Russian Railways Reports 1.9% Increase in Freight Loading for April
Growth driven by coal, grain, and non-ferrous ore shipments
Quick Look
Russian Railways recorded a 1.9% year-on-year increase in freight loading to 94.7 million tons in April, supported by significant gains in coal and grain shipments, despite a slight decline in year-to-date figures.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Russian Railways is the state-owned operator of the country's rail network, serving as a critical artery for commodity exports.
Freight loading on the Russian Railways network totaled 94.7 mln tons in April, up 1.9% year-on-year, the holding said.
"Freight loading on the Russian Railways network increased by 1.9% in April to 94.7 mln tons," the statement said.
Russian Railways added that the main drivers of growth were coal (+9.4%), grain (up 1.8 times), and non-ferrous ore (+10%).
Growth in April was driven by the Volga (+13.7%), Far Eastern (+10.6%), Krasnoyarsk (+8.4%), West Siberian (+7.2%), South-Eastern (+4.4%), Kuibyshev (+4.2%), Moscow (+3.2%), and East Siberian (+0.6%) railways.
"Export freight shipments in the eastern direction in April increased by 9.1% to 14.5 mln tons, including fertilizers (+51.4%), oil cargoes (+46.9%), grain (up 3.5 times), coal (+9.5%), as well as non-ferrous ore (+53.7%)," Russian Railways specified.
In addition, freight turnover rose by 4.1% in April. In January - April, total loading amounted to 363.7 mln tons (-1.9%).
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Continued focus on eastern infrastructure expansion
Likely · Within months
Open Questions
- What specific factors contributed to the year-to-date decline?
- How do these figures compare to pre-2026 benchmarks?
