private freight operator
- you only see it partially and the bogies are obscured
- the vehicle has been modernised and differs in detail
It's not an ET22 if …
- you only count four axles
- the marking starts with S – then it's a diesel locomotive like the ST43
- the locomotive has no pantograph
A direct comparison is worthwhile with the diesel-powered freight locomotive PKP ST43, which carries the same T, and with the modern multi-system Siemens Vectron at PKP Cargo (EU46), which handles cross-border traffic.
Verdict
The ET22 is the workhorse of Polish freight service and, at the same time, the easiest Polish electric locomotive to identify. Counting axles is enough in the vast majority of cases; the marking only confirms it. The challenge isn’t identification, but catching it – freight service follows no published timetable.
Quick verdict
E for electric, T for freight, 22 for the design. Six axles on two three-axle bogies make the ET22 unmistakable – best looked for on freight main lines and stations with loop tracks.
Every freight sighting counts
Log class, number, location and time – and chance finds turn into an analysable archive.
Summary
- The ET22 is the heavy freight locomotive of the Polish 3 kV network and unmistakable by its axle count alone.
- Its name follows the PKP scheme: drive type, use, design number – here electric, freight, design 22.
- For identification, a glance at the bogies is usually enough.
- Because freight workings are barely predictable, combining real-time data with patient watching pays off.
Frequently asked questions
What does ET22 mean?
E stands for electric drive, T for towarowa – freight service – and 22 is the design number. The Polish system thus names a vehicle's two most important properties right in its name. An ET22 is accordingly an electric freight locomotive of design 22.
How do I recognise the ET22 from a distance?
By the axle count. The ET22 has six axles on two three-axle bogies, while the classic Polish passenger and general-purpose locomotives have four axles on two bogies. You can see this feature even in poor light and from a great distance – it's the single most reliable criterion there is.
Why is the ET22 called Byk in Polish?
Byk means bull. The nickname plays on the machine's bulky appearance and tractive effort. Nicknames like this are widespread in the Polish railway scene and often turn up in forums and sighting reports more often than the official designation.
Does the ET22 also haul passenger trains?
That's the exception, not the rule. The letter T stands explicitly for freight service, and the design follows that job. The types with P handle passenger trains, and the general-purpose locomotives with U handle mixed duties.
What electrification system does the ET22 run on?
On 3 kV DC, the standard of the electrified Polish network. That's also why cross-border freight trains often change locomotives at the border or are run straight through with multi-system vehicles such as Vectron locomotives.
How do I tell the ET22 and ST43 apart?
By the first letter. E means electric, S means internal combustion. Both carry the T for freight service, so they're intended for the same job – but with completely different drive types. An ET22 depends on overhead wire, an ST43 doesn't.
What does the wheel arrangement Co'Co' mean?
Co'Co' describes two three-axle bogies with all axles powered. That gives six driven axles and so a high adhesive weight – exactly what a freight locomotive needs. For identification in the field, though, the simple number is what counts anyway: six axles under a long body means, almost without exception in Poland, a heavy freight locomotive.
Log your sighting of the PKP ET22
Date, location and vehicle number logged in seconds – and visible to the community.
Related classes
PKP EU07
The EU07 is the Polish general-purpose electric locomotive par excellence. Its name gives it all away: E for electric, U for general-purpose, 07 for the design. Here's how to identify it with confidence.
Diesel locoPKP ST43
The ST43 is a line diesel locomotive for Polish freight traffic. Its code names both traction and purpose – and sets it clearly apart from shunting and electric classes.
Electric locoSiemens Vectron PKP Cargo (EU46)
The Siemens Vectron runs for PKP Cargo under the designation EU46. Here's how to recognise the platform, tell it apart from the Taurus, and make sense of the code.
Electric locoPKP EU44 (Taurus)
The PKP EU44 is the Polish Taurus variant based on the Siemens ES64U4 – nicknamed Husarz. E for electric, U for general-purpose, 44 for the design.
Electric locoNewag Griffin
The Griffin is a modern electric locomotive from the Polish manufacturer Newag. A product name – yet the operational designation still follows the PKP scheme.
Electric locoPKP EP07
The EP07 is the passenger-service variant of the Polish general-purpose locomotive family. The P in the name makes the difference – visually it's barely distinguishable from the EU07.
Who is behind it
Groups, brands, manufacturers and operators – who owns whom and how to recognise them out in the field.
Kazakhstan State Railways (KTZ)
Kazakhstan's state railway runs on 1520 mm broad gauge and links China with Europe. At two border crossings every container changes gauge – and wagons from this network turn up as far away as Poland.
GroupPKP Cargo
PKP Cargo is the freight arm of the Polish state railway holding – and a special case: unlike most groups, the company runs trains itself while also holding stakes in subsidiaries at home and abroad. On the track you'll find one of Europe's oldest electric-locomotive fleets.
InfrastructurePKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe
PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe holds Poland's tracks, points and platforms – the company runs no trains itself. The station building, though, belongs to a different company in the same group. Anyone who keeps the two apart understands Polish sightings much faster.
State railwayPolskie Koleje Państwowe (PKP)
Polish locomotive designations are the most clear-cut numbering system in Central Europe: two letters tell you the traction and purpose before you've even read the number. The group structure behind them is considerably less clear – a lot of what's called PKP no longer belongs to it.
Where to see the PKP ET22
Specific viewpoints with lighting times, coordinates and an honest verdict on whether the trip is worth it.
Rzepin
Rzepin lies just a few kilometres east of the German border and is the point where the Berlin–Poznań–Warsaw axis changes its rolling stock. If you want to see locomotive changes, dual-system machines and heavy freight traffic, this is one of the most honest border stations in Central Europe – no hall, no crowds, no comfort.
Freight hubTarnowskie Góry
In Upper Silesia's industrial belt lies one of the biggest marshalling complexes in Europe. Anyone after freight traffic, private operators and vehicles long since history in western Europe finds more here than at any Polish passenger station – provided they know the public viewpoints.
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