The railways are helped by a growing crown and more passengers. The third year they are in profit
The Czech Railways group ended up in profit for the third year in a row. Last year, it made a profit of almost one billion crowns, so it improved the result by 102 million. The passenger transport segment ended in positive territory for the first time in modern history. According to the carrier, the reason is the strengthening of the koruna and the growth of sales in passenger and freight transport. The total number of railways reached almost 34 billion crowns.
“Last year, we focused on continuing the group’s stabilization Czech Railways. In passenger transport, the topic was the growth of competition, the gradual opening of the market in long-distance transport and the redefinition of the business model of regional transport in the regions after 2019, “says Pavel Krtek, CEO of the national carrier.
The number of passengers increased year-on-year, with almost 175 million people using Czech Railways trains. Passenger transport thus ended up six million crowns, while in 2016 it reported a loss of 646 million.
“Passengers were most interested in traveling by long-distance and suburban connections. Significant sales growth is evident on the Prague – Vienna – Graz and Prague – Berlin – Hamburg routes.
Freight transport of the joint-stock company ČD Cargo, which expanded to Poland, Romania and Hungary, has the greatest impact on the economic result. “This helped to increase sales by 163 million crowns year-on-year,” says Martin Bělčík from the carrier’s economy department. Compared to 2016, however, the profit from freight transport decreased by almost two hundred million crowns to 743 million.