PKP Cargo, which has been undergoing restructuring for several months, has filed a demand for more than 1.52 billion PLN in compensation from Prime Minister Donald Tusk and the Minister of State Assets. The company argues that it incurred losses while implementing the so-called coal decision issued in July 2022, and that the state failed to sign an agreement defining the financing rules for the tasks it had ordered.
The court-appointed restructuring administrator announced on Thursday, December 5, that if the requested sum is not paid within the specified deadline, PKP Cargo intends to file a lawsuit against the State Treasury before the end of 2025. The claim concerns activities carried out under the directive issued by then-Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on July 25, 2022, regarding the transport of coal imported by PGE Paliwa and Węglokoks.
The Coal Decision Under Scrutiny
Following Poland’s imposition of an embargo on Russian coal in mid-2022, the government instructed state-owned companies to import and transport approximately 12.5 million tonnes of coal from abroad. PKP Cargo claims that fulfilling this obligation was financially damaging: the company had to abandon profitable commercial contracts and redirect a significant portion of its rolling stock to Baltic ports.
According to 2023 data, around 3,300 train formations were deployed under the coal directive, transporting nearly 12.5 million tonnes of imported coal. The company stresses that although it acted under a statutory obligation arising from crisis-management legislation, the State Treasury never signed a contract specifying how the operational costs would be reimbursed.
