After Germany, Poland becomes the second country to prioritise coal transport by rail. “PKP will have to prioritise coal transport by rail instead of passengers and other freight,” confirmed Jakub Walczak from the Polish Road Transport Institute during the RailFreight Summit Poland 2022 in Warsaw.

Wojtek Grzesiok from TransContainer Europe also indirectly confirmed the decision by saying, “TransContainer Europe is ready to contribute to coal transport”. The fact that PKP will mainly focus on transporting coal volumes in the following months was decided by the Polish prime minister himself, according to Polish media.

Enough equipment in place

The Polish railway company will undertake the task of transporting coal for the companies Węglokoks and PGE Paliwa from abroad to Poland but also domestically. The coal will be used to produce energy to cover household needs for the coming winter.

Jacek Rutkowski, a member of the management board for commercial matters at PKP, stated to the Polish Business Insider that this will be a demanding task that needs a lot and precise preparation. However, he remained optimistic, saying that the required measures are already underway and that rolling stock equipment in the country is sufficient to deliver the needed results. “We have enough coal wagons to transport this additional coal and to complete the task assigned by the prime minister,” he mentioned, without excluding the possibility of subcontractors if needed.

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• ‘Ukraine needs rail equipment, longer-term plans are for the future’

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