According to the results of 2025, the volume of freight traffic on the Russian Railways network decreased by 5.6%, which was the lowest figure since 2009. As reported by the Foreign Intelligence Service, such dynamics are a consequence of Western sanctions and a general cooling of economic activity in Russia, UNN reports.
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According to intelligence data, the decline has been ongoing for the fourth consecutive year, following a 3.7% decrease in 2022, 0.1% in 2023, and 4.1% in 2024. Official statistics also record a 1.8% reduction in freight turnover, indicating not only smaller volumes but also a decrease in the average transportation distance. According to industry analysts, the real scale of the problem may be significantly deeper than what the reported data reflects.
A decline was recorded in 13 out of 15 key cargo categories. The sharpest reduction occurred in ferrous metallurgy: transportation of ferrous metals decreased by 17.7%, and scrap metal by 32.2%. A significant decrease also occurred in the segments of industrial raw materials (–16%), building materials (–10.5%), grain (–12.2%), and forest products (–5.9%). Energy supplies also went down, including oil and petroleum products by 5%, and coal by 2.1%.
Such dynamics are a consequence of Western sanctions and a general cooling of economic activity in Russia. As a result, a decrease in network utilization and a deterioration in financial results were recorded: in January–September 2025, the company recorded a loss of 55.8 million US dollars and cut its investment program for 2026 by 24%. Cost optimization already involves curtailing infrastructure projects and updating rolling stock, which accelerates the further degradation of the technical condition of the railway network against the backdrop of a weakening Russian economy, the intelligence service summarized.
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