Expert: Raising fares in compartments and SV on 50% is economically unjustified

Raising the fare for compartment and second-class trains is an economically unjustified decision by Ukrzaliznytsia.

Viktor Medvid, director of the William invest expert consulting company, told this in a comment to GolosUA.

"The initiative to raise the fare for compartment and second-class cars by 50% and more is an economically unjustified decision by Ukrzaliznytsia. This is another game of a monopolist that can afford to set any price. In fact, there are no prerequisites for this," said Mr. Medved.

According to him, the cost of passenger tickets is significantly overstated.

"There are relevant miscalculations that indicate that train fares could be much lower than they would be under normal railroad operations. As a result, after the 50% increase in compartment and SV fares, people will simply spend more money, but will still be traveling in old cars," Medved summarized.

As a reminder, Yevhen Kravtsov, acting chairman of the board of Ukrzaliznytsia, is in favor of raising the fare for compartment and second-class cars to market prices.

"If the cost of a compartment on a branded train is 500-600 UAH, and the economically justified level is 800 UAH, then this is no longer social transportation. If a reserved seat ticket costs UAH 1,000, and the economically justified level is UAH 1,400, then this is also not social transportation, it is not support for the poor... We have no problems selling reserved seats, and I'm not talking about compartments. Rather, we have a situation where reserved seats are not sold out. We see a high demand for comfort and luxury tickets. Therefore, in my opinion, it is worth bringing ticket prices in line with market requirements," he said.