On August 17, 2021, changes in freight tariffs came into effect. The "Uryadovy Courier" daily newspaper published an order of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine "On Amendments to the Coefficients Applied to the Tariffs of the Compendium of the Tariffs for Domestic Freight Railway Transportation and Related Services", which was registered with the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine on August 13, 2021. Thus, Ukrainian Railways begins a two-stage process of raising tariffs for freight rail transportation.

“Thanks to the teamwork of Ukrainian Railways, the Ministry of Infrastructure and other relevant ministries and institutions, we managed to raise freight tariffs for the first time in two years. Moreover, for the first time in the history of Ukraine, we are decreasing the gap between the classes of freight. Thereby, this year we will receive about UAH 2 billion of additional revenues, and next year - about UAH 10 billion more. This is a record figure for the company's revenue from changes in freight rates. The funds from these initiatives will be directed to the renewal of the railway infrastructure: repair of tracks and electrification of the railway,” — said Oleksandr Kamyshin, head of Ukrainian Railways.

According to him, the increase in the cost of transportation will give Ukrainian Railways an opportunity to start the Big Construction program. “The last large-scale modernization of the railway infrastructure was carried out in 2011-2012. In the following years, works were almost stopped. We will reverse this trend. Everyone should benefit from increased investment in infrastructure upgrades. The railway will receive modernized tracks, and shippers and passengers - high-quality and fast transportation,” — said Oleksandr Kamyshin.

Thus, according to the order of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, the tariff for unclassified freight will be increased by 25.9%, that is, it will be set at the current level for the 1st tariff class freight. In addition, commencing on August 17, 2021, the level of tariffs for the transportation of the 1st and 2nd tariff class freight will be increased by 8%.

Also, the tariff for empty runs of wagons of the 1st tariff class will increase by 51.8%. The next stage of increasing tariffs for these freight classes is scheduled for January 1, 2022: for the 1st tariff class — by 20.4%, for the 2nd tariff class — by 6.5%.