The Russian Government is introducing an unplanned increase in railway tariffs to support the Russian Railways (RZD), which since the beginning of the war has lost 14% of its freight volume, accumulated debts of 4 trillion rubles (approximately 44 billion euros), and last year recorded its first net loss since the pandemic.
Starting March 1, 2026, freight transport services on the RZD network will become 1% more expensive, according to a government provision signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. The “increase coefficient”, applied to all freight shippers, is justified by the need to “finance measures to compensate for expenses related to ensuring transport security”.
At the end of last year, RZD requested government support and urgently asked for the allocation of 200 billion rubles (approximately 2.2 billion euros) from the National Welfare Fund to cope with financial difficulties and to pay off its bank loans. However, the Ministry of Finance approved only 65 billion rubles (about 715 million euros).
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