Russian Railways cuts tariffs for freight transportation to Azerbaijan

Russian Railways (RZD) will introduce a discount on the transportation of certain types of goods in the amount of 20.4% to 50% from October 30. These goods include alcohol, woodworking products, rolled ferrous metals, etc.

From January 1, 2022, a 6% discount on the transportation of gas condensate will enter into force, Report informs referring to Kommersant newspaper.

“A number of decisions have been made to reduce the level of tariffs for freight transportation within the 'tariff corridor.' They relate to the transportation of woodworking products, rolled ferrous metals, alcoholic beverages, gas condensate, sulfuric acid and cargo in refrigerated containers,” the Russian Railways website says.

Discounts will be applied for the following domestic and export shipments:

- woodworking products – 35% from October 30, 2021 to January 1, 2026, from the stations of the Far Eastern Railway;

- rolled ferrous metals - 36.3% from October 30, 2021 to the end of 2021, from Voinovka station (only for additional traffic volume exceeding a total of 102,000 tons in 2021);

- sulfuric acid – 39% from October 30, 2021 to December 31, 2022, with a number of restrictions;

- alcoholic beverages – 50% from October 30, 2021 to January 1, 2023, from the Chernyakhovsk and Dzerzhinskaya-Novaya stations (Kaliningrad region) to the Bely Rast station (Moscow region);

- in refrigerated containers (part of domestic cargo, to China and Azerbaijan) - from 20.4% to 50%, from October 30, 2021 to December 31, 2022;

- gas condensate – 6%, from January 1, 2022 to November 30, 2022, from some stations.

Earlier, the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) proposed to increase the freight rates of Russian Railways. In September, railway operators turned to the FAS with a request to check the pricing policy of railcar repair companies due to the monthly price increase on their part. The cost of repairs increased by 17% compared to the beginning of the year.