The State Railway Administration (Ukrzaliznytsia) will raise freight rates, Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Volodymyr Omelian said on his Facebook page.
"The tariff council has decided to raise Ukrzaliznytsia’s freight rates. At the same time, the issue of increasing the cost of passenger tickets was taken off the agenda, and it will be the subject of further consideration. It is a conscious step toward social protection of the low-income segment of the population," Omelian wrote.
He did not specify the margin by which freight rates will rise.
As Ukrainian News earlier reported, the RBK Ukraine publication reported in November that Ukrzaliznytsia was preparing a draft act on raising freight rates by 30% from 1 February 2015.
Ukrzaliznytsia’s Deputy General Director Vitalii Zhurakivskyi recently said that the Ministry of Infrastructure would set rates for all types of rail transport from 1 January 2015. According to him, an entire procedure for organizing establishment of freight, passenger, and commuter rates has been drafted.
Freight rates were last raised by 12.5% in summer this year.
