Train to the east

The biggest Polish private railway company, CTL Logistics, is the first private Polish company to have launched regular cargo transport to countries east of Poland. Since May the company has been delivering goods to Ukraine and Romania through the border at Medyka. The transported cargo reaches 30,000 tonnes a month and CTL plans to double that number by the end of the year.

"Now, when crossing Poland's eastern border we can also do transit transport. At the beginning of next year the railway infrastructure of EU countries will open to all licensed transporters. Then we will be a step ahead of the others," Krzysztof Niemiec, a member of CTL's management board, told Puls Biznesu. "Already operating in the east we have a chance to become a significant player in the international cargo market," he said.

CTL's move means breaking the monopoly of PKP Cargo, which, until recently, was the only Polish company transporting cargo to the east. Despite Poland's location on the major railway routes from north to south and from west to east, Polish companies perform only 1.74 percent of international transits in the region.

CTL Logistics was founded in 1992 and was initially operated as Chem Trans Logistics. A company with Polish capital, it specializes in transporting chemical products.

The group has a 30-percent share in retail cargo when it comes to private companies, and a 3.7-percent share in railway transport in Poland. Last year the company reached turnover of EUR 250 (zł.989) million. CTL employs 2,500 people.