Elron tickets to be 10 percent more expensive from new year
From January, train ticket prices will increase by 9,5 percent on average due to the increased electricity prices.
The price increase is due to the rise in the price of both diesel and electricity, as well as the rise in infrastructure charges. The last time train ticket prices were raised was in August 2019.
"So far, Elron has tried to avoid increasing prices for train tickets, but since both diesel and electricity prices have been growing steadily for a long time, the rise in input prices will also affect train traffic. Therefore, we are inevitably forced to raise prices," Elron board chairman Lauri Betlem said.
Train ticket prices have remained at the current level for more than two years. In the meantime, input prices have risen significantly.
The projected costs for energy or electricity and diesel in 2022 are 45 percent higher than in 2020, which is €2.5 million higher, and railway use or infrastructure fees are 16 percent or more than €3 million higher.
The state subsidy for Elron's operating expenses will increase by €2.6 million to €30 million a year, but according to the train company, it will not cover the increase in input.
Betlem said that the price of a ticket will increase by €0.10-0.40 in the city's local traffic and by €1 on average on longer routes. "We will continue the demand-based pricing that has been in force on express trains since 2019, i.e. there will be cheaper ticket prices at times with less departures," Betlem said.
Thus, when buying a train ticket from Tallinn, for example, the maximum new price for a Tallinn-Rapla, Tallinn-Aegviidu or four-zone ticket is €3.7 instead of the current €3.4, and €13.6 instead of the current €12.5 on the Tallinn-Tartu express line.
The current discounts will remain in effect and tickets purchased online and from the ticket machine will continue to be cheaper.
In the second quarter of 2022, Elron plans to increase traffic frequency. "If there are six million trips with Elron in 2021, we hope that the number of passengers will increase again next year and by the end of 2022 we will reach the level of seven million trips," Betlem said.
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Editor: Roberta Vaino
