Kazakh Railways (KTZ) has made an official request for an increase in tariffs from 19 May. The request comes not long after Kazakhstan implemented a similar tariff hike on 7 March. That rate was planned to stay in force until the end of 2025, but KTZ needs more money to cover its expenses.
KTZ’s requested tariff hike concerns a 35 per cent increase for freight transportation and locomotive traction. Earlier reports suggested that the Kazakh national rail operator was seeking an average tariff increase of 48 per cent, with higher fees in particular segments. Those would have included empty wagons (an increase of 95 per cent) and bulk freight, such as coal, grain and ores (66 per cent).
– Labour
– Electricity
– Fuels and lubricants
– Maintenance
– Credit
– Rolling stock investments
Hike after hike
The timing of KTZ’s application for higher tariffs cannot seem to count on much sympathy. The company raised its fees as recently as 7 March. It concerned a tariff hike of 16 per cent for freight transportation in exports, imports for returning empty wagons as well as transiting freight.
KTZ has already raised tariffs quite significantly in recent years. The past four years saw a total increase of 92 per cent, which the rail operator needs due to its precarious financial situation. According to a statement of an official of Kazakhstan’s audit chamber in the summer of 2024, KTZ was close to bankruptcy. They said that the company transported 73 per cent of all freight for fees below the cost price.