Draft Order on Increasing Rail Freight Tariffs Published

The Ministry for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine has published on its official website a draft Order entitled “On Amendments to the Coefficients Applied to the Tariffs of the Tariff Schedule for Rail Freight Transportation within Ukraine and Related Services.”

The draft proposes amendments to the Coefficients Applied to the Tariff Schedule for Rail Freight Transportation within Ukraine and Related Services, originally approved by Order No. 317 of the Ministry of Transport and Communications of Ukraine dated 26 March 2009 (as amended by Order No. 441 of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine dated 22 June 2022), by replacing the current coefficients with a new version.

Under the draft Order, the coefficient for the following cargo group:

“Crushed stone and railway ballast (crushed stone), perlite, sand, granite screenings, slag, ash, salt and the mineral concentrate ‘Halite'”

would be increased to 3.747, compared with the current coefficient of 2.882, representing a 30% increase.

Interestingly, Section 3 (“Main Provisions of the Draft”) of the Explanatory Note states that the key proposal is:

“to index tariffs for rail freight transportation within Ukraine and related services by 30% from 1 August 2026 (except for tariffs on the transportation of empty freight wagons), while simultaneously unifying tariffs for empty wagon transportation through amendments to the Coefficients applied to the Tariff Schedule.”

At the same time, Clause 4 of the draft Order provides that it will enter into force on the date of its official publication.

Association’s comment

The historical development of these coefficients is noteworthy.

Between 2000 and April 2009, the coefficient applied to the Tariff Schedule for rail freight transportation in Ukraine was revised 18 times, increasing from 0.614 to 2.574—an overall increase of 4.2 times.

A new Tariff Schedule for Rail Freight Transportation within Ukraine and Related Services, approved by Order No. 317 of 26 March 2009, entered into force on 1 May 2009. At that time, the applicable coefficient was reset to 0.430.

From May 2009 to June 2026, the coefficient was revised 21 times, increasing from 0.430 to 2.882, or approximately 6.7 times.

The coefficient was revised particularly frequently during the following years:

• 2007 – 7 revisions;
• 2008 – 3 revisions;
• 2011 – 10 revisions;
• 2013 – 3 revisions.

During this entire period, the coefficient was reduced only once—in the first quarter of 2009, when it decreased from 2.574 to 2.354, a reduction of 8.5%.

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