Ukrainians to keep managing Ukrzaliznytsia, but with possible support of Deutsche Bahn managers

Deutsche Bahn Board Member for Infrastructure Ronald Pofalla says Ukrainians will carry out the management of the national railway operator PJSC Ukrzaliznytsia, but it might be strengthened by managers with Germany's Deutsche Bahn.

According to Pofalla, this refers to counseling at the first stage, and depending on the successful outcome, further steps may be taken.

"But whether it comes to this, depends on whether we can find common ground in consulting. After all, in the end, it makes no sense to talk about managing the Ukrainian Railways if no results are achieved at the first stage of consulting," the executive told the Ukrainian-language service of Germany's Deutsche Welle (DW) on February 6.

"Now, during the first step, it is essentially a matter of consulting. Only then, if it's successful, it may be that several of our managers will support Ukrzaliznytsia management in the management process. That is, Ukrainians themselves will continue operating Ukrzaliznytsia, but this will be strengthened by our managers," he stressed.

Pofalla added that, after signing a memorandum of understanding, the parties should agree on the development of a "road map."

"Then, possibly, we'll fix in writing what kind of consulting services we are talking about, since it is required from a legal point of view. But we believe that we need to start this as soon as possible if the Ukrainians are willing," he said.

As UNIAN reported earlier, on February 5, Ukraine's joint-stock company Ukrzaliznytsia signed a memorandum of cooperation with the German rail operator Deutsche Bahn and its subsidiary, DB Engineering & Consulting GmbH (DB E&C).

UNIAN memo. Deutsche Bahn AG is one of Europe's largest railway operators, which transports about 4.6-4.8 billion passengers and 270-290 million tonnes of cargo annually. The holding includes more than 300 different divisions and individual enterprises. The company pursues an active policy to expand its business in Europe, constantly invests in the purchase of new companies and the expansion of its activities. Deutsche Bahn's revenue in 2018 was EUR 44 billion, EBITDA at EUR 4.7 billion, and profit at EUR 542 million.

Ukrzaliznytsia is a joint-stock company wholly owned by the state. The company is included in the list of state enterprises that are not subject to privatization. The Ukrainian railways account for 82% of freight transportation and for about 50% of passenger traffic by all types of transport. It ranks fourth on the Eurasian continent, following railway operators of China, Russia, and India, in terms of cargo transportation volumes.