Polish State Railways (PKP) is set to take over a substantial portion of EU grants that was initially intended to pay for Poland’s road building binge. The stakes are high, as Poland’s government saved upwards of PLN 5.2bn on the roads. “We’re now preparing the new projects, so PKP could use the rest of the EU grant funds,” says Andrzej Massel, Poland’s Deputy Minister of Transport. The biggest potential winner from the savings should be PKP PLK, the railway infrastructure operator, as it would receive PLN 3bn of the EU funds to improve the track safety. Poland’s Ministry of Regional Development is hoping to be able to adjust standard EU regulations, by increasing the proportion of a project that can be paid for by the subsidies. “We have just received a response from EU’s authorities, who assure us they are ready to talks with us on the matter, though they’re not prejudging the contribution would reach 85 percent,” says Adam Zdziebło, deputy minister for Regional Development.
