Tickets for long-distance trains will rise by 10%

The cost of tickets for common and reserve cars in 2013 will increase by 10%. According to Mikhail Akulov, General Director of Federal Passenger Company, from November 15, tickets for trains departing on November 1, 2013 will start selling at a new tariff.

“The sale of tickets for seat cards and common cars will be carried out at an average annual tariff until a final decision is made on the amount of tariff indexation,” the representative of Russian Railways said on Friday. Mr. Akulov noted that tickets in the compartment and suite in 2013 will grow by 5%, in the SV - will not change.

We would like to remind you that the tariffs for common carriages are set by the state, and these prices, as a rule, do not reach the economically justified level - the shortage returns to the FPC in the form of subsidies.

Tariffs in the reserve and common cars - a regulated segment - determine the state, as a rule, below the economically justified level, and the missing part it compensates FPC in the form of subsidies. The increase in tariffs in the CV, coupe and luxury sets the FPC in coordination with the regulator.

Now there is a heated discussion on the issue of tariff growth and the size of subsidies for the regulated segment. The Ministry of Finance in the budget for 2013 laid for this state support in the amount of 14.8 billion rubles and proposed to subsidize transportation in a seat card and common cars only for young people and pensioners. Russian Railways says about the need to allocate about 36 billion rubles and claims that such an approach can lead to an increase in the tariff in the seat card for all non-conferential categories of citizens by 50-60%.