There Is No Reorganization Bang: Gradual Personnel Changes in the Management of Polish Railways

RAILTARGET follows the most important changes in the management of Polish railways. Despite expectations of a big personnel and reorganization bang, the changeover is going gradually.

Since the victory of the coalition government led by Donald Tusk's Civic Platform, we have been following the personnel changes in Polish railways. Despite the expectations of a major personnel and reorganization explosion, the changeover has been gradual. We are keeping up with the priorities set by the government. Immediately after the appointment of the Minister of Infrastructure, the Prime Minister also appointed Piotr Malepszak as the Ministry's deputy for rail transport management. We have reported in detail about the coalition consensus and his priorities in modernizing the railways and a rational approach to infrastructure in particular here and here.

The first major change was the appointment of the CEO and the entire board of directors of PKP PLK. The government has replaced its commissioner and also the management of the preparations for the construction of the high-speed rail infrastructure, which in Poland is the responsibility of the state-owned joint-stock company CPK.

The top management of the holding company has also recently undergone a complete change. Despite the complicated situation at PKP Cargo in terms of unclear management and the strike alert of the trade unions, the government has decided to deal with the staffing situation in stages. In terms of replacement options, the government is limited by the fact that Poland's national rail freight carrier is a joint-stock company. It temporarily stripped CEO Seliga of all powers, put the CFO in charge of the company, and postponed the submission of the 2023 management report and quarterly results by a month.

The CEO's future will be decided by the results audit, and the preliminary results for 2023, which he managed to recover from a loss despite a drop in shipments across Europe, speak in his favor.

The audit is also awaiting CPK, but it seems that the focus will be on the investment project for a new airport near Warsaw, which has become an election campaign issue. The political representation across the Sejm is behind high-speed rail, but the differences are rather partial and relate to priorities and funding.

Of the important parts of the PKP holding, the long-distance passenger carrier PKP Intercity remains undiscussed. Deputy Minister Piotr Malepszak announced that changes will be on the agenda in a few weeks. Last year, the company recorded a historic record in the number of passengers carried. Malepszak laconically commented that other railway companies are also recording growth. The company, he said, is not capable of further growth as it is, without reorganization and changes to the timetable, citing as an argument that 40% of the carriages are not in service for various reasons.