Unipetrol Doprava and ORLEN KolTrans which are part of the PKN ORLEN Group have entered a new phase of cooperation providing a range of benefits to both parties. They will now share one Siemens Vectron locomotive for cross-border transport. Thanks to a multisystem solution, this locomotive can be deployed both in the Czech Republic and Poland.
“We used to carry out transport services with two locomotives, one loco on the Czech side, the other one on the Polish side. However, this caused long downtimes at the overloaded border crossing in Petrovice u Karviné. Now the transport between the Czech refineries and the ORLEN Poludnie Refinery will be ensured using one shared locomotive,” Vlastimil Sekal, Sales Director of Unipetrol Doprava, explained and added: “The new solution provides a range of benefits. The time necessary to cross the border will be reduced because it will no longer be necessary to shift the locos at the border, which will bring major time savings. This change will also allow us to use the locomotives within the PKN ORLEN Group more effectively and to manage both engine drivers and wagon masters. To put it simply, the train will reach customers sooner and at lower cost.”
But this is just the beginning of mutual collaboration between the carriers. Their synergy will be reflected in other activities, too, e.g. in the mutual leases of wagons. The wagons which will not be used in the Czech Republic at a certain time will be used in Poland and vice versa. This step will improve the deployment of railway wagons within the PKN Orlen Group. Other areas of cooperation include wagon maintenance and servicing. ORLEN KolTrans will soon be ready to perform main wagon repairs and offer the cleaning of tankers in a modern wash. Trains from the Czech Republic will benefit from this service, as well.
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The Unipetrol Group is the largest refinery and petrochemical company in the Czech Republic. It focuses primarily on crude oil processing, distribution and sale of fuel and petrochemical products — particularly plastics and fertilisers. In all these fields, the group is a key player on both the Czech and Central European market. The Unipetrol Group includes refineries and production plants in Litvínov and Kralupy nad Vltavou, Paramo with the Mogul brand in Pardubice and Kolín, Spolana in Neratovice, and two research centres in Litvínov and Brno. Unipetrol also owns the Benzina network of petrol stations with 412 stations, which is the largest chain in the Czech Republic. Unipetrol is one of the largest companies in the Czech Republic in terms of turnover. The group created revenue of over CZK 130 billion last year and employs more than 4700 people. In 2005, Unipetrol became part of the PKN Orlen Group, the largest crude oil processor in Central Europe.