Decrease of cargo forces Estonia Railways to look for extra financing

Decrease of cargo forces Estonia Railways to look for extra financing

BC, Tallinn, 29.04.2013.

http://www.baltic-course.com/eng/transport/&doc=74033

Decrease of cargo transport has reduced the revenues of Estonian state-owned railways infrastructure company Estonian Railways and forces it to look for extra financing, LETA/Public Broadcasting reports.

The economy minister rules out any increaser of transport tariffs or extra subsidies and recommends looking for ways to increase cargo volumes.

"Today the situation really is such that cargo volumes have fallen so much, the price is at around the maximum and the more global question has to be solved of how to finance railways," said Estonian Railways board chairman Ahti Asmann.

"If really the cargo volumes have fallen to a critical level and if the volume is not growing from now on, then at one point, there will really be the need to revise tariffs," stated Port of Tallinn board chairman Ain Kaljurand.

Raising cargo transport tariffs seriously harms he competitiveness of Estonian transport companies and ports.

"If we raise tariffs, then we will lose in our competitive ability as compared to Latvian and Lithuanian ports, then the cargo will go there, no matter what tariffs we will raise," said Port of Sillamäe marketing director Andrei Birov.

Economy and communications minister Juhan Parts doesn’t want to hear any suggestions about raising tariffs or changing the ways passenger transport is financed at railways for example. He said that ways to increase cargo transport have to be found. "The solution is to fight for bigger cargo volumes. And these possibilities exist," stressed Parts.