With declining traffic and volumes the current condition of Russia's railfreight market reflects the poor state of the Russian economy. Alexander Polikarpov, deputy head of the Railway Research Department, at Russia's Institute of Natural Monopolies Research (IPEM), looks at how this situation has come about and considers the prospects for an upturn in fortunes.
THE International Union of Railways (UIC) director general Mr Jean-Pierre Loubinoux has confirmed that new Russian Railways (RZD) president Mr Oleg Belozerov will succeed his predecessor Mr Vladimir Yakunin as chairman of the UIC.
MR Oleg Belozerov, Russia's first deputy minister of transport, has been appointed president of Russian Railways (RZD) by Russian prime minister Mr Dmitry Medvedev at a meeting in Moscow on August 20.
THE first locomotive produced by First Locomotive Company, the joint venture of Zavod Metallokonstrukcii and Bombardier, was unveiled at a ceremony held at the joint venture's Engels plant in Saratov region, Russia, on August 19.
AFTER more than a decade at the helm of one of the world's largest railways, Dr Vladimir Yakunin confirmed on August 18 that he will be standing down as president of Russian Railways (RZD) to seek election to the Federation Council, the upper house of Russia's parliament.
ST PETERSBURG Metro announced on August 12 that it has selected Oktyabrsky Electric Car Plant (OEVRZ), a subsidiary of Transmashholding (TMH), as preferred bidder for a contract to supply 20 eight-car trains for the city's 1524mm-gauge 113km metro network.
A new ballastless track system developed by French engineers is designed to reduce the initial capital required for slab track and deliver better life-cycle costs than ballasted track. As Keith Barrow reports, NBT is now on test in Russia, where it will be subjected to high axleloads and extreme temperatures.
RUSSIAN Railways (RZD) has taken delivery of its first batch of Evraz 100m-long head-hardened rails for the Moscow - St Petersburg line.
PASSENGER numbers on Russian Railways's (RZD) flagship Sapsan services reached 1.88 million in the first half of this year, a 26.4% increase compared with the same period in 2014, according to ridership figures released on July 13.
SIEMENS and Sinara celebrated the fifth anniversary of their Ural Locomotives Russian joint venture on July 9 by signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) which will pave the way for the assembly of high-speed trains at its Verkhnaya Pyshma plant near Yekaterinburg.
