‘The real inflation rate has already left the expected figures far behind. Everything is growing more expensive, and the railway is no exception. Costlier freight is bound to boost inflation even further, which in the long run will affect the consumers’ expenses,’ Director of Sintur Trans Eduard Syedin said to UrBC.

In the meantime, the Russian Federation Government accepted the Ministry of Economic Development’s proposal regarding the 8% increase in railway freight tariffs beginning from July 1, 2008.

‘We are not planning to raise our railway tariffs at the moment, as we think we’ll cut down on our own outgoings. As for the long-term planning, I don’t think we can come up with anything definite yet,’ he added.