Railway cargo transport companies could face refusal for license renewals

According to unofficial information gathered by Rzeczpospolita, only seven out of 20 companies holding licenses for railway cargo transport might hope for renewal. A decision is to be taken this week by Transportation Minister Jerzy Widzyk. License holders have not had a chance to launch their operations thus far because of lack of Ministry regulations concerning payments for access to the track. According to Krzysztof Celinski, president of the board of Polish State Railways (PKP), in many cases the only reason companies applied for a license was to attract foreign investors. Celinski said that Dyrekcja Eksploatacji Cystern (DEC), being bought out by USA-based GATX Rail Overseas Holding Corporation, is a good example of such planning. Would-be license owners, however, claim that only a freely competitive market can reduce costs of cargo transportation. (Rzeczpospolita, p.B1) M.K.