Russian Railways has announced that it will invest 1.2 trillion rubles in improving its infrastructure and rolling stock between 2014 and 2016.
Projects earmarked for investment in the next three years include the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) and Trans-Siberian Express, upgrades to the Mezhdurechensk – Taishet freight line, improvements to rail infrastructure around Moscow and the construction of a new line to bypass Krasnodar hub.
Across the entire network more than 9,000 kilometres of railway will be reconstructed between 2014-2016 and more than 1,500 new locomotives are expected to be procured.
Whilst attending the European Rail Congress last week, president of Russian Railways (RZD) Vladimir Yakunin said that RZD was also continuing to plan a new Eurasian corridor to Slovakia and Austria.
Speaking about the investment plan, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedvev said: “The ultimate goal is to lift the infrastructure limitations that are hindering our economic growth.
“The throughput capacity of our railway system is clearly inadequate for developing some of our regions and their deposits, for ensuring the full traffic capacity of our seaports, and for successful operation in foreign markets.”
Announcing the planned spending, Yakunin also presented the company’s annual freight figures which showed a fall of 3.1 per cent in 2013 and a projected growth of just 0.4 per cent in 2014.
