photo: RAILTARGET/Colloquium on the Future of the Railway Industry: Can the Czech Republic Compete with Asian Industrial Powers?
Last week, a Colloquium on the Future of the Railway Industry was held, with experts from the railway industry and transport. The discussion was attended by Ondřej Lochman, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Transport, Martin Kupka, Minister of Transport, Jiří Kozák, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Jiří Svoboda, Director General of the Railway Administration, Martin Kraus, Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of České dráhy and Jiří Kolář, Director of the Railway Authority. The main topics of the discussion were the competitiveness of the Czech railway industry, technological progress, lack of qualified personnel and Chinese expansion into the Czech market.
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The first speaker was the Minister of Transport Martin Kupka, who first answered the question of whether the Czech railway can compete with foreign, especially Asian, railways. Kupka highlighted the high demand for the products of the Czech railway industry. According to his words, he, therefore, expects the development of the Czech market and the expansion of the railway in terms of infrastructure, especially in terms of high-speed lines. However, what threatens the development, according to the minister, is the lack of qualified personnel.
Martin Kraus, Vice-Chairman of the Board of Czech Railways, said that the Czech railway industry will be successful in the international market if it develops interesting and competitive products. Like the Minister, he pointed to the lack of qualified staff. He pointed out that this problem should be addressed primarily in the education system, as importing labour alone is not a long-term solution.
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The main problem facing the Czech railways at present is late deliveries. When asked about solutions to this problem, Jiří Svoboda replied that some sectors lack competitiveness, for example in the service sector. Due to slow repairs, Czech railways are currently facing the biggest outages.
China is seen as a major competitive threat not only to the Czech market but to the European rail market in general. The Minister argued that there is no need to worry about the Chinese threat to the Czech market as there are currently no Chinese trains on Czech lines. For the Czech industry not to be afraid of the Chinese threat, it is necessary to develop state-of-the-art technologies and switch to the electrification of the lines. His words were confirmed by Ondřej Lochman and Jiří Kozák, who added that he sees China's success mainly in the lower prices at which it offers its products. The Czech railway industry must also include service in its product portfolio and involve local companies in the production process and train their staff here.
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When asked if he could imagine Czech Railways buying Chinese trains, Martin Kraus replied that it is possible if the purchase follows the Public Procurement Act. On the topic of electrification, Jiří Kolář noted that the electrification of railways is crucial, but there are still no unified plans on which sections of the electric network to deploy.