Russian Railways ready to increase discounts to redirect Belarusian oil products from Baltics to Russia
MOSCOW. Dec 7 (Interfax) - Russian Railways is ready to increase discounts if necessary to divert the transit of oil products from Belarusian oil refineries to ports in northwestern Russia from the Baltics.
"We agreed with the antimonopoly service that right now on second and third class freight we can give a 50% discount. We will serve high yielding freight in a number of areas. We gave a discount of 25% toward Belarus to divert freight to northwestern ports in Russia. If necessary, we are now looking at it, we will give additional discounts in order to not have freight travel along railways in the Baltics but in the northwest [of Russia]. It is competition, absolutely transparent conditions," Russian Railways CEO Oleg Belozerov told journalists on Wednesday.
In the middle of October Russian Railways took a decision to introduce a 25% discount on existing tariffs for the transport of gasoline diesel fuel and fuel oil in cisterns from the Barbarov and Novopolotsk stations of the Belarusian railway to port stations of the Oktyabrskaya Railway (a division of RZD, serving the Northwest of Russia). The coefficient would be valid until December 31, 2018 inclusive.