Meeting of Mikhail Mishustin with the CEO – Chairman of the Board of JSC “Russian Railways” Oleg Belozyorov

Published on: 2026-05-20

Source: Government of the Russian Federation –

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The results of the company’s work for the past period and plans for the near future were discussed. Among other things, the growth of freight transportation, the implementation of the Passenger Year program, readiness for the summer season, as well as innovations in “Russian Railways” were addressed.

From the transcript:

M. Mishustin:Oleg Valentinovich, good afternoon!

You head “Russian Railways” – the largest company in the industry, which provides passenger and freight transportation in the country.

Trips across your network are in high demand, such as the delivery of raw materials and goods. Practically over any distance – within a city, suburbs, between regions, abroad.

I would like you to tell us about the results achieved by the end of last year and the first quarter of this year. And what are the overall plans for the year?

O. Belozyorov:Dear Mikhail Vladimirovich! I want to thank you on behalf of the team of “Russian Railways.” You always support us. Members of the Government are immersed in the issues of “Russian Railways.” This allows us to balance our program and achieve good investment results.

By the end of 2025, we completed the volume of cargo handling. And most importantly, we met the financial indicators established by the Government. Since our investment program is based on attracting investment funds. We also have net profit. And also importantly, debt/EBITDA is 3.4. The parameters are even better than those set for us by the Government. For the first four months, for Q1 2026, the same trend continues – both net profit and debt load are not increasing.

According to the results of 2025, hotels should pay attention to several directions.

First and foremost, this is a passenger complex. 1.311 billion passengers is an absolute record. The document system, which was prepared and adopted by the Government, was given such a result by Russian Railways.

I want to thank you for the fact that in 2025 the government introduced a bill, and then passed the Law on Railway Tourism. Literally within a year, documents were issued, and the growth in tourism amounted to more than 18% — over 1.3 million people were able to take advantage of exactly tourist trips.

Freight transportation. As I mentioned, the plan was fulfilled, but a number of indicators set new horizons before us. 186.8 million tons were transported to China – an absolute record. An increase of 6.3%, respectively, on this route we have a very serious growth.

Container transportation in export traffic increased by 8.5%, which corresponds exactly to high value-added goods, reflecting changes in the economic structure in the Russian Federation.

The main growth of the ‘North-South’ corridor is container transportation.

In April, the overall increase in all cargo was almost 2% (1.9%). And this trend continues.

I would like to thank our farmers, the Government for subsidizing the transportation of grain cargoes. In four months, an absolute record – growth by 1.5 times.

There is one very important element. Since March, our tariff freight turnover has been growing very seriously. In April, it increased by more than 4%. All figures for the Eastern polygon are being observed. And the established figures of 180 million tons will be strictly met. Growth is both in transit and along the “North – South” corridor.

Every year we adhere to some theme. The year 2026 has been declared the Year of the Passenger in the company. Thank you for signing a very important document for us – it is the concept of suburban communication development. It is precisely in the Year of the Passenger, with a clear distribution of actions, that improvements in service and conditions will be provided.

In our program for the Year of the Passenger, we are upgrading infrastructure and developing digital services. We are currently experimenting with biometrics in pilot mode. We have three directions: Moscow – Ivanovo, Moscow – Kostroma, Moscow – Nizhny Novgorod. Today, we are already studying how the boarding process progresses using biometrics.

In September, we will launch a ticket sales service for suburban communication with identity verification via the “Maks” messenger. More than 20 million beneficiaries are those who will already be able to use this service.

On April 1, commuter train service was opened within the framework of the Union State of Russia and Belarus on the routes Smolensk – Vitebsk, Smolensk – Orsha. In a short period of time, more than 5,500 passengers were transported. That is, the decisions made by the presidents and governments of our countries demonstrate the demand for this new form of operation.

The possibility of signing long-term contracts is also indicated in the concept. We have signed three-year contracts with suppliers for wagons, for rolling stock. As you pointed out to us, we will be ensured rolling stock.

