Thread by @ChrisO_wiki

1/ Russian Railways is facing a worsening crisis. 300,000 disused railway wagons are congesting the network, entire freight trains have been abandoned for months, there are critical shortages of locomotives and workers, and a major drop in loading across the network. ⬇️

2/ Russian Railways (RZD) has been in trouble for several years. It is facing an extremely severe shortage of staff, with some divisions of the company reportedly as much as 60% understaffed.

https://x.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/1920880807842869670

3/ RZD's problems have a huge impact on Russia's economy. It handles 47% of all cargo transport in Russia, and as much as 87% if pipelines are excluded. It's vital to the economy and the Russian military alike, as Russia's roads can't accomodate all the freight carried by rail.

4/ Novaya Gazeta Evropa has been examining RZD's accelerating decline. It reports that freight traffic on the network was 8% less in 2024 than in 2021, the worst drop seen since the 2009 global economic crisis. The drop has not been evenly distributed among cargo types.

5/ The decline of RZD's cargo volumes has now been going on for 20 consecutive months and appears to be accelerating. It is already down by 7% in only the first five months of 2025, following 2024's 4% fall and another 4% fall in 2022.

6/ Sanctions initially hit two particular cargo categories hard: exported raw materials (-18% for timber, -8% for ferrous metals, and -5% for ore and coal), and products of western companies that exited Russia in 2022 (categorised as "cargo by industry", down by 14%).

7/ Volumes of non-sanctioned cargoes also fell due to difficulties with international settlements, with goods such as fertilisers experiencing a 7% drop. Overall, cargo volumes fell by 4% across the RZD network.

8/ Volumes recovered somewhat in 2023 because of a rush by foreign buyers to purchase goods before stricter EU and US sanctions came into force. However, the tightening of sanctions helped to caused the big drop seen in 2024.

9/ Sectors of the economy that had been growing declined sharply, especially wheat cultivation, which is no longer profitable in Russia. Grain cargoes are down by a third in the first half of 2025 alone. A growing crisis in construction has reduced demand for many other goods.

10/ Military cargoes, labelled by RZD as "Other cargo, including in containers", have been growing steadily since 2022, but are still nowhere near enough to make up for the losses incurred for other goods. The military also takes priority, displacing other cargoes onto the roads.

11/ Russia's truckers have enjoyed a boom, even as the railways have declined. In 2024, the amount of road freight increased by 8% as RZD trains ground to a halt and its tariffs were hiked.

12/ The war in Ukraine has greatly changed the pattern of RZD's operations. Sanctions have ended most Russian trade with Europe. Frequent Ukrainian attacks mean that fewer ships sail to Russia's Black Sea ports. Most westbound rail freight transport is now for the military.

13/ RZD also faces chronic shortages of drivers and other staff. 200 trains a day are cancelled because the company is short of 2,500 drivers and about 3,000 locomotive crew members. Low wages and poor working conditions mean that many have left to join the better-paid army.

14/ Locomotives are also increasingly in short supply. Not enough are being produced to replace those being retired. In January-April 2025, the production of mainline electric and diesel locomotives fell by 13 and 6% respectively, despite orders from Putin to increase production.

15/ The shortage of workers and locomotives has meant that 300,000 wagons – a fifth of RZD's entire fleet – have gone out of use. Entire freight trains have been idled for months. Thousands of new wagons have accumulated at manufacturers, unwanted on the network.

16/ Although RZD is investing heavily, much of the money has reportedly been stolen or spent on the wrong things. The spending spree has been accompanied by record increases in freight tariffs, which has pushed more cargoes onto the roads.

https://x.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/1929081919028789679

17/ The company spent an eighth of its entire investment budget for 2024 buying a skyscraper in Moscow to use as its new headquarters. This has left it short of funds to spend on vital needs elsewhere, such as building new locomotives.

18/ RZD's problems are forecast to get worse in coming years, even if the war ends, sanctions are lifted and the Russian economy begins to recover. It may have to dismantle some routes, sell off assets or raise tariffs again if it is to be able to cover essential needs. /end

Source:
novayagazeta.eu/articles/2025/…