Russia was and is the largest country in the world. Its geography of north–south rivers and east–west commerce, plus, importantly, the mostly flat terrain, made it very suited to develop railroads as the basic mode of transportation.
125-592: Today Russian Railways , a state-owned railway company, is one of the biggest railway companies in the world with 950,000 employees and a monopoly within Russia. The total length of line used by the Russian Railways is, at 85,500 kilometres (53,130 mi), one of the largest in the world, exceeded only by the United States. In the early 1830s Russian inventors father and son Cherepanovs built
250-764: A British Expeditionary Force of 100,000 men would be landed in France; in addition, the Royal Navy would be responsible for the North Sea , the Channel and protecting Northern France, with the French navy concentrated in the Mediterranean . Britain was committed to support France in a war against Germany but this was not widely understood outside government or the upper ranks of the military. As late as 1 August,
375-492: A clear majority of the Liberal government and its supporters wanted to stay out of the war. While Liberal leaders H. H. Asquith and Edward Grey considered Britain legally and morally committed to support France regardless, waiting until Germany triggered the 1839 Treaty provided the best chance of preserving Liberal party unity. The German high command was aware entering Belgium would lead to British intervention but decided
500-636: A far lesser role in hauling freight than they did in the US, leaving the railroad as the basic means of freight transportation. In 1991 a law was passed which declared that railroads were the basic transportation system of the USSR. Prior to 1990, traffic in the Russian Republic (of the USSR) was about two-thirds of what was hauled by the USSR (since all the other former republics of the USSR hauled about 1/3 of
625-648: A key role in the expansion of the railway network throughout European Russia . In the 1880s and 1890s, the Trans-Caspian railway connected Russian Empire's Central Asian provinces (now, independent states of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan ) with the Caspian port of Krasnovodsk ; by 1906, Central Asia was directly connected by the Trans-Aral Railway with European Russia via Kazakhstan . The Trans-Siberian Railway connecting European Russia with
750-873: A major threat to the RSFSR. One of the Red Army 's most successful strategies in the war was to use trains to transport small contingents of troops, which allowed the Russians to win the Soviet–Ukrainian War and defeat the Volunteer Army during its advance towards Moscow. After the foundation of the Soviet Union the People's Commissariat of Railways (after 1946 named the Ministry of Railways ) expanded
875-613: A meeting of the Russian Academy of Science, Vladimir Yakunin presented an ambitious new transport route called the Trans-Eurasian Belt Development (TEPR) which would go "through Russia with a mega road and high-speed rail network to link Asia with Europe' and with the opportunity to go to Chukotka and Bering Strait and then to the American continent" to Alaska, "making overland trips from Britain to
1000-467: A new corporate style which changed fundamentally the way the Company presented itself visually to the outside world. The change of corporate identity underwent several stages during the 2007–2010 period. The final version of the logo was designed by BBDO Branding. Also, commissioned by BBDO Branding The Agency HardCase Design created a family of corporate fonts RussianRail, consisting of 15 fonts. In
1125-607: A program to introduce new high-speed trains. The first train, Sapsan , commenced service in December 2009 and connects Saint Petersburg , Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod and is operated with trains manufactured by the German company Siemens. The second train, Allegro , has run from Saint Petersburg to Helsinki via Vyborg since December 2010 and is owned and operated together with the Finnish VR Group . Sapsan
1250-463: A railway hub similar to Chicago in the United States. Due in part to the poor financial state of the Tsarist government and their inability to finance railroad construction, by the early 1880s all railroads were private companies. But then as private railroads got into financial difficulty, the government took over some of them, resulting in mixed system of private and government railways. However,
1375-503: A result, railroad freight grew about 20 times from 20 to 400 billion tonne-km by 1941. But then disaster struck again: World War II in 1941 when Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union . In the first year or so of the war, traffic plummeted to about half its prewar value. But then the USSR started restoring and constructing railroads during wartime so that by the end of the war about half of the lost traffic had been recovered. After
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#17327940561871500-548: A route into the crumbling Ottoman Empire, where Germany also had significant interests. Combined with the increase in Russian military strength, both Austria and Germany felt threatened by Serbian expansion; when Austria invaded Serbia on 28 July 1914, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Sazonov viewed it as an Austro-German conspiracy to end Russian influence in the Balkans. In addition to its own territory, Russia viewed itself as
