However, freight performance of 1.7 billion tonne-km (430 million tonne-km in Germany) fell by only 2% year-on-year after CTL's average transit distance increased from 220km to 250km. CTL cites continuing network modernisation work in Poland and the sluggish coal market for the fall in its performance. In the first quarter of the year freight punctuality in Poland fell by 48%.

"The infrastructure manager's most intensive work is still ahead of it," says Mr Jacek Bieczek, CTL Logistics CEO. "This period will no doubt boost companies that transport products over short distances. The rest will have to be patient and find a different way of conducting their business. CTL has intensively developed its advisory services and is expanding its range of logistic services, including those to powerplants owned by EDF."

Bieczek adds that he expects traffic performance to improve in 2015 as work on the network is completed and the mining industry recovers.