The ORLEN Unipetrol Group continues implementing its decarbonisation strategy at its production sites and operations. ORLEN Unipetrol Doprava, an ORLEN Unipetrol Group subsidiary and a leading Czech rail freight company, started using electrical traction lines above the railway siding part located on the production premises in Litvínov. The total project investment was CZK 97 million. Nearly half of the costs were co-financed from the EU’s Cohesion Fund within the Transport 2021 – 2027 programme, provided under the auspices of the State Fund for Transport Infrastructure (SFDI).
The Litvínov railway siding is a crucial logistics centre for carrying chemical materials, petrochemical products, fuels, and other materials by rail within and beyond the production premises. The project implementation comprised the electrification of 7.36 km of railway tracks at the delivery station of ORLEN Unipetrol’s Litvínov site, which connects the local facility and the public rail network. The newly installed traction lines enable electric locomotives to be independently connected to/from the trains without waiting to switch to the available diesel siding, which will significantly contribute to optimising the train operations.
“Investing in electrification is yet another step towards meeting our sustainability strategy and reducing the carbon footprint. The traction lines built at the delivery station helped us both optimise our operations at the local level and connect to the national railways. That increases the safety, saves time and costs, and enhances the efficiency of deploying our state-of-the-art fleet,” said Jaroslav Dvořák, Executive at ORLEN Unipetrol Doprava.
The railway siding electrification project in Litvínov is in line with ORLEN Unipetrol Group’s long-term commitments. This strategy seeks to reduce emissions and reach a net zero by 2050. This step marks a substantial investment in modernising the logistics infrastructure, developing the region, and protecting the environment.
ORLEN Unipetrol Doprava is a significant rail freight carrier in the Czech Republic. With its contracted partners, it provides transport to neighbouring countries, the Benelux and the Balkans. It offers a broad portfolio of railway services. Besides transporting chemical products, the company provides forwarding services, leases railway cars, renders repair and cleaning services and consulting activities. Its customers include member companies of the international ORLEN Group and external companies, such as major rail forwarders, global carriers, and chemical plants without any connection to the Group.
The ORLEN Unipetrol Group is the largest refining and petrochemical company in the Czech Republic. It focuses on crude oil processing and the production, distribution and sale of vehicle fuels and petrochemical products – particularly plastics and fertilisers. It belongs among the key players on the Czech and Central European markets in all these areas. The ORLEN Unipetrol Group encompasses refineries and production plants in Litvínov and Kralupy nad Vltavou, Paramo in Pardubice, Spolana in Neratovice, REMAQ in Otrokovice, and two research centres in Litvínov and Brno. ORLEN Unipetrol also includes the ORLEN network of petrol stations in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. ORLEN Unipetrol is one of the largest companies in the Czech Republic in terms of turnover. It employs over 6,000 people. ORLEN Unipetrol is also a socially responsible company, particularly in the areas of supporting sustainable development, education, local communities and the environment. Its quality employee care is attested to by the prestigious Top Employer certificate which the Group received in 2023 and 2024 and by a host of national accolades. In 2005, ORLEN Unipetrol became part of the ORLEN Group, the largest energy company in Central Europe.