The railway infrastructure manager announced on Wednesday that Petr Kubicki, a member of the management board who also holds the position of digital transformation director of PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe, has been dismissed from his position on Wednesday. Last month, “Black and White” reporters revealed the extent of delays in the implementation of a modern railway traffic control system in Poland.
Today, PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe SA received information that the extraordinary general meeting of the company decided to dismiss from January 22, 2025, Mr. Piotr Kubicki – member of the management board, director of digital transformation – said in a press release.
As it added, “The State Treasury and PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe SA report that the company is operating continuously and without interruption.”
“Uncontrolled crossing”
According to the report “Przejazd nietrzejon” by Black and White journalists Katarzyn Lazzery and Olga Orzehowska, Poland does not have a modern railway traffic management system. Instead of digital, we still use an analog system, which is outdated and at serious risk.
About a year ago, Kubicki was appointed director of digital transformation and directly supervised the continuation of the state-of-the-art GSM-R communication project in railways.
GSM-R based communication is part of the European Railway Traffic Management System (ERTMS). It operates in most Western European countries. From 2024, this system should also be implemented in Poland. The report of the Supreme Audit Office published in 2023 shows that at least PLN 9.4 billion of EU subsidies were spent on the construction of ERTMS. In the same report, the supreme control body gave a negative assessment to the work of the then board of PKK in this regard.
The investment is still in the implementation phase, but in May 2023 the delay exceeded one thousand days.
A month ago, in an interview with “Black and White”, Piotr Kubicki admitted that the investment was suspended and announced that he was trying to return the project to the construction site.
On January 15, the chairmanship of the board of “PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe” submitted a notice to the National Prosecutor’s Office about the possibility of committing a crime by its predecessors.
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Piotr KubickiTVN24
Railway lines of PKP Poland
PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe SA is the manager of the national railway network with approximately 19,000 lines. km. The company is responsible for traffic management and coordination, as well as for developing and updating train schedules across the country.
The owner of all shares of PKP PLK is the State Treasury.
Main image source: Shutterstock