May transportations for us have always been an important indicator for Victory Anniversary. This year, 10,500 additional trips were scheduled. 11,438 people, including veterans, participants of the Great Patriotic War, residents of besieged Leningrad, were transported. We are very grateful, we are proud that we have such an opportunity…

M. Mishustin:Oleg Valentinovich, I drew attention to this. Transportation of veterans and residents of the besieged Leningrad: from April 30 to May 11 at the expense of “RZD” (Russian Railways), free of charge – that’s great! They transported only 80 veterans (with accompanying persons) and 488 residents of the besieged Leningrad. Unfortunately, very few veterans remain, those people who forged Victory. Of course, the age is already advanced. But it’s great that you are doing this.

O. Belozyorov:Thank you for your support.

M. Mishustin:Peak loads in the transport sector usually occur on the same days. People travel at this time to visit friends, relatives, see sights, tour the country, and vacation at resorts. How is the preparation for the summer season going?

O. Belozyorov:Dear Mikhail Vladimirovich, I am pleased to report that the entire “Russian Railways” system is ready for summer transportation. We will provide more than 0.5% – this is over 62 million seats for passengers in long-distance travel, an increase in service to Crimea and resorts of the North Caucasus.

And of course, special attention is given to our little passengers, the children. We plan to increase the number by almost 2% – 580 thousand people this year to take them to children’s camps, to holiday spots.

In addition to regular trains, we have added almost 30% more pairs of seasonal trains. 165 trains have been added.

At the same time, Mikhail Vladimirovich, if there are any questions regarding the Government’s instructions, we will respond and flexibly adapt to the carrying capacity for passengers. We will work this out clearly.

M. Mishustin:The President has been tasked with the overall improvement of efficiency and productivity, including, of course, in the field of transport.

An important component of a modern company is its modernization. “RZhD” actively develops quantum communication systems. I know how seriously you yourself are engaged in this, overseeing issues related to the automation of various processes. The company develops its own alternatives to imported software.

How is this work implemented, what other innovations are used in the company? And how do they affect labor efficiency and productivity?

O. Belozyorov:Labor productivity is truly a key indicator for us. Recently, we have always prioritized increasing labor productivity, and over 15 years, from 2011 to 2026, calculated using the conditional-natural method, it has doubled for us. Why such a name – “conditional-natural method”? Since we have regulated tariffs, accordingly, labor productivity can be reflected both in natural terms and in value terms.

Cost indicator – labor productivity during this period increased by almost four times.

At the same time, for us, labor productivity is primarily related to the growth of cargo turnover.

We rely on digitalization. We regularly report at meetings about our new product developments, about how we work with our customers, shippers, and passengers.

I want to inform you that this year we will launch the digital railway station Chelyabinsk-Glavny.

Few people know that 30% of wagons move along main lines, while 70% are sorted or sent to sidings. And that is exactly the main time where it is necessary to find elements so that the wagon passes the distance faster. Practically all the actions will either be robotized or digitized. The robot based on an industrial platform will uncouple wagons during the train movement. When the coupling goes from the hump, to uncouple it, earlier it was necessary to stop, perform the operation, now we have a robot that uncouples wagons in motion and accordingly saves time.This increase in processing power by up to 10%, which on one large station alone yields savings of more than 1 billion rubles.

M. Mishustin:Thank you, Oleg Valentinovich.

Today, the most advanced and highly technological solutions are used in the construction of transport corridors, in the design and construction of high-speed highways, updating rolling stock, including passenger trains.

I asked you to keep all these projects under personal control. And the balance of the investment program “RZhD”. The fulfillment of all national development goals in the form of perfectly specific performance indicators, which exist in “RZhD”, is our main task set before us by the head of state. People expect this from us. And this is, first and foremost, the clients of “RZhD”.

Please note; this information is unedited content obtained directly from the source. It represents an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.