Ukrzaliznytsia wants to raise freight tariffs by 45%: business warns of economic risks

Vladimir Husak, director general of the Federation of Employers of Transport of Ukraine, has warned that a 45% increase in Ukrzaliznytsia’s freight tariffs from August 1, 2026, threatens to reduce production, cost billions in tax revenues, and cause the hryvnia to depreciate.

“When I received information about Ukrzaliznytsia’s plans to raise freight tariffs by 45% all at once from August 1, 2026 — frankly, I was surprised. Today, Ukrainian businesses are operating in wartime conditions: expensive and scarce electricity, complex logistics, a shortage of workers, and constant risks to production and exports. And it is at this very moment that businesses are being offered yet another major financial burden,” Husak said.

According to him, Ukrzaliznytsia’s freight operations remain profitable: in 2023 and 2024, this segment generated around 20 billion hryvnias in operating profit annually. The root of the problem, in the expert’s assessment, lies not in the freight segment but in the chronic losses of the passenger segment, which will reach 26 billion hryvnias (approximately €504.4 million) in 2026. These losses, Husak said, have for years been covered at the expense of industry and freight shippers.

“A 45% tariff increase is not just a number. For many enterprises and for the state, it means reduced production or even the risk of a complete shutdown, a loss of competitiveness, a decline in exports, the loss of tens of billions in tax revenues, and a depreciation of the hryvnia,” he stressed.

Husak also drew attention to the fact that rail freight volumes have already fallen by nearly 50% compared to the pre-war period. A further increase in the burden on business, in his assessment, threatens the loss of part of the country’s industrial base, foreign currency earnings, and tax revenues, while Ukrzaliznytsia itself risks losing an already low freight base.

The Federation of Employers of Transport of Ukraine has already approached the Cabinet of Ministers and the relevant ministry with proposals for alternative solutions that would stabilize UZ’s financial position without dealing a blow to industry.

“The financial stability of Ukrzaliznytsia is important. But it must not be achieved at the expense of an economy that is effectively holding the country together right now. Today, Ukraine needs solutions that support production and exports, not ones that create new risks for the economy during wartime,” Husak concluded.

Earlier, the Federation of Employers of Ukraine appealed to Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, calling on her to abandon the planned increase in freight tariffs in 2026. According to business estimates, even a 37% increase — which the government is planning — would lead to a decline in GDP of 96 billion hryvnias, as well as a reduction in foreign currency earnings and tax revenues.