How to calculate international railway freight rates?

1. Principles for Calculating Freight

(1) Freight charges for railways in the sending and receiving countries are calculated according to the domestic regulations of the country where the railway is located.

(2) Freight charges for railways in transit countries shall be calculated according to the uniform freight tariff prices in effect on the day of carriage and paid by the consignor or consignee. If goods are transported between countries that are members of the International Railway Through Traffic Agreement and those that are not, freight charges for railways in the non-member countries may be calculated according to another through transport agreement to which they are a party.

For goods exported by China under through transport, the common terms of delivery generally stipulate delivery on the seller's vehicle; therefore, our party is only responsible for the transport costs to the border station at the export side. However, for imported goods under through transport, it is necessary to bear transit transport costs and the costs on the Chinese railway section.

2. Calculation of Transit Freight Transit freight is calculated according to the Uniform Freight Tariff. The calculation procedure is:

(1) Determine the transit mileage for each country passed through based on the route indicated on the consignment note, using the table of transit mileages.

(2) Identify the applicable freight class and standardized chargeable weight based on the item name as listed in the goods classification table.

(3) Look up the applicable freight rate based on the goods class and total transit mileage in the freight rate table for regular (slow) goods.

The calculation formula is: Basic freight amount = freight rate × chargeable weight Total freight = basic freight amount × (1 + surcharge rate)

The surcharge rate refers to the percentage markup added to the basic freight amount according to the type of consignment. Fast (express) freight is charged at an additional 100% of the slow freight rate; less-than-carload freight is charged at an additional 50% plus another 100%. The full carload rate for wagons attached to passenger trains adds another 200%.

3. Calculation of Domestic Section Freight Domestic section freight is calculated according to the Domestic Regulations, and the procedure is:

(1) Determine the tariff mileage between the dispatch and destination stations based on the freight tariff mileage table. This should generally be determined by the shortest route and shall include the mileage from the border station to the borderline.

(2) Based on the item name listed on the consignment note, consult the table of freight tariff class numbers to determine the applicable class number.

(3) Based on the tariff mileage and class number, identify the applicable rate from the freight rate table.

(4) Multiply the chargeable weight by the tariff rate to obtain the domestic freight for the batch of goods. The calculation formula is: Freight = tariff rate × chargeable weight.