On 3 November, Russia’s Presidential inner Cabinet met to discuss projects related to the investment programme and financial plan of Russian Railways in 2012 and 2013-2014.
The company’s total investment programme over the next three years is planned to reach 1.1 trillion rubles (€26 billion), including 411.6 billion rubles (€9.7 billion) in 2012.
The president of Russian Railways, Vladimir Yakunin said:
“We have always insisted that investing in infrastructure is the best way to commit public money. Today, this idea is being voiced by the Russian government.
“The Prime Minister has expressed the need to accelerate work on a strategy for the development of high-speed transit in Russia. He gave a direct order to the Government of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Transport and Russian Railways to ensure that the work gets done.
“I think this is evidence of the government’s focus on the infrastructural development of railways, which is in the country’s interest.”
According to Yakunin, the state’s funding of Russian Railways will be used to launch a ‘range of innovative projects’.
Among other things, these include the joint project between Siemens AG and Sinara for the delivery and localisation of high-speed electric rolling stock, as well as the acceleration of the development of the transport infrastructure of Russia’s South and Far East.
The money will also be used to purchase almost 400 locomotives, and 460 self-propelled railway carriages.
Yakunin noted that the underfunding of Russia’s transport infrastructure could cause serious economic damage to the interests of an integrated Russian Federation, and that the volume of losses to the federal budget would be several times greater than the required amount of financial investment.
The financial plan of Russian Railways in 2012-2014 was prepared in light of the current volatility in global financial and commodities markets.
The volume of goods being shipped is forecast to grow at an average of 3% annually.
However, even under these circumstances, the company has assumed higher debt levels, has set reserve provisions at their maximum level, and has established that predicting the volume of work was one of the principal problems it must face in order to achieve a financial balance.
