Russian railway monopoly Railways proposes to link the long-term tariff for the transportation of goods to the price index in industry and energy tariffs, which grow faster than consumer inflation.

Now, in the long-term tariff until 2025, a formula has been laid down, according to which the tariff is indexed on the basis of the average indicator of consumer inflation over the past two years and the forecast figure for the next two years minus 0.1 percentage points.

Based on this formula, in 2019 the tariff should increase by 3.5 percent.

“The usual inflation is consumer inflation. And our main consumption is energy, fuel and metal,” Senior Vice-President of Russian Railways Vadim Mikhailov told reporters.

“Russian Railways has notified the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia about the increase in market prices for a number of purchased items for production needs of materials and fuels, including because of rising global stock prices and the need to balance the long-term financial model,” the Federal Antimonopoly Service comment . -Consultations are being held with a view to determining the mechanism for compensating for costs beyond the control of Russian Railways, the increase in which is associated with an objective increase in market quotations. ”

What exactly the inflation rate of the Russian Railways suggests to accept for the calculation of the formula, Mikhailov did not specify, but said that, according to the calculations of the Russian Railways, the tariff in 2019 could increase not by 3.5, but by 5 percent.

According to him, “it is very unlikely” that a decision can be made by the beginning of 2019.

The long-term development program of the Russian Railways, submitted to the Russian government, which Reuters has a copy of, is based on the forecast of the Ministry of Economic Development approved on September 20, according to which the average annual industrial inflation in 2017–2020 was 6.5 percent, the average annual growth in electricity tariffs was 6 , 8 with an increase in consumer inflation over the same years at a rate of 3.6 percent.