Belarus has started reconstructing its railway in the direction of St. Petersburg in Russia. A joint railway project with Russia aims to secure an export route through the port of the Russian city for Belarus. The staunch Russian ally has lost alternative routes westward since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to […]
Category: Russia
Russia and China see record rail freight volumes in 2023
Russia and China have reached a new record rail freight volume between the two countries. The total freight volume going through Russia’s Far East border crossings grew by 26 per cent from 2022, amounting to nearly 44 million tonnes. This number includes traffic to and from Mongolia. The total freight volume among all transport modalities […]
‘Virtual coupling’: new technology increases Russian railway capacity
‘Virtual coupling’, a new technology being applied by Russian Railways, is showing tangible results. The technology automates the distance between two consecutive trains. It allows for more efficient use of space on the railways and is being used increasingly often. According to Russian Railways (RZD), the technology facilitates maximum exploitation of the railways’ throughput capacity. […]
Russia building bizarre 30 kilometre train fortification in Ukraine
Russia is building a bizarre train fortification in Ukraine. The fortification consists of over 2,000 freight wagons and stretches over 30 kilometres. The train, possibly aimed at stopping future Ukrainian assaults, is dubbed the ‘tsar train’. Satellite imagery indicates that Russia has been working on the train fortification for the past nine months. The fortification […]
Estonian Railways’ losses expected to worsen in the coming years
The losses of Estonian Railways are expected to continue and worsen in the coming years. Earlier, Estonia reported a decline of 43 per cent in freight volumes following sanctions on Russian goods. The loss of freight volumes has led to passenger transportation exceeding freight transportation, according to Estonian Railways’ commercial manager Arthur Raichmann. Whereas 9,5 […]
Is INSTC’s Rasht-Astara line on track for another setback?
It is probably the most critical railway section of the International North-South Corridor (INSTC), and its construction has been planned for a few years, with several ups and downs along the way. The Rasht-Astara railway line is supposed to commence construction work in early 2024. Nevertheless, Russia and Iran, which are directly involved in the […]
Russia grants Belarus 40% rail freight discount
Russia is granting Belarus a discount of up to 40 per cent on rail freight transportation, according to the Belarusian ministry of transport. The two allies have agreed on a discount that applies to the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) routes in Russia, as well as routes leading to the port of Saint Petersburg. The […]
Sanctions cause locomotive shortage in Russia
Russian Railways (RZD) is facing a shortage of locomotives. The shortage is reportedly caused by a lack of importable spare parts due to Western sanctions. The situation has become particularly problematic in the fourth quarter of 2023. The locomotive shortage came to light in a statistics report by RZD, according to Russian publication Vedomosti. A […]