An interview with Prof. Włodzimierz Rydzkowski, conducted by editor Iwo Nowak.
Iwo Nowak: Professor, is it not possible to get the impression that in the transport reality, we are operating in a sphere of myths? For example, are the successive, unrealized road programs not such a myth?
Prof. Włodzimierz Rydzkowski: You are right, but one must ask: who constructs these programs? They are politicians whose goal is to maintain power, not, as we were assured on billboards, to build roads and bridges. The famous writer Mario Vargas Llosa stated that “a professional politician is truly mobilized, excited, and kept active by real power: to reach it, to keep it, to win it again, and as quickly as possible”. As a result, since 1990, no road program—I repeat, none—has been implemented according to plan. It sounds grotesque to hear the sharp criticism of the current Minister of Infrastructure by his predecessor, Mr. Jerzy Polaczek, known for opening a platform in Włoszczowa. It is worth recalling that it was the PiS government that adopted unrealistic road plans. Even then, the expert community warned that such a program could not be implemented for both financial and technical reasons. The current minister, carried by enthusiasm, promised that 1,800 km of motorways and 2,000 km of expressways would be built by Euro 2012. It is already known today that the A-1 motorway sections Toruń – Łódź and Łódź – Pyrzowice will not be ready by that time. I also do not believe in the possibility of completing the A-2 motorway section Łódź – Warsaw by Euro 2012, as work there is only just beginning. Local government officials believed the minister’s assurances and are now bitterly disappointed that projects in their regions have been dropped from the program. Moreover, the new National Road Construction Program also seems unrealistic, given that the National Chamber of Road Construction refused to participate in its consultation, deeming it a political document.
For the years 2011 – 2015, just under 80 billion PLN was planned for motorway and road projects. With this money, the planned motorway network will likely be built (excluding the A-2 Warsaw – Mińsk Mazowiecki section), but expressways will only be ready in fragments.
I. N.: Are the projects for the modernization and expansion of railway infrastructure equally mythical?
Prof. W. R.: Here, the problem has a different nature. Of the approximately 5.6 billion PLN planned for railway infrastructure in 2010, less than 3 billion PLN was spent. This resulted from delays in project preparation and long waits for decisions from the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Ministry of Finance, which were necessary to sign contracts. Investments implemented under the “Infrastructure and Environment” Operational Program are also delayed. However, I would be cautious about blaming PKP PLK SA for everything. It must be remembered that the company Przewozy Regionalne Sp. z o.o. is in arrears of about 400 million PLN for the use of tracks. A catastrophic decision for the railways was the Minister of Finance’s decision, made at the end of 2010, to refuse consent for the company to take out a loan from the European Investment Bank. This loan was intended to enable the financing of planned investments and the full utilization of EU funds. By 2015, Poland should settle 4.7 billion euros with the European Commission. For this to happen, PKP PLK SA should sign most of the EU-co-financed contracts this year. In the absence of consent to take out the loan, this will not happen, and the modernization and expansion plans will be unfeasible.
I. N.: In this situation, what does the High-Speed Rail project look like; is it not another myth?
Prof. W. R.: Let’s be clear: without co-financing of such a project by the European Union, there is no talk of its implementation. The money in the current programming period is allocated, and I have already presented the problems with spending it. The EU budget for the years 2013 – 2020 is unknown. However, it is known that there will be less money. Leaving aside the question of whether such railways are really urgently needed in Poland, there is no chance of implementing this project before 2020.
I. N.: Staying on the subject of railways, does it not seem to you, Professor, that the belief that dividing PKP into numerous companies and excluding regional transport from the PKP group would lead to competition on the railways was a kind of myth?
Prof. W. R.: The matter is somewhat complex. The company managing railway infrastructure should, according to EU directives, be separated from transport operations, and that has happened in Poland. A debatable issue is whether this company should remain in the PKP group. In my opinion, it should be directly under the Ministry of Infrastructure so as not to leave any illusions that it can carry out its tasks solely from income from track access charges paid by carriers.
The 2003 Railway Transport Act created real opportunities for the emergence of competition in rail freight transport. As a result, this market is highly liberalized, and the company PKP CARGO SA has many significant private carriers. The situation is different in rail passenger transport. I want to remind you that there are two important parameters of the specificity of the railway market and its competition—firstly, there is certainly the infrastructure, which is singular, and safety considerations distinguish it from an asphalt road in that you cannot enter it at any time and on any section. Thus, despite the principle of free access, this access is by definition regulated, which does not mean it is rationed.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 1/2011.