České dráhy

České dráhy

Type	Government-owned (100 %)
Industry	Railway company
Founded	Prague (2003)
Headquarters	Prague, Czech Republic
Key people	Petr Žaluda
Revenue	41,000 mio CZK (2010)[1]
Net income	-940 mio CZK (2010)[1]
Total assets	75,794 mio CZK (2010)[1]
Total equity	41,889 mio CZK (2010)[1]
Employees	38,046 (2010)[1]
Subsidiaries	ČD Cargo
Website	www.ceskedrahy.cz

Czech Pendolino

Czech motorized regional unit - Regionova

České dráhy or Czech Railways (ČD) is the main railway operator of the Czech Republic. In 2010 its consolidated revenues reached CZK 41.0 bn (€1.6 bn, $2.1 bn).^[1][2] Revenues from passenger transport amounted to CZK 18.7 bn (65 % transfer payments from the government, 25 % intrastate transport, 10 % international transport), revenues from freight transport operated by subsidiary ČD Cargo amounted to CZK 11.8 bn, revenues from traffic control invoiced to state-owned railway infrastructure operator SŽDC amounted to CZK 5.2 bn.^[1] With 38 thousand employees^[1] ČD Group is the largest Czech company by the number of employees.^[3]

The company was established in 1993, after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia as a successor of the Czechoslovak State Railways. It is a member of the International Railway Union (UIC Country Code for Czech Republic is 54), Community of European Railways and the Organization for Railways Cooperation (Asia and Europe).

Until 1 July 2008, České dráhy was the biggest employer in the Czech Republic.^[4] After experiencing regular losses and requiring government subsidies^{[citation needed]}, the railway reported its first ever "profit" in 2007^[5] although it receives government subsidies.^[6] Attempts to make it more efficient are currently ongoing and a recent plan to move passenger transport to an independent subsidiary was approved by the Czech government in January 2008.^[7]

ČD operates trains; fixed infrastructure (such as tracks) is managed by SŽDC. In December 2010, the Czech government proposed bringing SŽDC and ČD together in a single holding company. The government has also changed the subsidies available to ČD and SŽDC.^[6]

Statistics (2009)

• 9,420 km of railway lines controlled by ČD employees; 3,153 km electrified; 1,894 km double - and multiple-track^[8]
• 162.906 mil passengers carried^[8]
• 6,462 mil passenger kilometer^[8]
• 68.370 mil tonnes of goods carried^[8]
• 12,581 mil tonne-kilometre^[8]

History

České dráhy is the result of more than 160 years of railway history in the Czech lands. Historic milestones include:

• 1828: first horse drawn railway in Europe: České Budějovice - Linz
• 1839: first steam hauled railway: Vienna - Břeclav
• 1903: first standard gauge electrified railway track
• 1918: foundation of Československé státní dráhy (ČSD or CSD) (English: Czechoslovak state railways)
• 1991: first EuroCity (EC) trains run on ČSD railways
• 1993: foundation of České dráhy (ČD or CD) after break up of Czechoslovakia
• 1993: started renovation of backbone railways corridors
• 1994: started truck transportation ("RoLa") on ČD railways: Lovosice - Dresden (stopped in 2004)
• 2003: founding of České dráhy (Czech Railways), joint stock company^[9]
• 2005: tilting train Pendolino in regular service
• 2007: freight transport moved into subsidiary company ČD Cargo
• 2008: creation of CD Sky alliance between České dráhy and airline Sky Europe.^[10] Heavily indebted SkyEurope went bust in August 2009.

Rail links to adjacent countries

• Same gauge
  • Austria — voltage change 25 kV AC/15 kV AC
  • Germany — voltage change 3 kV DC/15 kV AC
  • Poland — same voltage 3 kV DC
  • Slovakia — same voltage 3 kV DC or 25 kV AC

Freight services

ČD Cargo division is mainly focused on raw materials, intermediate goods and containers transport. Products transport is few flexible and competitive. Nevertheless ČD is fifth largest railway cargo operator in Europe.

Rolling stock

• 3,059 locomotives (electric - 925, motorized - 1,130, electric motorized units - 113)
• 33,354 freight cars
• 4,274 passenger cars

See also

• Transportation in the Czech Republic
• List of ČD Classes

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Annual Report of the České dráhy, a.s. for the Year 2010, auditor Deloitte Audit s.r.o.
2. ^ Recalculated using average exchange rates for calendar year 2010 published by the Czech National Bank. CZK/EUR 25.290, CZK/USD 19.111
3. ^ ČD Group (České dráhy, a.s. with its consolidated subsidiaries) is the largest Czech company by the number of employees, however it is not the largest employer. For example the Ministry of Interior has more employees.
4. ^ PhDr. Zbyněk Zlinský. "SŽDC provozovatelem dráhy". http://www.vlaky.net/zeleznice/spravy/002552-SZDC-provozovatelem-drahy.asp. Retrieved 2008-07-01. 
5. ^ "Czech Railways Posts First Profit Ever". Prague Daily Monitor. 2008-01-14. Archived from the original on 2008-01-18. http://web.archive.org/web/20080118111550/http://www.praguemonitor.com/en/250/czech_business/17049/. Retrieved 2008-01-25. 
6. ^ ^{a b} "Railway Gazette: Reform looks to cut costs". http://www.railwaygazette.com/nc/news/single-view/view/reform-looks-to-cut-costs.html. Retrieved 2010-12-27. 
7. ^ Handl, Erich. "Government Approves Splitting off Passenger Transport from Czech Railways". Czech Business Weekly. Archived from the original on 2008-01-19. http://web.archive.org/web/20080119225720/http://www.cbw.cz/en/government-approves-splitting-off-passenger-transport-from-czech-railways/6599.html. Retrieved 2008-01-25. 
8. ^ ^{a b c d e} České dráhy Group, Statistical Yearbook 2009, available online on www.cd.cz
9. ^ "České dráhy, a.s. - About Us". Archived from the original on 2007-12-13. http://web.archive.org/web/20071213075755/http://www.cd.cz/static/eng/aboutus.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-25. 
10. ^ "Czech Railways to Sell SkyEurope Tickets at Stations". Prague Daily Monitor. 2008-01-24. Archived from the original on 2008-01-29. http://web.archive.org/web/20080129030133/http://www.praguemonitor.com/en/258/czech_business/17588/. Retrieved 2008-01-25. 

External links

• Official website
• Cargo division official website
• National timetable information system
• National timetables in pdf format
• Actual train position