On June 7th, Forum Train Europe members came together for FTE’s Plenary Assembly in Krakow, Poland. The Assembly elected four new members of the FTE Executive Board (ExBo). The mandate and the mission of the new ExBo will be crucial since it will lead the FTE organisation during the revision of the EU law for capacity management (Greening Transport Package) and the first year of TTR hybrid implementation. We are bringing you short interviews with the all-new ExBo members, so that you can get know them better, understand their visions, and hear about the topics to which they would like to dedicate their attention.
This time we talked to Karol Martinček, the Chief Commercial Officer and member of the Board of Directors of Železničná spoločnosť Slovensko (ZSSK), see also the press release on the ZSSK page. Karol brings leading experience from various industries including logistics. He is also the first ExBo representative since 2006 from a company based behind the former Iron Curtain.
The Plenary Assembly is now complete, and you have been elected to the Executive Board, however you will still need to focus on your responsibilities at ZSSK, can you give us an idea of the main topics and challenges that you are facing?
We are currently dealing with many topics which I, as a business director and member of the ZSSK executive board, am responsible for. These include the everyday work of dealing with the current timetable, working on new PSO contracts with the ministry of transport, dealing with the challenges associated with poor infrastructure, dealing with product management, managing customer needs, measuring customer satisfaction, adjusting products for service in neighbouring countries, and more. In my role I provide support on all of these obstacles, especially on those related to temporary and permanent capacity restrictions.
You will be the first executive board member from behind the former iron curtain in more than a decade. This fact has been positively received by many FTE members, especially those in eastern Europe and the Balkans. Why do you think voices from this region have been so underrepresented in FTE and how do you feel you can serve this region as an FTE ExBo member?
I think that for many years it has been largely western countries which have defined the problems with the railway sector and thus the solutions have naturally often best fit the characteristics of those countries. I believe that now as a member of the FTE executive board I can help to define problems and solutions which will better fit the needs of the east. On a more general note, for both freight and passenger railways there is very much to be gained by better connecting east and west with service and infrastructure. Doing so with help both sides of the former iron curtain and increase the quality and complexity of the European railway sector.
Are there any topics that you see as being of especially high priority for railway operators in Eastern Europe that are less of a priority for FTE members operating in the west?
The answer to that question is most certainly infrastructure quality. In Slovakia and indeed many other eastern countries the biggest issue is the antiquated and deteriorating infrastructure. This prevents increases and improvements in service and leads to many daily issues such as temporary capacity restrictions. A secondary issue is that of rolling stock, both the availability and quality of rolling stock is a challenge for us and many other operators.
What are some topics in the area of capacity management that you think the FTE community should focus on in the upcoming years?
As I said I believe infrastructure is very important, both in terms of improving deteriorating infrastructure and constructing new connections. On the freight side most service patterns are based on connections to the east (Ukraine and Russia), and there should be increased focus on developing capacity in a north-south direction as well. Better infrastructure connections should also connect Slovakia to all of its neighbouring countries in order to reach the ambitions that were set out in the early 1990s of matching the west’s service quality. For Slovakia and other eastern countries, it is very important that strategic and robust capacity planning and management is matched with the necessary improvements in infrastructure, and that these aspects are indeed managed together.
Lastly, do you have any message that you would like to give to our colleagues within the FTE membership?
I would like to say that the true added value of rail sector is created on the RU side. RUs are the market, and they understand what is most important for the railway sector to move forward. Thus, the voice of RUs is the most important in communication with ministries of transport and even Brussels for creating a strategy of mobility for the whole of Europe. Of course, it goes without saying that railways are the best option that we have for mobility in the face of the energy crisis and in helping the environment, not to mention rail’s benefits on a country’s economy and GDP. RUs must remember this and understand the positive impact that we can make by speaking together.