UZ can operate without raising tariffs: The company has increased freight transportation volumes to record levels.

State company Ukrainian Railways (UZ) reported record freight transportation figures in May and June 2025 – 16.3 million tons and 16.2 million tons, respectively. These are the highest monthly volumes since the start of the full-scale war. For comparison: In April and March 2024, 15.7 million tons and 16 million tons of cargo were transported.

It is noted that the June 2025 growth in volumes in by 10.3% year-on-year is linked to the processing of transitional manual transport documents by a branch of the Unified Settlement Center. Previously, UZ predicted that the total annual transportation volume in 2025 would decrease by 10 million tons to 165 million tons. Because of this, the company’s management has suggested increasing freight rates to offset projected losses.

In 2024, UZ earned ₴20.39B ($500M) in operating profit from freight transportation. A significant portion of these funds was used to cover losses from passenger transportation through a cross-subsidy mechanism. The business community has repeatedly criticized this practice as economically unjustified.