Head of state rail firm ČD Cargo retains stakes in private competitors in the same industry

Radim Ječný, chairman of the board of the state-owned rail freight company ČD Cargo since his appointment in February, has retained ownership stakes in private firms operating in the same field — rail freight transport. This is revealed by commercial register records and the findings of an editorial investigation.

ČD Cargo is the Czech Republic's largest rail freight carrier, wholly owned by the state company České dráhy (Czech Railways). Last year the company posted a record loss of nearly 3.8 billion crowns, following a loss of 945 million crowns the year before. It was against the backdrop of this crisis that the shareholder chose Ječný as an experienced turnaround manager — no alternative candidates for the post were considered.

The business that was never sold

Just a year ago, while still an entrepreneur, Ječný wrote in the annual report of his company SBS Cargo Praha that a potential bankruptcy of ČD Cargo could represent not just a risk but an "opportunity" for profit. A few months later, he himself took the helm of the state carrier.

Through the parent holding SBS navigation, Ječný owns or co-owns five companies operating in rail logistics and freight transport. The largest of them, SBS Cargo Praha — fully owned by SBS navigation — hauls coal, scrap metal and petrochemical products; in 2024 its turnover reached nearly 700 million crowns. A further 41% stake belongs to RND, a logistics company based in Olomouc that coordinates wagon movements for SBS Cargo.

Before taking office, Ječný considered either selling his companies or transferring them to people close to him, but abandoned both ideas, saying either move would have looked even more suspicious. Instead, he stepped down from all executive positions in his own firms and says he introduced internal ČD Cargo rules that completely bar him from any dealings involving these companies.

A new director and business ties

Shortly before Ječný's appointment to the state post, Marie Hladíková became director of SBS Cargo Praha; she also works at other companies within the SBS group. According to public registers, she is registered as living in a Prague flat owned by Ječný's wife. Hladíková and Ječný also share some overlapping professional experience in the freight-forwarding business. Ječný insists this does not indicate any continued influence over the private business, and says Hladíková is neither a relative nor a partner of his. Hladíková herself could not be reached for comment.

A loss-making contract with a former employer

Before joining ČD Cargo, Ječný spent nearly 16 years on the commercial team at Carbosped, a coal trading and rail-transport company that is part of billionaire Petr Paukner's Carbounion group. According to sources within České dráhy, Carbosped is one of ČD Cargo's three largest clients, and last year its contract turned out to be the single most loss-making one for the carrier, resulting in losses running into hundreds of millions of crowns.

Ječný himself declined to comment on financial results tied to individual clients. Billionaire Paukner acknowledged there have been problems in the relationship between his business and ČD Cargo, but praised Ječný's professionalism, calling him "a true specialist, not a puppet figure." Ječný said that upon taking office he promised shareholders he would "gradually divest" his stakes in the private companies once it becomes objectively possible to do so.

Around Prague, based on reporting by seznamzpravy.cz