Russian Railways Earned 484 Billion Rubles by Foreign Activities in 2020

MOSCOW, Feb. 19, 2021 /– Russian Railways revenues from foreign activities in 2020 amounted to 484 billion rubles as was announced by First Deputy General Director of Russian Railways Sergey Pavlov at the company’s annual board meeting. He agreed that such a result was ensured by successful work in all three areas of foreign business: transit, international logistics and foreign projects.

Pavlov also reminded that the company is taking part in the International Cooperation and Export project and fulfilling all of its obligations.

“The volume of export services in general for railway transportation in 2020 is estimated at $1.3 billion. We predict it will reach one and a half billion US dollars in the next four years, which corresponds to the target annual growth rate in the strategy of export of services,” he noted.

At the end of last year, over 800,000 TEUs were shipped in transit through the Russian Railways network, which is 10% more than the planned indicator of the Long-Term Development program of the company. A total of 561,000 TEUs were transported on the most popular route, from China to Europe (+62% from 2019). This result, among other things, contributed to the attraction of new cargo flows.

“In accordance with the decision of the Government of the Russian Federation on subsidizing transit traffic, systematic work with foreign clients was organized to attract new cargo flows to the Trans-Siberian. Emphasis was placed on developing new markets, including countries of the Asia-Pacific region, including Central and South Asia,” he said

In particular, he focused on the ongoing work to further replicate INTERTRAN information technologies at all Russian Railways stations that receive containers. One the main effects of the project, according to him, was a four-day reduction in cargo clearance for intermodal transportation. In total, INTERTRAN information technologies were used to transport 12,800 large-capacity containers.

According to the top manager, Russian Railways plays an important role in more than ten specialized international organizations in the development of international shipping, including transit shipping. Its goal is to improve the legal regulation of transportation and the formation of strategic development priorities.

Pavlov also noted how Russian Railways’ image as a green company was gaining strength internationally: Russian Railways joined the UIC Declaration on Sustainable Mobility, thereby confirming its readiness to contribute to the Paris Accords to combat climate change.

In the field of engineering, according to Mr. Pavlov, Russian Railways has managed not only to maintain its pace of work on current infrastructure projects abroad, but also expand cooperation with countries in Europe, Africa, and South and Southeast Asia.

He also said that new instruments for foreign economic and marketing activities were created in 2020. In particular, the export portfolio of Russian Railways has been developed and approved, and a digital project-management environment and interactive communication format are being built.

In addition, the company continues to manage railways in Mongolia and Armenia. At the end of last year, record numbers were achieved in regards to freight traffic in Mongolia, including transit from China to Europe through the Russian Federation.

The international goals for the current year, according to Mr. Pavlov, include the development of transit traffic and logistics activities, strengthening the position of Russian Railways in international organizations and improving the legal conditions for transportation, as well as continuing its projects abroad.

He said that the revenue from the foreign activities of the company in 2021 is expected to be 500 billion rubles.