Russia will bring forward a planned increase in railway tariffs to October in a bid to shore up the finances of state railway monopoly Russian Railways (RZhD), which is grappling with mounting debt and weaker profits, the RBC news website reported Sunday.
Instead of raising tariffs in 2027 as previously planned, the government will increase freight rail tariffs by 8.5% and long-distance passenger fares by 9.2% from Oct. 1 this year, according to RBC.
The tariff increase follows an unscheduled 1% surcharge introduced in March under a transportation “security” levy. The additional revenue was intended to help finance RZhD’s investment program, which the company was forced to cut by one-quarter this year to 713.6 billion rubles…