OREANDA-NEWS. March 16, 2009. “Russian Railways has with great pleasure and satisfaction accepted the position of Vladimir Putin on rail tariffs. First of all, it gives a precise and clear orientation and provides for equal treatment for different types of business, namely for both private and government work, reported the press-centre of Russian Railways.

Secondly, the Prime Minister has ended the discussion regarding attempts by certain representatives of private business and by regional leaders to solve their problems at the expense of others,” said Yakunin.

According Yakunin, “Russian Railways will for its part make every effort to improve its service and reduce costs.”

Yakunin made his remarks in Novokuznetsk, where Vladimir Putin met miners from the surrounding region. Putin noted in his speech that “reducing railway tariffs for cargo transportation is not altogether practical.”

Putin also stressed that this decision has already led to some loss of revenue for Russian Railways, and that in order to avoid undermining investment plans of the railway, in 2009, the budget will allocate 50 billion roubles to compensate for the losses incurred by Russian Railways.