Cargo traffic along the North-South corridor rose by 62%, on the eastward railways – by 8%
In the first quarter of 2023, international railway transportation or the Russian Federation rose by 0.5% with the highest dynamics registered on the southern direction. Turnover with Turkey surged by 42%, IAA PortNews correspondent cites Sergey Pavlov, Deputy General Director of Russian Railways, as saying at TransRussia Forum in Moscow.
According to the speaker, international transportation in 1Q’2023 totaled 141.7 million tonnes, up 0.5%, year-on-year. In 2022, it fell by about 10% to 537.5 million tonnes although cargo turnover between Russia and its partner states rose by 23% in 2022 and by 66% in 1Q’23. “The turnover with Turkey surged by 42% despite the problems in the beginning of the year caused by the earthquake and the storms,” he said.
The representative of Russian Railways said that the cargo traffic on the North-South corridor rose by 62%, on the eastward railways – by 8%, on the Azov-Black Sea direction – by 2%. According to earlier reports, Russian Railways is going to build up the capacity of the Eastern Polygon from 158 million tonnes to 173 million tonnes (by 9.5%) by the end of 2023 and to 210 million tonnes by 2030. Cargo traffic on the railways running to the Azov-Black Sea Basin is to reach 152 million tonnes by 2030, on the North-South corridor — 20 million tonnes.
In January-March 2023, the network of Russian Railways loaded 305.5 million tonnes of cargo, down 0.8%, year-on-year.