Interfax cited Mr Salman Babaev RZD Vice President as saying that Russian Railways is considering purchase of a controlling stake in the freight subsidiary of Slovakian railway operator ZSR.

It was reported earlier that RZD is also interested in purchasing a controlling stake in the freight subsidiary of Polish State Railways, PKP Cargo. On Tuesday Mr Babaev said the Russian company had submitted a bid, which is currently being examined by the Polish side. So far there have been no developments.

PKP Cargo is of interest to RZD in order to ship freight to Europe. In contrast to its Russian counterparts, the Polish operator is a full-fledged freight carrier with its own fleet of locomotives.

PKP Cargo currently has 3,550 locomotives and 50,730 rail cars. It is the biggest freight hauler in Poland and the second biggest in Europe. It is slated for privatization in 2011.

(Sourced from Interfax)