New Charter of the Soviet Railroads

In April 1964, the USSR Council of Ministers gave its approval to the new Charter of the Soviet Railroads, which went into effect on October 1, 1964. (1) This Charter replaces that of 1954, the shortcomings of which were among the basic factors necessitating a new codification of the norms regulating the operation of railway transport. Many of the provisions of the 1954 Charter gave the railroads privileged status over other branches of the economy and created a number of utterly unjustified benefits and advantages, thereby undermining the principle of cost accounting in the relationships between railway transport and its clientele.