Polish railways remain unaware of what the European Union is preparing for them next year. And what it is preparing are new regulations regarding the liability of railway carriers for transported goods.
From January 1, 2006, the railways will have to pay 75 euros for each kilogram of goods „lost” during transport – this follows from the draft of the new European Union transport regulations. Polish MEPs in the European Parliament have announced a fight to reject this draft law. The annual revenue of PKP Cargo SA amounts to approx. PLN 6 billion, but it may prove insufficient for the compensation that will have to be paid to contractors, because for lost coal alone, the railway would have to pay contractors approx. PLN 1.5 trillion in penalties annually. Every year, about 50,000 tons of coal, tons of scrap metal, household appliances, liquid fuels, etc., are stolen from Polish railway wagons. Everything that can be carried away from the train disappears and – for now – thefts are an insoluble problem for PKP. Janusz Mincewicz from PKP Cargo SA admits that he does not know anything about these proposals yet. However, the railways are already introducing additional security measures for wagons to prevent them from being opened by unauthorized persons, and these are high-class security features. So far, they have been introduced in about 5,000 wagons, and ultimately it is planned to install the systems in 40,000 wagons. – We try to protect the consumer, we do everything to ensure that the goods reach their destination intact. We want to be a reliable carrier – adds Mincewicz.
– All this because society has become impoverished – says Krzysztof Król from the Railway Guard in Katowice. However, it is difficult to agree with such a statement. The railway simply guards the property entrusted for transport poorly, or does not guard it at all, while the penalties for incurred losses are still not severe enough for PKP.
By far the most thefts are recorded in Silesia, because this is where the most active railway lines are. This year alone, there were 1,812 attacks on trains. Household appliances, car parts, and scrap metal were stolen. Coal disappears primarily on routes in the area of Miasteczko Śląskie, Tarnowskie Góry, Bytom, Zabrze Biskupice and Makoszowy, Ruda Śląska Bielszowice and Kochłowice, Katowice Panewnik, Szopienice and Dąbrówka Mała, Sosnowiec Jęzor and Dańdówka, Łazy, Dąbrowa Górnicza, and also Siemianowice Śl.
Bogusław Liberadzki, a former transport minister and currently a Member of the European Parliament, says there is a chance to „torpedo” the restrictive regulations, but there is no certainty that this will succeed. And besides, why on earth should we tolerate railway thefts? Why should railways enjoy special, albeit undeserved, protection?
The restructuring of railway finances has failed. Polish State Railways, instead of getting back on track, have become even more indebted – this is the conclusion from the report of the Supreme Audit Office (NIK). NIK blames the Ministry of Infrastructure, the management of the PKP Group, and partly also local governments for this state of affairs.
Railway restructuring has turned out to be an unsuccessful venture. For 4 years, it has been impossible to stop the growing crisis and achieve financial liquidity. Splitting the Polish railways into several independent companies (including PKP Cargo, PKP Przewozy Regionalne) instead of reducing, increased the operating costs of PKP. Moreover, the debt is constantly growing. In 2001, all companies from the PKP group had PLN 10.4 billion in debt, and in 2003 the debt was already PLN 18.1 billion. Consequently, the value of the company is falling. Equity decreased from PLN 11.4 billion to PLN 6.1 billion.
Despite such a dramatic situation, the railways failed to take the opportunity to improve their finances. They were supposed to issue bonds worth PLN 3.9 billion. However, they issued papers worth one billion. The reason? The tender to select the company to issue the bonds was conducted unreliably and in violation of regulations – NIK revealed.
Therefore, the arbitration panel from the Public Procurement Office annulled this procedure. According to NIK auditors, the State Treasury is also responsible for the bad situation of the railways, as it fulfilled its obligations towards PKP (including financing domestic transport) by only 30 percent.
– Even if more money flowed into the railways from the central budget, it still wouldn’t save their situation because the restructuring was prepared and carried out disastrously – said Vice President Szwedowski.