In addition to additional capitalization for 250 billion rubles from the National Wealth Fund, Russian Railways may receive subsidies for its current operations, Kommersant writes, citing sources. According to the newspaper, this issue was discussed at a meeting with First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov last week, and as a result of the meeting, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Transportation were instructed to work on this possibility.

The Ministry of Finance informed the publication that the Ministry had not received any requests from RZD to allocate funds for operating expenses. RZD also did not specify the amount of subsidized expenses. Subsidization of operating expenses is already used to support the aviation industry.

At the same time, as Kommersant notes, the concept of another additional capitalization of the company from VEB.RF for 82 billion rubles is still relevant. If the decision to subsidize current expenses is made, analysts believe that it may become a more acceptable alternative to additional indexation of Russian Railways tariffs, as it will make it possible not to increase the burden on exporters, who are already experiencing difficulties.