COMMENT: ALLRAIL responds to UTK’s approval of PKP Intercity

ALLRAIL have issued this statement, responding to PKP Intercity’s application being approved by UTK:

UTK alleged concerns over the potential impact on subsidised services and the rail network’s overall capacity as reasons for its decision. However, such concerns were conspicuously absent in the evaluation of PKP Intercity’s identical application, suggesting different treatment depending on the operator. UTK wears tinted glasses, seeing a new entrant’s yellow trains as a menace to subsidised trains, while the state-owned operator’s blue ones get a free pass, despite offering identical services.

This discriminatory treatment not only exposes UTK’s double standards yet again but also highlights a protectionist stance that will keep the Polish rail market closed. The restrictions imposed on the independent operator limit operational flexibility, increase operating costs, and ultimately restrict the potential for lower ticket prices. 

ALLRAIL’s spokeswoman for Poland Katarzyna Dekeyser says: “once again, UTK’s protectionism towards PKP Intercity illustrates the Regulator’s double standards – preventing new operators from entering the market.

We reiterate our call for an urgent investigation into the impartiality of UTK’s actions under Directive 2012/34/EU, emphasising the need for unbiased regulatory practices to ensure equitable market access, foster competition and make rail transport more affordable in Poland”.