1625-644: A separate Sakhalin Railway ), the only 3 ft 6 in ( 1,067 mm ) rail system within USSR (or today's Russia). After the war the Soviet railway network was re-built and further expanded to more than 145,000 km (90,000 mi) of track by major additions such as Baikal Amur Mainline . In the late 1960s the official gauge was redefined as 1,520 mm ( 4 ft 11 + 27 ⁄ 32 in ) (i.e. 4 mm smaller) to allow better running without regauging rolling stock. The difference
1750-624: A system physically separated from other Russian railways. The Department of Railways, later part of the Russian Ministry of Communications , was created in the Russian Empire in 1842 in order to oversee the construction of Russia's second major railway line, the Moscow–Saint Petersburg Railway . The railway linked the imperial capital Saint-Petersburg and Moscow and was built between 1842 and 1851. Track gauge
1875-465: Is Oleg Belozerov. Before him, the position was occupied by Kirill Androsov from September 2011 till June 2015, and previously by Alexander Zhukov – from 20 July 2004 to September 2011 and Viktor Khristenko – from 16 October 2003 – 20 July 2004. Gennady Fadeev was President of JSC Russian Railways from 23 September 2003 – 14 June 2005. He was succeeded by Vladimir Yakunin – from 14 June 2005 to 20 August 2015. Oleg Belozyorov has been president of
2000-545: Is a Russian fully state-owned vertically integrated railway company , both managing infrastructure and operating freight and passenger train services. The company was established on 18 September 2003, when a decree was passed to separate the upkeep and operation of the railways from the Ministry of Railways of the Russian Federation . RZhD is based in Moscow at Novaya Basmannaya str., 2. The operating units of
2125-480: Is also part of the program. Between 2021 and 2025 RZD plans to build Rostov–Krasnodar–Adler, Tula–Voronezh high-speed rail and the extension of Kazan-Yelabuga high-speed rail, as well as other regional high-speed rail links. During the 2026–2030 third phase of the program, Russian Railways will build Moscow–Saint Petersburg high-speed rail section; the railway line will be extended from Yelabuga to Yekaterinburg, and from Voronezh to Rostov-on-Don. In March 2015, at
2250-593: Is considered the first step to triggering a credit default swap . In December 2023 the joint venture with the VR Group , Finnish Railways, to run the Karelian Trains ceased, the trains having stopped running in March 2022 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Russian Railways having failed to meet their portion of the financing obligations, VR Group assumed the whole financial obligations and took over
2375-689: Is determined by the Federal Tariff Service at net cost or higher. Limited railway capacity is the main factor limiting Russian coal exports to Asia. Demand for Russian coal in Europe has declined due to the energy transition and Russia's invasion of Ukraine and this reinforces the need for Russia to reorient coal exports to Asia. Russian Railways has a near-monopoly on long-distance train travel, with its subsidiary, Federal Passenger Company, accounting for 90% of total passenger turnover in 2017. Passenger transportation accounted for 10.6% of
2500-454: Is divided into two components: «ticket» (which includes the cost of transport infrastructure, locomotive traction and the Station component) and «reserved seat» (service of transport company, which is the owner of the car). Since 2003, the flexible schedule tariffs (FST) to travel on long-distance trains is used: FST is calculated in such a way as to stimulate passengers to undertake a trip on
2625-541: Is the founder and sole shareholder of JSC Russian Railways. On behalf of its shareholders the powers are exercised by the Government of the Russian Federation . It approves the president of the company, forms the board of directors annually and approves the annual reports. An IPO for the company was considered in 2012, but it was pushed back to after 2020. The Chairman of the Board of Directors of JSC Russian Railways
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#17327940561872750-557: Is to eliminate such subsidy and thus commuter fares have drastically increased. As a result of this plus the economic crisis, commuter passengers have decreased and many trains have been removed from service. Another problem is that it's estimated that over one-third of passengers cheat and pay no fare at all (including bribing the ticket inspector). In 1916, just at the start of First World War (during which Germany invaded Russia) freight traffic on Russian Railway reached nearly 100 billion tonne-kilometers (traffic on United States railways
2875-407: Is within the normal tolerance so little immediate effect was shown and conversion took place progressively over 30 years as lines were maintained and upgraded. See 1520 mm railways redefinitions . While the former Soviet Union got a late (and slow) start with rail electrification in the 1930s it eventually had success in electrification in terms of the volume of traffic under the wires. Following
3000-867: The Admiralty that did the same for the Royal Navy . Theatre commanders like Douglas Haig on the Western Front or Edmund Allenby in Palestine then reported to the CIGS. After the Indian Army, the largest individual units were the Australian Corps and Canadian Corps in France, which by 1918 were commanded by their own generals, John Monash and Arthur Currie . Contingents from South Africa, New Zealand and Newfoundland served in theatres including France, Gallipoli , German East Africa and
3125-686: The Balkan League to prevent further Austrian expansion. Austria viewed Serbia with hostility partly due to its links with Russia, whose claim to be the protector of South Slavs extended to those within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, such as the Czechs and Slovaks . Serbia also potentially gave Russia the ability to achieve their long-held objective of capturing Constantinople and the Dardanelles . Austria-Hungary supported
