Increasing the role of railways in freight transport is a challenge for the state and carriers. The data according to UTK prove how difficult this process is. Only in September this year the average distance of one ton of freight transported by rail was lower by nearly 10 km, compared to the same period last year. Participants of one of the debates held as part of the 9th Congress of Railway discussed how to increase the competitiveness of rail freight. The event partner was the CTL Logistics group.

The participants of this year's Railway Congress talked about the current situation on the Polish railways and the future of rail infrastructure in the world. One of the speakers of the debate entitled "Freight transport - how to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of rail freight?" during the Railway Congress there was Andrzej Pawłowski, a member of the Management Board, Director of Operations and Rolling Stock Maintenance in CTL Logistics.

- '2019 is a challenge for the entire freight transport market in Poland. A decrease of about 2 million tons a month has put carriers in a very difficult situation, "said A. Pawłowski. He also speaks with great caution about the future, talking about the economic slowdown visible in Europe, delays in track investments or aggressive attempts by carriers from outside Poland to enter our market. The CTL expert emphasized that he supports PKP PLK because completed track investments and new, safe routes are better conditions for doing business for everyone. The consequence must be investments in rolling stock - necessary in conducting effective, competitive struggle with the road transport. Therefore, 2020 year is even greater challenges and work on further cost optimization.

The Railway Congress is one of the major events in the rail transport industry, which annually gathers several hundred people from the world of politics, local government, science, business and industry. This year's edition was attended by representatives of the Infrastructure Ministry, as well as representatives of the largest entities from the railway industry, including: PKP SA, PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe SA, DB Cargo Polska SA, DB Cargo, institutions: Central Communication Port, Railway Institute, The Office of Railway Transport, the ProKolej Foundation, as well as foreign guests - Transport and Communication of the Republic of Lithuania, Infrastructure Directorate AB "Lietuvos Geležinkeliai" - Lithuanian Railways.

The topics raised by the Congress participants included: integration of the European rail network, future of rail infrastructure in Poland, station of the future - railways in city centers, rail energy efficiency, Polish railways after the restructuring process, safety of rail and road crossings. The meeting was hosted by Zespół Doradców Gospodarczych TOR Sp. z o.o. [Team of Economic Advisors] and Railway Forum - Railway Business Forum (RBF). The Ninth Railway Congress took place on 13^th of November in Warsaw.