Polish state-owned rail freight operator PKP Cargo is looking for ways out of its dire financial situation. The company’s new management took the drastic step of suspending nearly a third of its workforce to save money. Now, its strategy director says that the company is looking to semi-trailer transportation for new business opportunities.
PKP Cargo is looking for ways to renew its business success. The Polish rail freight operator may find such success in semi-trailer transportation, which the company’s strategy director, Tomasz Mostowski, calls “an untapped market”. It could boost the business of the company, which is in dire need of a change in course amid financial problems.
News surrounding PKP Cargo’s troubles exploded when the company’s new management took office. Even the new leadership was taken by surprise and decided to assign inactive status to nearly a third of the workforce, meaning that they would not have to work, but also face a 40 per cent pay reduction to reduce expenditures. Reportedly, the company is “really close to bankruptcy”.
Looking ahead
The company now wants to expand into semi-trailer transportation via rail. “We see a great opportunity in the transport of semi-trailers. This is an untapped market. We are trying to make the Ministry of Infrastructure interested in creating a national trailer transport system. Ultimately, all carriers could use it. It would be based on a principle analogous to the one used in passenger transport, for instance, on ordering transport with national authorities on specific routes”, Mostowski tells Polish publication wpn.pl.
A focus on semi-trailer transportation would be in line with PKP Cargo’s long-term strategy, which involves the development of intermodal transport. The company opened a new intermodal terminal in Karsznice in December 2023 and is looking for a location for yet another terminal.
Success on one condition
The plan coincides with EU policy, which aims to boost intermodal transport and reduce emissions. The TEN-T regulation requires new intermodal terminals to be built around the continent, facilitating semi-trailer transportation via rail.
Ultimately, the idea is to have rail transport goods over long distances, and use road for first and last-mile transportation. Mostowski believes Europe can achieve this, and that it could solve another issue simultaneously: “I know that the automotive industry is experiencing a crisis when it comes to the number of active drivers, there are still large shortages. So I think that this is also a way to meet the demands of the industry”, Mostowski says.
However, PKP Cargo’s business plan rests on the fulfilment of one condition. The new Polish trailer transport system would need to operate with a state agreement similar to the one used in passenger transport. In other words, the state has to subsidise non-commercial routes. Whether or not the Polish government is interested enough to go along with this remains to be seen.
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