Discussing demand & opportunities for Poland’s rail network

On 11 and 12 of May 2010, Global Railway Review organised Polish Rail Development 2010 – a comprehensive event for industry personnel to gather in one place to learn and discuss the most important issues surrounding the development of the railway market in Poland.

Held in the vibrant and historic city of Warsaw and Hosted by PKP Railway Lines S.A., Day One began with the Chairman of the event, Aleksander Domaradzki – an Independent Industry Expert – welcoming all delegates, speakers and sponsors and making clear that with the continuing volcanic ash problems, the situation continues to show how important the railway industry is.

To follow was the conference Opening Address from Zbigniew Szafranski, President of PKP Polish Railway Lines, who explained that it is important to resolve challenges to improve services. He highlighted the importance of overcoming bottlenecks, investing in the implementation of ERTMS and the development of high-speed rail. He finished by wishing all attendees a pleasant and fruitful conference.

Next up was Juliusz Engelhardt, Vice-Minister of Infrastructure & Undersecretary of State for Railways, who gave a presentation entitled “Master Plan for Poland’s Rail Networks and Investing in Euro 2012.”

Frank Jost, Principal Administrator, DG for Mobility & Transport at the EU Commission was next to the stand to discuss new EU initiatives in railway policy – with of course a slant on Poland. Mr. Jost’s presentation highlighted railway legislation and its initiation and implementation, safety and interoperability, external relations, observing and analysing the market and the financial infrastructure.

Next to the stand was Marek Pawlik, Vice President of the Board for PKP Polish Railway Lines, who discussed PLK’s investment vision and how it will contribute to creating a world-class rail network. He highlighted the investment process from the identification of needs through to preparation of feasibility studies and finally putting into operation. ERTMS deployment, rolling stock and cross acceptance, level crossings, safety management systems and the railway safety directive were also other topics presented by Mr. Pawlik.

Next to make a presentation was Christian Schreyer, Board Member, HR and Logistics at DB Schenker Rail Polska. He looked at his company’s operations in the context of being part of the European rail network. He explained the freight aspects of his company and also expressed that DB Schenker Rail has increased its transport performance even though they have faced strong competition pressure. Mr. Schreyer explained that assessing track access charges and gaining further and stable infrastructure investments are just some other factors that can help Poland strengthen its market share.

Next was Aneta Gorecka, Vice-President of Sales for Poland Nokia Siemens Networks Sp.z.o.o., who focussed on innovative approaches for GSM-R service solutions which included WLAN on trains for broadband access, on-board passenger counting systems (PCS), video surveillance (which promotes safety and security) and public information systems onboard vehicles or at stops/stations.

After a networking lunch, next to take the stand was Joanna Wlodkowska, Deputy Director for the Signalling and Telecommunications Department at PKP Polish Railway Lines, with a presentation entitled “Maximising Poland’s performance through ERTMS.”

Next was Rafal Milczarski, Managing Director and Board Member of Freightliner PL Sp.z.o.o and President of the Board at the Federation of Independent Rail Operators. Mr. Milczarski’s presentation focussed on the liberalisation of Poland’s freight market from an independent operators’ experiences, and he mentioned that even though the Polish rail freight market is seemingly competitive, independent rail operators are in danger due to a number of limitations such as open access being heavily restricted due to a lack of clarity in infrastructure allocation and management. Mr. Milczarski finished by highlighting what can be done next.

A Panel Discussion took place next which was regulated by Alexsander and some of the participants included Frank Jost, Daniel Giblin, Piers Marlow and Zbigniew Szafranski. Many high-profile topics and questions were raised here and some of these included; Polish railway legislation; is there a need for a main European railway regulator?; developing Polish legislative frameworks; European best-practices; have other countries got the same problems as Poland?; reducing maintenance costs – bringing in modern-technology to achieve this; how can Poland move towards being more passenger-customer focussed?; the opportunity for Poland to operate a truly open-access network.

To end Day One, a Drinks Reception was held for all attendees to network in a relaxed atmosphere and gain new business-contacts.

Day Two began with Jacques Dirand, Director of Freight and Passenger Policy at CER, with an interesting presentation discussing how to tackle the right issues to ensure Polish rail development.

Next up was Jan Raczyński, Director of High-Speed Lines Office at PKP Polish Railway Lines, who gave a comprehensive presentation about the programme for constructing highspeed lines in Poland, including how to achieve targets and giving information about timelines and scheduling.

Daniel Giblin, an Executive Consultant from EC Harris, was next to present about delivering the best possible outcome from the development, delivery and operation of railway assets.

Next was a presentation about innovative technology and latest developments from Mario Oriol, Market Development Director at Patentes Talgo S.L. He gave details of Talgo’s rolling stock and their technological development, including some references of international operations.

Timothy Holloway, President and CEO of Rail Polska was next to the stand with his presentation entitled “Rail Polska: Investment and Vision” which discussed topics including (among others) market evolution, competition, external investment requirements and technological innovations.

After lunch came Daniel Ryczek, Board Member at PKP Cargo to discuss their current and future plans in moving forward with the services they offer.

The final presentation of the Conference came from Michael Robson, Secretary General at EIM and was entitled “Infrastructure Managers Delivering Value for Money.”

Global Railway Review would like to thank the Chairman, the speakers, the delegates and of course the Sponsors for their involvement. We look forward to welcoming you to a future Global Railway Review event.