Translated material
On commercial rails
The board of directors of Russian Railways may be given the right to dispose of part of the company’s property
Among the three domestic monopolists, the most obedient to the government is Russian Railways OJSC. Then comes RAO UES, which soon, in less than a year, if the reform of the electric power industry does not stall at the very end, will not exist at all. And the most “disobedient” is Gazprom, which has long ceased to take into account the wishes of the Cabinet of Ministers regarding reports, financial plans and investment programs. Gazprom confirms everything to itself. But Russian Railways is such an obedient monopoly that not a block goes by without there being a “railroad worker’s day” in the White House.Yesterday, the government once again heard a report on the progress of the railway transport reform , and also considered the investment program and financial plan of the company for three years. This is an innovation - according to experts, railway workers have never looked so far, and with specific amounts. Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov noted that the current stage of reform - the third stage - should end with the creation of a full-fledged competitive railway transportation market. So that it would be good for both passengers and cargo carriers. He emphasized that the investment program of Russian Railways is “voluminous - it is 1 trillion 331 billion rubles.” And he ordered to adjust the plan for the development of railway transport, focusing on its safety. Which, he said, would cost “a quarter of a trillion.” The Prime Minister put the availability and quality of services in second place after safety.
The long-term money that is included in the financial documents of Russian Railways should yield a return in the form of a sustainable increase in freight turnover by 4% per year. At the same time, the program, of course, does not promise a reduction in tariffs. So far, tariff projections by year are distributed as follows: for freight transportation the growth will be 11% in 2008, in 2009 - 9%, in 2010 - 8%, for passenger transportation in 2008 - 14%, in 2009 - m - 13%, in 2010 - 12%.
According to the financial plan of Russian Railways, revenues annually exceed expenses. For example, in 2007, revenues will be 957 billion rubles, and expenses will be 895 billion. The company will receive the smallest profit in 2010 - 26.6 billion rubles.
At the same time, borrowing is expected to increase - from 162 billion rubles. this year to 380 billion in 2010. Debt relative to revenue will therefore increase from 17 to 28%.
As for the non-core assets of Russian Railways, as First Deputy Minister of Transport Alexander Misharin said, “almost all of them have been transferred to subsidiaries.” But he didn’t talk about the volume of these assets: “I don’t know how much.”
Transport Minister Igor Levitin, after the government approved the financial plan and investment program, made a rather bold statement that “the state can transfer the authority to dispose of part of Russian Railways’ property to the company’s board of directors.” True, this will require changes in legislation, in particular the law “On Railway Transport,” and will happen (if it does happen) no earlier than the beginning of 2008. According to the minister, this is simply necessary to facilitate the process of selling and leasing Russian Railways property.
In addition, the Prime Minister instructed Mr. Levitin to speed up the construction of a bypass railway line in the area of the Berezniki station in the Perm Territory (as President Putin asked for), emphasizing: “All actions must be intensified.”