Former transport minister: New rail tariffs will backfire, cause road decay
Source: Center of Transport Strategies
The recent decision by Ukrzaliznytsia to increase freight tariffs by a staggering 37% will see freight transport companies shift their operations to roads, which can accelerate road decay plunging Ukraine into a logistical nightmare, said Orest Klympush, head of the Federation of Transport Employers of Ukraine and the country’s former transport minister.
“Ukraine is already grappling with massive issues in road maintenance ” Klympush warned. “Cargo owners, priced out of railway transport due to high tariffs, will inevitably turn to trucks. This creates a crushing burden on roads that simply weren’t designed to handle a flood of heavy vehicles.”
Amid the challenges of wartime, Klympush argued, such policy can be a step in the wrong direction.
“The stakes are enormous,” he stressed. “Unscrupulous carriers, cashing in on soaring demand, are pushing vehicle weight limits well past European norms. In some instances, trucks have exceeded the legal maximum by a jaw-dropping 54%! These overloaded behemoths create cracks, potholes, and deformations that require urgent and costly [road] repairs.”
Klympush reminded that the government earmarked 17.1 billion hryvnias to the State Agency for Reconstruction and Infrastructure Development for road maintenance works, but overloaded trucks can make these investments useless.
“We’re spending billions of hryvnias every year to patch up our roads,” Klympush lamented, “but these efforts are being undone by premature wear of road surfaces caused by heavy vehicles.”
He bitterly called out Ukrainian lawmakers claiming new freight tariffs will prove costlye for the economy strained by war: “If we don’t rethink Ukrzaliznytsia’s tariff policies, Ukraine will be stuck in an endless cycle of pouring money into road repairs, while neglecting the long-term sustainability of its transport infrastructure.”
A kamikaze drone flies directly toward an armored personnel carrier. But instead of penetrating the hull, it explodes on a steel screen. The crew survives. This is the new reality for Ukrainian forces, who have received enhanced protection thanks to the Metinvest project within “Steel Front of Rinat Akhmetov”.
To commemorate the third anniversary of the full-scale invasion, “Bukvy” has compiled data on the largest donors supporting the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Among them there are charitable foundations and businesses. The list includes, in particular, foundations that provide assistance exclusively from their own resources, without fundraising (such as SCM by Rinat Akhmetov, Epicenter, etc.).
In just 1.5 months, Ukrainian specialists have created an innovative protective shell for the control modules of anti-aircraft missile systems (AMS) Patriot and Iris-T SLM. This development was another step in strengthening Ukraine’s defense capabilities, aimed at protecting key elements of the air defense system from debris damage.
Military serviceman of the International Legion for the Defense of Ukraine with the call sign “Paradox” is the crew commander of the American M113 armored personnel carrier. He is a master at using it and is constantly improving, because the legionnaire’s skills are tested every day in battle. You have to drive to the front lines, often under artillery fire and drone attacks.
Notorious supporter of the concept “in order for a cow to eat less and give more milk, it needs to be fed less and milked more” “Servant of the People” Danylo Hetmantsev, under the guise of “business requirements”, registered a draft law on the collection of VAT on all foreign purchases, regardless of their value. In other words, every Ukrainian, buying goods of any value and purpose abroad, when sending them to Ukraine, will have to pay an additional fifth part, or 20% of the cost of the goods.