Ukrzaliznytsia Plans to Increase Freight Tariffs in Two Stages in 2026

Ukrzaliznytsia has announced its intention to raise tariffs on freight transportation in 2026 in two stages. This decision is driven by a significant decline in freight volumes in recent years, which has negatively impacted the company’s financial stability.

This is reported by AgroReview

Reasons for the Tariff Increase

The company has experienced a loss of nearly half of its freight transportation from 2021 to 2025, making it impossible to cover the losses in the passenger segment with profits from freight transport. According to the Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Serhii Leshchenko, the net loss of Ukrzaliznytsia for the first nine months of 2025 reached 7.2 billion hryvnias, while losses from passenger transport alone amounted to 18 billion hryvnias in 2024.

“The indexing of freight tariffs is inevitable, but it should be done gradually to avoid shocks to the industry — in two stages,” he said from the podium of the Verkhovna Rada, where he was invited by the deputies.

Increase Plan and Challenging Industry Situation

Serhii Leshchenko explained that to achieve economic balance, it is necessary to at least align tariffs with the producer price index. According to his calculations, if tariffs are increased by 27.5% from January 1, 2026, and by an additional 11% from July 1, this would generate an additional 22.5 billion hryvnias.

In addition to financial difficulties, the company is facing a deteriorating situation in the freight sector. This year, the coal industry in Donetsk has virtually come to a halt: the last mine, Bilozirska, has ceased operations. Mining and processing plants are also shutting down due to military actions. In total, 800 attacks on railway infrastructure have been recorded, with about 3,000 facilities damaged.

According to Leshchenko, the only alternative for covering losses at this time remains funding from the state budget, that is, from taxpayers.