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CZECH & POLAND PROFILE: CD CARGO
which fulfils the role of infrastructure
manager. The Czech state is the owner of
Czech Railways as its 100% shareholder.
The principal subject of business activity
at Czech Railways is the operation of rail
passenger transport. Freight transport was
separated from Czech Railways in
December 2007 as the independent joint
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stock company CD Cargo, which is now
the subsidiary company of Czech
Railways, the 100% owner.
You spent the past five years as a
Senior Manager at Czech Railways.
How do you now assess this
period? What were your successes
ČD Cargo locomotive in the new corporate design with the new logo
and what would you consider was
less successful? Railways Group’. The three years that culminated in December 2007 with the
Because I have devoted myself to the followed saw the successive breakaway of second stage; in other words the
railways my whole life, it was a massive all servicing and additional activities (for breakaway of a core business - freight
challenge for me after my return to Czech example, research work, transport - to become an independent
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Railways from the private sector in 2003, telecommunications and informatics, subsidiary: CD Cargo, a. s. The final stage
to finally initiate the changes that would vehicle repairs) as subsidiary companies. of this restructuring, the independence of
lead to the improvement of the entire Clear rules were introduced for the passenger transport, is currently at the
company, until that time a company with companies and most importantly a new preparation stage.
a fairly poor reputation and loss-making business policy that concentrated on the
management. Our reforms were built on a needs of the customers. These independent You have been the boss of
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number of pillars. First of all, it was CD Cargo since December 2007.
important to introduce a number of
‘‘ It is our intention to build
Could you explain how the new
programmes to save costs, with the aim of company was born and the
ensuring financial stability for the
a modern, dynamic
prospects and plans it has? Or what,
company. We also changed several company that is flexible to if anything, does it fear?
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company procedures and some activities
its customers, open to
CD Cargo was founded on 1 December
were centralised, for example all purchases
cooperation, active in
2007 by government resolution by
and internal stocking. Outsourcing was transferring a core area of business activity
then introduced for other activities that
international projects
at Czech Railways to a subsidiary
had been performed ineffectively. We
and obviously successful
company. This involved the non-capital
understandably had to reduce the number
and profitable’’
contribution of part of the business of
of employees and introduce new Czech Railways. According to expert
technology, after which time work valuation, the assets passed to the new
productivity increased by 25%. One subsidiaries gradually began winning joint stock company have a value of
important factor was that the changes we contracts outwith the Czech Railways approximately 9 thousand million crowns
introduced were also seen in operation Group, stabilised internally and on their (€360 million) and include property for
and that customers could assess them too. own markets relatively quickly and the maintenance and repair of rail vehicles
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For this reason, we launched a number of gradually all moved into the black. The and the entire rolling-stock itself. CD
new projects involving the updating of our culmination of this was that Czech Cargo now owns 950 locomotives and
railway carriages – we introduced high- Railways as a whole ended the year 2007 approximately 26 thousand freight cars,
speed Pendolino trains to international with a profit of 53 million crowns (€2.1 whilst some 12,500 employees have
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links from Prague to Bratislava and million), the first time the company had moved from the parent company to CD
Vienna and began revitalisation projects achieved a profit (with losses running into Cargo. The whole of this project, the
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on more than one hundred train stations several thousand million crowns fairly foundation of CD Cargo, was carefully
based on cooperation with partners. common until that time). So, in this prepared for over a year. The company
Then in 2004, I initiated strategic regard, I am absolutely convinced that the works properly in operating activity and it
decisions on restructuring Czech Railways entire reform process was a success. now only remains to “fine tune” a few
as a holding organisation, as the ‘Czech This process of restructuring details, for example the setting of the basic
www.europeanrailwayreview.com EUROPEAN RAILWAY REVIEW
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ISSUE 3
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2008 63
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