According to The Moscow Times, the average technical speed of freight trains on the RZD network fell to 40.6 km/h in 2024, marking the lowest level since 1960. Writes biz.nv.ua. This is reported by Kontakty.UA.
Such data, referencing official statistics from the transport monopoly, was provided by expert Farid Khusainov from the Higher School of Economics.
The average section speed, which includes the time spent at stops, has decreased to 35.7 km/h, which is the lowest since 1993.
Over the past year, freight trains, which account for nearly 90% of all transportation in Russia, have been traveling on average 4-5% slower, and when compared to 2021, speeds have dropped by nearly 10%, according to Khusainov's calculations. RZD publishes data on technical and section speeds in report form 9d-5 in the “Disclosure of Information” section, the expert clarifies.
For the third consecutive year, Russian Railways is recording a decline in freight transportation in Russia amid sanctions that have impacted exports and increasing difficulties in managing train movements.
In November 2024, the load on the RZD network decreased by 5.8% year-on-year, down to 95.6 million tons, while the cumulative total for 10 months has fallen by 4.4%.
Coal transportation—the main cargo for RZD, which accounts for about one-third of all shipments—has decreased by 6.2% after coal producers faced a sharp decline in exports and were forced to reduce production to the lowest level since the pandemic in 2020.