Ukrainian Railways not eyeing hike for ticket prices on domestic routes - CEO

MOSCOW. Dec 12 (Interfax) - Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia) is not considering raising the price of tickets for passenger trains inside the country despite proposing an increase in its freight tariffs, the company's CEO Alexander Pertsovsky told Ukrainian media.

"I'd like to stress that we are not considering any change in tariffs for passengers. This mustn't be done in times of crisis. And [if it raises train ticket prices] the economic effect for Ukrainian Railways will be far less noticeable compared to the effect of changing the freight rates," Pertsovsky said.

Meanwhile, the decision to raise the freight rates will directly impact the company's passenger transport business, because it will help accumulate resources to maintain and repair damaged infrastructure, he said.

"The impact on the safety of railroad operations is crucial, because all types of transportation will certainly be at risk if we cannot cover our minimal expenses. We have a unified infrastructure, as well as a large number of lines in need of repair," Pertsovsky said.

Maintenance is now overdue at more than 9,000 lines, or 38% of the company's entire network, he said.

"This figure grows by 275-400 kilometers every year because of underfinancing. Furthermore, 1,395 railroad bridges are in need of various repairs. Therefore, it is a matter of great importance not only for Ukrzaliznytsia but also for the entire country not to increase these delays in repairs at the very least. It cannot be achieved if all expenses keep growing, but railway tariffs remain artificially lowered," he said.

As reported earlier, Ukrainian Railways' Supervisory Board approved a proposal to increase freight tariffs, which have remained unchanged for nearly two years, since the summer of 2022. The index of industrial producers' prices has already reached 176.4% over this period. At the same time, the railway sector has proposed limiting the tariff indexation to a far more moderate figure of only 37% or about 13% in annual terms, given that 2.5 years have passed since the last indexation, the company's press service said.

The proposed tariff hike was approved by the Ukrainian Railways board on December 5, 2024.