Okamura orders solution to toilet paper shortage on Czech Railways trains

SPD party leader Tomio Okamura has publicly demanded that Transport Minister Ivo Bedrník resolve the shortage of toilet paper on trains operated by the national carrier České dráhy (ČD). He made the statement on Monday following a coalition council meeting, citing numerous complaints from voters.

“I told my coalition partners that I’ve asked our minister, Bedrník, to make sure there’s toilet paper on the fast trains,” Okamura said. According to him, party supporters keep sending him photos of toilets in train carriages without paper, and the problem, he insists, isn’t a one-off but a systemic issue.

The politician sharply criticized ČD’s CEO Michal Krapinec, saying he has responded inadequately to complaints about service quality. Asked whether Krapinec would keep his job, Okamura said no: “No, no, no — there will be certain changes,” though he stopped short of confirming an imminent resignation.

Railways deny the accusations

Minister Bedrník himself declined to comment on the matter, saying discussions within the ministry are still ongoing.

České dráhy pushed back against the criticism, insisting that service quality is actually improving. According to company spokesman Petr Šťáhlavský, ČD runs roughly 6,500 trains a day, and it’s simply impossible to rule out isolated cases of hygiene supplies running low due to heavier-than-usual use or other circumstances.

“The situation is monitored constantly, and supplies are replenished promptly — this isn’t a systemic problem. If it happens on a particular train, we naturally apologize to the passengers affected,” the company representative added. He noted that service quality issues are regularly discussed with the Transport Ministry and the regions that commission the routes.

CEO gave up his security clearance

Another point of criticism from Okamura concerns ČD CEO Krapinec’s decision to relinquish his “Confidential” security clearance — the second of four classification levels in the Czech Republic. This came to light back in early August.

Krapinec himself explained the decision by citing the protection of his private life, as well as the fact that the clearance isn’t required for his job. “After weighing all the circumstances, including personal and family matters, and given that the CEO position doesn’t actually require such vetting, he decided to give up the clearance,” Šťáhlavský said.

Minister Bedrník was not pleased with the move: in his view, the situation is unusual, and he expects ČD’s supervisory board to examine it thoroughly. The ministry stresses that passing the security check was one of the conditions of the competition for the CEO position.

According to available information, before giving up his clearance, Krapinec had been questioned by the National Security Authority over the past year, amid suspicions of a classified information leak. He was elected CEO of ČD by the supervisory board in 2022, back under Petr Fiala’s government. Before that, he headed the company ČD Telematika, and as ČD’s chief he succeeded Bedrník himself, who left the post shortly after the new cabinet was appointed, without explanation.

Read also: Extension of temporary protection in Czechia for Ukrainians

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz