Thread by @ChrisO_wiki

1/ Russian Railways is planning to reduce the number of freight cars it operates by 100,000 as it faces a deep crisis, with employees leaving to fight in Ukraine and a lack of spare parts due to sanctions. It's expected to have a widespread economic impact. ⬇️

2/ The VChK-OGPU Telegram channel has posted a leaked recording of a speech by the head of Russian Railways Oleg Belozerov to the Central Directorate of Traffic Management and the Centre for Branded Transport Services.

3/ According to the channel, in the recording "Belozerov instructs Sergei Krokhin, the deputy head of the Central Directorate of Traffic Management for operational work, to reduce the working fleet of cars to 1.1 million (while even less was proposed)."

4/ He issues an order to "Reduce the number of empty cars on the network by 100 thousand and decide with the operators how many of whose cars will be sent to storage or will not be picked up after unloading from customers on each route."

5/ "There is simply nothing left to carry in them, the volume of transportation is constantly decreasing."

6/ The channel comments that Russian Railways has been experiencing increasing problems since the start of the war in Ukraine. Many of its employees, who are generally low-paid, have signed up for better-paid military positions or other war-related jobs.

7/ Sanctions have also put a severe strain on the railway system, with shortages of spare parts such as cassette bearings, for which Russia depended on foreign suppliers. (It's actually more likely that the withdrawal of freight cars is due to them wearing out.)

8/ Replacement railway wagons, tank cars, hoppers and other freight cars are also in short supply due to the main manufacturer, Uralvagonzavod (UVZ), switching its resources to producing tanks and other armoured vehicles for the war effort.

9/ As this useful thread from @prune602 in August highlights, loading on Russian Railways is in decline. This is a serious problem for the entire Russian economy, as it's heavily dependent on rail freight.

https://x.com/Prune602/status/1820237131148673325

10/ Russian Railways effectively has a chokehold on much of the Russian economy. The principal victims of the crisis will be "small companies-owners of cars, whose business is tied to Russian Railways", but oligarchs will likely be able to cope through bribes and connections.

11/ The channel reports that restrictions have been introduced via the ETRAN (electronic consignment note) system for preparing and processing shipping documents for railway freight transportation. It says the system is being exploited for "total corruption" to bestow favours.

12/ ETRAN "was originally created for the convenience of operating the car fleet and transferring everything to a digital format. Now ETRAN serves as a lever, all restrictions on the registration of cars lead to total corruption in the management structures of Russian Railways."

13/ "After all, Russian Railways does not clearly inform where which cars will go and where they will not. The amounts named at the meeting are also interesting. Belozerov himself emphasizes that a 1 million ruble [$10,100] premium (official) is ridiculous money…

14/ …because the structures of Russian Railways, the Central Directorate of Traffic Management, together with the Centre for Branded Transport Services, decide who will earn and who will be left behind." /end

Source:
t.me/vchkogpu/52260