Refusing To Bite The Bullet When Fuel Prices Were Raised, Railways To Now Levy 5-7% Charge On Commodities Rajat Guha & Gunjan Pradhan Sinha NEW DELHI IN A move that could increase inflationary pressure on prices of raw materials, the Railways have decided to levy special supplementary charge on carriage of commodities such as coal, ores, minerals, and crude and petroleum products. While the rate of the charge would be 5% on coal, other items would attract 7% on the freight cost. It's understood the price rise would be passed to the end-users of the items. The special charge would be valid for the second quarter, July 1-September 30. Apart from ores and coal, commodities in class 120 and below would be charged 7%. This class includes fertilisers, food grain and machine tools. "The move is part of the dynamic pricing policy of the Railways to overcome the effect of the recent diesel price hike. Diesel comprises 17% of the Railways' total operating cost. The charge would be applicable for only three months. The special supplementary charge will be levied on the applicable base rates and will also form part of normal tariff rate,' a Rail Bhawan official said. The move is likely to dampen Railways' efforts to contain inflation through various measures. According to its dynamic pricing policy, all ores, except iron ore, and other products, except cement, would be charged at 5% and 7% respectively. Coal itself comprises 40% of railways' total loading. In May, the Railways increased port congestion surcharge on iron ore from 30% to 60%