Russian Railways tariffs to grow by 10% – Business – Kommersant

The Federal Antimonopoly Service plans to index the freight railway tariffs of Russian Railways by 10% – the base 8% plus the 2% overhaul surcharge already in effect for 2023. In total, this will give the monopoly about 180 billion rubles. At the same time, the FAS also proposes to extend the abolition of coefficients for the distance for export coal until the end of 2023 and increase the tariff for the transportation of ores and iron ore concentrates for export over long distances by 50%.

FAS published today draft order on the indexation of railway tariffs by Russian Railways. According to the document, in 2023 it will be 8% (taking into account an additional 2% indexation in the form of a capital repair allowance approved last year – 10%). In 2024, this figure will be 7.1% (with a surcharge of 9.1%), in 2025 – 4.6%. The order extends the allowance for overhaul, which will amount to a total of 7% in 2024, and in the same amount for 2025.

Kommersant wrote that Russian Railways asked to index freight rates for 2023 by 9.8% (see “Kommersant” of September 14). Later, the number of 10% was already reflected in the forecast of the socio-economic development of the Russian Federation. Additional income, which, based on the estimate of 1% indexation in the materials of Russian Railways, should be received by increasing tariffs, the monopoly should amount to about 180 billion rubles.

Also, according to the order, the abolition of preferential coefficients for the transportation of coal for export is extended for a year. Recall that during the intermediate indexation of tariffs from June 1, 2022, reduction coefficients for the transportation of coal were canceled by 11%, namely 0.4 for the range and 0.895 for the transportation of thermal coal for export. At first it was a temporary measure until August 31, then it was extended until the end of the year (see Kommersant dated May 29 and 8 September), and is now fixed for the whole of 2023. Due to this measure, Russian Railways planned to collect additional revenues of 49.7 billion rubles in 2023.

The order also refers to the abolition of coefficients for range for another type of cargo – ores and iron ore concentrates. The explanatory note refers to the abolition of the coefficient of 0.865 for the transportation of these goods for export over a distance of more than 5 thousand km in the direction of border stations and the establishment of a coefficient of 1.3. Thus, the transportation of metallurgical raw materials for export over long distances will cost 50.3% more than before.

JSC Russian Railways did not comment on the document. “The proposed indexation of the freight railway tariff will help balance the financial plan of Russian Railways and ensure the implementation of the holding’s investment program by channeling funds to key infrastructure projects, in particular, to the development of the Eastern Range,” the Ministry of Transport said. “This decision will also help ensure the purchase of locomotives from Russian transport engineering enterprises. Taken together, the ministry added, all this will make it possible to form an order for related sectors of the Russian economy, which, in turn, guarantees the preservation of jobs in these industries.

Tatyana Gorovaya, First Vice President of the Center for Strategic Research, Chairman of the Public Council under the Ministry of Transport, notes that the economic and foreign policy events that took place in 2022 led to the diversification of the directions of freight rail transportation, “which negatively affected the possibilities of financing the implementation of the investment program of Russian Railways “. She notes a decrease in loading, including high-yield cargo, and speaks of the growing role of the Eastern landfill: if in 2021 it accounted for 19.9% ​​of traffic, “then according to October 1, 2022, the figure in question is 21.1% “. The growth in demand for the Eastern range “suggests an additional increase in the costs of Russian Railways to accelerate the implementation of measures to develop the railway infrastructure of the Eastern range and increase its throughput and carrying capacity.” According to Ms. Gorova, the instruments for financing the investment program of Russian Railways may be different: “additional indexation, the introduction of an investment allowance, a new model of tariff regulation with a division into priority areas, a state subsidy, etc.”, but “in any of these mechanisms, the burden financing will fall on the consignor either in the form of an increase in transportation costs, or in the form of an increase in tax deductions to the state budget.

Natalya Skorlygina