Rail carrier ORLEN Unipetrol Doprava had a successful year despite the omnipresent pandemic. It managed to overcome many adverse external effects. Thanks to synergies with the parent ORLEN Group, the largest company in Central and Eastern Europe, ORLEN Unipetrol Doprava transported 3,166,209 tonnes of products, up by 20 per cent on the year. As a result, the key performance indicator, including the driven transport distance, rose by 15 per cent to 1,604,350,480 gross tonne-kilometres. The company also recorded an increased share in transport in the electric traction. The proportion of this state-supported environmentally friendly transport went up by nine per cent to 59 per cent.
“I am pleased that we have managed to cope with many unfavourable situations resulting from the pandemic, including the limited transport capacity through the borders or a lack of qualified staff. But we saw a gradual increase in transport volumes throughout last year. Therefore, I am an optimist and expect the improvements to continue this year, too,” says Ryszard Pilch, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the ORLEN Unipetrol Group, which is the ORLEN Unipetrol Doprava company part of.
Investments in fleet safety and renovations play a significant role in the company’s development. “Last year, we took over the fifth electric locomotive, Vectron, and a sixth loco will be added soon. Therefore, we can serve even more locations amid the ongoing track electrification, thus increasing the share of transport performed on dependent tractions. Moreover, compared to traditional diesel-fuelled locomotives, state-of-the-art Vectrons consume about half less electricity. That is also why we received a retroactive subsidy for 2020 from the Ministry of Transport. It totalled CZK 4.3 million and was used to cover the costs associated with the purchase and use of electricity from renewable resources,” explains Jaroslav Dvořák, Executive of ORLEN Unipetrol Doprava.
ORLEN Unipetrol Doprava has 29 locomotives used for domestic and international transport. The international transport segment has long seen significant goods exchanges among companies from the international ORLEN Group. The company invests in safety on an ongoing basis, gradually equipping its fleet of diesel locomotives with the state-of-the-art European signalling and control system, ETCS. The entire fleet of 753.7 locomotives will have the ETCS by the end of the first half of 2023.
ORLEN Unipetrol Doprava is a member of the international ORLEN Group. It offers a broad portfolio of services in the railway market. Besides rail transport, it focuses on forwarding, leasing rail cars, repairs and cleaning services, and consulting services. It is one of the leading freight rail companies operating in the Czech Republic.
The ORLEN Unipetrol Group is the largest refining and petrochemical company in the Czech Republic. It focuses on crude oil processing and on the production, distribution and sale of vehicle fuels and petrochemical products – particularly plastics and fertilisers. In all these areas, it belongs among the critical players on the Czech and Central European market. The ORLEN Unipetrol Group encompasses refineries and production plants in Litvínov and Kralupy nad Vltavou, Paramo in Pardubice, Spolana Neratovice, and two research centres in Litvínov and Brno. ORLEN Unipetrol also includes a network of Benzina ORLEN filling stations in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. With 424 filling stations, Benzina ORLEN is the largest chain in the Czech Republic. Since its entry in 2019 to Slovakia, Benzina ORLEN has been one of the fastest-growing chains and currently has 22 stations in its network. ORLEN Unipetrol employs nearly 5,000 people. In 2005, ORLEN Unipetrol became a member of the ORLEN Group, the largest crude-oil processor in Central Europe. In addition to its business development, ORLEN Unipetrol is proud to be a socially responsible corporation. Therefore, it pays an equal amount of attention to initiatives, focusing on the cultivation and support of sustainable development, education, local communities, and the environment.