As part of the work in the topical area “Improvement of the Agreement on the Use of Freight Wagons in International Traffic (PGV)” mandated by the approved Work Plan of the OSJD Commission on Freight Transport for 2024, a scheduled meeting of the Rate Calculation Working Group set by the Parties to the PGV Agreement was held at the OSJD Committee offices in Warsaw on 13-14 May 2024 (hereinafter, the Meeting). The Meeting was attended by representatives of the Parties to the PGV Agreement and members of the Working Group coming from: the National Company Kazakstan Temir Zholy JSC (KZH), LDZ CARGO LLC (LDZ CARGO), Russian Railways OJSC (RZD OJSC), Railway Company Cargo Slovakia (ZSSK CARGO), Ozbekiston Temir Yullari JSC (UTI), Ukrainska Zaliznytsia JSC (Ukrzaliznytsia JSC), and Estonian Railways JSC (EVR), as well as by representatives of the Parties to the PGV Agreement from Hungarian State Railways CJSC (MAV Zrt.), Rail Cargo Hungaria CJSC (RCH Zrt.), and the OSJD Committee.

The duty holder had completed a preliminary analysis of the data for 2023 provided by the Parties to the PGV Agreement for the purposes of calculating draft rates of charges for the use of freight wagons in international transport operations, and presented the results of the calculation of provisional rates for the use of freight wagons, bogies, and bogieless wagons in international traffic. The calculation was based on the data for 2023 as provided by Parties to the PGV Agreement. Participants in the Meeting noted that the calculations had been made in conformance with Annex 17 to the PGV “Methodology of Calculation of Rates to Be Charged for the Use of Wagons, Bogies, and Bogieless Wagons” (hereinafter, the Methodology). After some Parties to the PGV Agreement have provided their initial or adjusted data, the duty holder will re-calculate the draft rates of charge for the use of freight wagons, bogies, and bogieless wagons in international transport operations for the purposes of their further review and making respective decisions at the 4-6 June 2024 meeting of representatives of Parties to the PGV Agreement. It was noted in addition that according to the Swiss National Bank (www.snb.ch), the inflation rate (the change in consumer prices) in 2023 was 2.1%, due to which the rates of charge for the use of wagons and bogies must be indexed as required by subparagraph 1.3.6 of the Methodology.

The Meeting discussed the issue of changing the frequency of re-calculating the rates of charge for the use of freight wagons and bogies (it was suggested that the rates be re-calculated once every three years rather than annually), but did not find it helpful to make such a change.

The Meeting also reviewed a proposal made by the Party to the PGV Agreement EVR which was to amend subparagraph 1.2.3 of the Methodology in a way that would set forth a separate set of requirements to the actions of a railway undertaking in the event that it has no wagons in shared use. The Meeting deemed unnecessary that proposed change to the Methodology.

In view of the decision made by the Russian Railways OJSC as a Party to the PGV Agreement and a member of the Rage Calculation Working Group to terminate as the leading drafter for the rate calculation work, the Meeting called on Parties to the PGV Agreement to consider assuming the role of the leading drafter in that topical area.