Rolling stock in the post-Covid era

4 rail transport l agencies ROLLING STOCK IN THE POST-COVID ERA Rolling stock and the railway industry have long been one of the basic pillars of Czech industry. The economic situations of eighty domestic companies which are mainly involved in the production of locomotives, rolling stock, and components have been positive for a long time. This growth has been reflected in increasing net turnover and return on investment, but also on the level of average wages and salaries. According to statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT), these were around CZK 32 thousand in 2019. It can already be said that the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in March undoubtedly impacted these companies. Lockdown and the resulting measures have negatively affected, and will continue to affect delivery dates and service in the future. Following on from the monitoring of the situation carried out by the Association of the Czech Railway Industry (ACRI), At the beginning of May, Škoda Transportation delivered the first completed one front cars of single-storey units for the Railway Company of Slovakia companies are currently facing delays and losses in subcontracted materials and components, especially from foreign suppliers. Due to these delays and established protective measures in production, there is an expectation that these companies will not be able to deliver some orders on time. A dramatic reduction in exports is also possible. According to ACRI statistics (see the table for more information), exports have steadily accounted for over half of the total turnover of these companies in recent years. Crisis and domestic companies d However, domestic companies show that this fact does not necessarily have to result in a drop deep into the red. Due to the specific situation in the railway sector, and therefore longer lead times, it is pos- Source: Škoda Transportation sible to survive the pandemic under a state of emergency. Orders can then be completed, even though there may be some delays. For example, during the state of emergency, Škoda Transportation expanded its capacity and sought several hundred new employees. At the beginning of May, the company delivered the first completed front cars for single-deck multiple units for the Railway Company of Slovakia (ŽOS Trnava), which enable the control of the entire train unit. Škoda Electric, a part of the Škoda Transportation group, also delivered the first trolleybuses to the city of Mariánské Lázně at the same time. The trolleybuses are equipped with battery traction, which allows the vehicle to travel more than 12 kilometres in pure electric mode off the overhead contact line. Long- Exports account for a solid half of the turnover of domestic companies, Source: analysis for 2019, ACRI Year special 2020 Turnover mil. CZK T+T Technika a trh Export mil. CZK Employees Export %