Relief for rail woes as freight rate rises

The largest increase in the mainland's rail freight rates in a decade is to subsidise the country's loss-making high-speed railways, said James Chung, an analyst with MasterLink Securities.

One reason for the losses made by the high-speed-rail services was the central government needed to keep the ticket prices low to make them affordable to the public, Chung said.

On Wednesday, the Ministry of Railways and the National Development and Reform Commission raised the rail freight tariff by 13 per cent, the largest rise since 2003.

via Business feed http://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/1157749/relief-rail-woes-freight-rate-rises