The Systemic Crisis of the russian Railways Is Deepening

In the first quarter, the freight loading on the russian railways network decreased to 277.7 million tons, or minus 6.1 % compared to the same period in 2024.

Negative dynamics in terms of freight loading on the russian railways was recorded for most goods. In particular, the volumes of cargo decreased: coal – to 85.1 million tons (-2 % year-on-year), oil and oil products – to 50.2 million tons (-6 %), containerized cargo – to 28.9 million tons (-4 %), iron and manganese ore – to 26.3 million tons (-0.9 %), construction cargo – to 19.7 million tons (-23 %), ferrous metals – to 13.8 million tons (-13 %), and grain – to 5.7 million tons (-30.8 %).

In the segment of domestic transportation, there is a decline first of all in the transit of construction cargo (-23.5 %), coal (-5.5 %) and ferrous metals (-21.9 %).

The Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine points out that the reasons for the decline in transportation volumes include the impact of Western sanctions and the negative economic situation on the world raw materials markets.

If the current situation on the world markets does not change and the russian-Ukrainian war continues, it is likely that in the second quarter of 2025 the freight loading on the russian railways network will continue to decrease. The systemic crisis of the russian railways, which has been going on for the third year in a row, is a direct indication of significant problems in the russian economy due to the war against Ukraine.