Ukrzaliznytsia rejects long-term projects to solve current problems
Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian Railways) is experiencing difficult times. Several months ago, Vasyl Hladkykh told journalists that Ukraine’s railway company requires immediate changes; passenger services are unprofitable, rolling stock is obsolete, credits will not last forever, and there is no telling how they will be repaid, considering the company’s relatively small revenues. He was, however, rather optimistic about the company’s prospects when he mentioned renovated railroad stations and shared his plans for innovations.
Volodymyr Kozak, Ukrzaliznytsia’s acting director general in the absence of Hladkykh, who has been on holiday since July 1, is more pessimistic in regard to several projects and developments. The only question on which he agrees with his predecessor is that Ukrzaliznytsia requires basic operational changes. Existing resources must be rejuvenated and modernized, instead of embarking on new global projects. But Kozak will cancel only long-term projects:
“We must get rid of all global long-term projects. There are lots of problems that require our attention right now, including investments to upgrade rolling stock and introduce new technology, which will improve railroad car turnover, and so on.” Kozak told journalists that Ukrzaliznytsia is going to cancel the express train project initiated by Transport and Communications Minister Viktor Bondar in February 2006. He explained that implementing this project — and most importantly, keeping it ticking — requires certain conditions that cannot be provided today. He noted that the average speed of passenger trains is 50 km/h, whereas repairs on more than 30 percent of the tracks are overdue.
“How can we even discuss the possibility of our trains going at fast speeds of 200-250 km/h? There is no quality, no new technology; everything that exists in the top structure of our railways is 50 to 60 years old. Therefore, any possibility of trains moving at such speeds is out of the question. I am a professional, so when I hear that our trains will be running at 200-250 km/h, I want to laugh.”
Kozak says that Ukraine has a long way to go to meet world standards because everywhere else speedways and express train tracks are specially developed and built. No high-speed railroads ever cross any highways, and they are designed only for express passenger trains. In Ukraine, both passenger and freight trains (five to six tons) use the same tracks: “This is a program that must be planned for decades,” says Kozak, adding that this will require large budget appropriations. As it is, Ukrzaliznytsia can count only on investors.
Another important issue is Ukrzaliznytsia’s 2006 budget, which sparked heated debates in June, when the railway and construction labor union objected to the draft and demanded a revision. They believe that the draft will deprive them of certain benefits and social guarantees. At the time, Hladkykh assured everyone that the cabinet supported the union’s initiative and was prepared to revise the budget. Today, however, Kozak is saying the opposite: “This budget bill won’t be revised in 2006, and I believe we do not have the right to pose such questions to the government.” He added that Ukrzaliznytsia’s budget for next year is still being considered by the ministry and that the document will be forwarded to the cabinet in due time.
Inconsistency and lack of thought often emerge in extraordinary situations. One is reminded of the explosions at the Novobohdanivka ordnance depot (Zaporizhia oblast), which caused trains to idle for many hours. These incidents show that Ukrainian railroads are ill-equipped to cope with such emergencies. The passengers in those stalled trains suffered from hunger and thirst. This can only give rise to public outrage.
In July, Hladkykh spoke about introducing mandatory meals on trains. This project was opposed by the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine, and the issue was dropped from the agenda. Kozak stated recently that mandatory meals would not be instituted and referred to the ACU resolution — so much for hot meals for passengers. The impression is that both advocates and opponents of this project failed to reach a decision and decided simply to sidestep the issue. There are projects and then there is life, which usually puts everything in place. In this case, discussions did not lead to concrete decisions; no alternatives were proposed to provide rail passengers with food, and in the end passengers suffered.
Ukrzaliznytsia could have provided the trains with minimum supplies of non-perishable foods and drinking water. It never did this, for reasons best known to itself. Instead, peanuts and beer, which are always available, have suddenly become considerably more expensive. Even if part of the population (students in particular) is against the cost of meals being included in the price of a ticket, this does not mean that people are opposed to the idea of being served food in an emergency, not to mention unlimited free supplies of fresh water, to which passengers are entitled. Therefore, a good option would be for every Ukrzaliznytsia train to have at least minimal emergency food supplies so that passengers can have access to food either free of charge or at reasonable and strictly regulated prices.
This is just a partial list of problems confronting Ukrzaliznytsia, which must be solved in the nearest future. There are also issues, such as increased passenger-freight transportation tariffs, the reorganization of Ukrzaliznytsia as a joint-stock company, and many others. Under the circumstances, turning down long-term projects appears to be a reasonable step, as funds could then be channeled into upgrading and modernizing rolling stock and railway lines. At the same time, it is not advisable to reject such projects. The political course that Ukrzaliznytsia adopts will depend on who will be standing at the helm: Vasyl Hladkykh or Volodymyr Kozak. The latter says the government has the final say.
