But their costs will only increase because of this.

As Kommersant learned, the FTS proposed introducing state regulation of prices for additional services provided by Russian Railways as part of the current uncoupling repairs (TOP), such as the disbanding of trains and fault diagnosis. According to the service, the monopoly currently does not compensate for its costs in this segment. This position was also supported by Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich. But the tariffs do not solve the problem of the sharp increase in prices of Russian Railways for the repair itself, which operators complained about. According to analysts, the tariff will only become a new burden on market participants, who are currently spending 20-60 billion rubles on the top priority areas. in year.

Kommersant obtained a letter from the FTS to Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich dated April 29 about TOK. The FTS recalls the excess of freight cars in Russia (according to the agency, 290 thousand out of 1.2 million units) due to the extension of their service life and indicates the need to reduce it. One of the incentives could be the introduction of state regulation of prices for additional services provided by Russian Railways within the framework of the ASEZ. “In this case, owners of wagons will monitor their condition more closely and write off old ones faster,” the FTS believes.

The issue of the need to control prices in the top priority areas has been discussed since 2010. The bottom line is that JSC Russian Railways has the right to send a faulty car for repairs, while, according to Kommersant sources, 90% of such repairs are carried out by monopoly structures. According to various estimates, in 2014, Russian Railways could earn 20-60 billion rubles from this. This year, the issue of TOR became especially acute: in conditions of low profitability (380 rubles per gondola car per day) and a sharp increase in prices for TOR (since March, the price increase was 8.2-100% depending on the service) and railway operators proposed to include TOP in the freight tariff or introduce state price regulation (see Kommersant of May 8). But JSC Russian Railways is strongly opposed, not considering itself a monopoly. The FTS also shared the same opinion.

Yesterday, the service explained to Kommersant that the appeal to the Deputy Prime Minister only involves the establishment of price control for services provided by Russian Railways before the carriage is sent to the repair depot. That is, tariffs will be introduced for the disbanding of trains, diagnostics of cars and detection of faults. At the same time, the FTS believes that now these costs of Russian Railways are not compensated in any way. The company declined to comment.

Arkady Dvorkovich’s office confirmed only the fact that the letter had been received. But, according to Kommersant, the Deputy Prime Minister supported the FTS and on May 8 instructed the relevant ministries to assess the shortfall in revenues of Russian Railways in the ASEZ. The Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Transport stated that they agree to the additional fee.

Kommersant's sources among operators assure that Russian Railways OJSC uncouples even completely new cars. Kommersant's interlocutor at the market adds that the quality of the cars currently being produced has dropped significantly due to an increase in metal prices at the end of 2014 and a lack of orders. Kommersant's sources also note that Russian Railways selectively issues invoices for additional services within the TOP. According to one of them, the monopoly does not charge a fee for establishing the fact of a malfunction, but it does charge money for relocating the car, and this may be more expensive than repairs.

The head of the Infoline-Analytics agency, Mikhail Burmistrov, suggests that the prices of Russian Railways for additional services may be lower than market prices, and therefore the FTS concluded that the monopoly does not compensate for its costs. But all the calculations available to the service are based on data from Russian Railways, which is not always transparent and requires careful verification, he notes. Therefore, the expert believes, the introduction of a tariff for additional services can only become an additional burden for operators.

Yulia Gallyamova

Operators are promised a tariff for repairs