3250-716: The British Empire , many of whom made significant contributions to the Allied war effort, both in the provision of troops and civilian labourers. It was split into Crown Colonies administered by the Colonial Office in London, such as Nigeria , and the self-governing Dominions of Canada , Newfoundland , New Zealand , Australia and South Africa . These controlled their own domestic policies and military expenditure but not foreign policy. In terms of population,
3375-991: The British Indian Army served in different theatres of the war, primarily France and the Middle East . From 1914 to 1916, overall Imperial diplomatic, political and military strategy was controlled by the British War Cabinet in London; in 1917 it was superseded by the Imperial War Cabinet , which included representatives from the Dominions. Under the War Cabinet were the Chief of the Imperial General Staff or CIGS , responsible for all Imperial ground forces, and
3500-521: The Collapse of the Soviet Union its railway system broke up into national railway systems of various former Soviet republics. Due to the ensuing depression, Russian freight traffic fell by 60% and has (as of 2010) not yet fully recovered. In 2003 a vast structural reform was implemented in order to preserve the unity of the railway network and separate the functions of state regulation from operational management: On 18 September 2003, Decree No.585 of
3625-593: The Emperor railway station in Pushkin town in 1902. It ran parallel to the main line of the Tsarskoye Selo Railway and then branched south west at the village of Kouzmino. It was designated for members of the imperial family and representatives of foreign powers. During World War I Russia used a mix of light and heavy armoured trains. The heavy trains mounted 4.2 inch or 6 inch guns while
3750-838: The Entente or the Triple Entente was an international military coalition of countries led by France , the United Kingdom , Russia , the United States , Italy , and Japan against the Central Powers of Germany , Austria-Hungary , the Ottoman Empire , and Bulgaria in World War I (1914–1918). By the end of the first decade of the 20th century, the major European powers were divided between
3875-683: The League of the Three Emperors , then with Germany in the 1887–1890 Reinsurance Treaty ; both collapsed due to the competing interests of Austria and Russia in the Balkans . While France took advantage of this to agree the 1894 Franco-Russian Alliance , Britain viewed Russia with deep suspicion; in 1800, over 3,000 kilometres separated the Russian Empire and British India, by 1902, it was 30 km in some areas. This threatened to bring
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4000-739: The Mariana , Caroline , and Marshall Islands , while in 1917, a Japanese naval squadron was sent to support the Allies in the Mediterranean Sea . Japan's primary interest was in China and in January 1915, the Chinese government was presented with a secret ultimatum of Twenty-One Demands , demanding extensive economic and political concessions. While these were eventually modified, the result
4125-675: The Paris Peace Conference recognized the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Japan, and the United States as "the Principal Allied and Associated Powers". When the war began in 1914, the Central Powers were opposed by the Triple Entente , formed in 1907 when the agreement between the United Kingdom and Russia complemented existing agreements between the three powers. Fighting commenced when Austria invaded Serbia on 28 July 1914, purportedly in response to
4250-596: The Russian Empire . The Warsaw–Vienna railway in Congress Poland started operating in 1845, and fully opened in 1848, with 327,6 km length of track. It ran from Warsaw to the border with the Austrian Empire and used the standard European gauge ( 1,435 mm ( 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in )), as opposed to all other railways in the Russian Empire which used the broad gauge ( 1,524 mm or 5 ft ), hence it formed
4375-724: The Russian Far East provinces on the Sea of Japan was built between 1891 and 1916. The Russian-built system included the Chinese Eastern Railway , short-cutting across China's Manchuria ; later on, its southern branch was connected with other Chinese railways. During the First World War and especially the Russian Civil War more than 60% of the Russian railway network and more than 80% of
4500-432: The Russian Government established the Russian Railways Public Corporation with state holds 100% of the shares . The Cape gauge railway system of Sakhalin is being re-gauged to 1,520 mm ( 4 ft 11 + 27 ⁄ 32 in ). The current CEO of the company is Vladimir Yakunin . There are plans for partial privatization of the company in the future in order to raise much needed capital from
4625-435: The St Petersburg - Moscow railway. This decision came about after seven years of consideration. With characteristic slowness in committing himself, Nicholas I nevertheless proceeded with determination, aiming to overcome problems relating to having his capital some distance from the centre of his empire. Built in addition to the roads and canals that previous generation had built to link the two cities, Nicholas I envisaged that
4750-402: The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on 3 March 1918. Romania was forced to do the same in the May 1918 Treaty of Bucharest but on 10 November, it repudiated the Treaty and once more declared war on the Central Powers. These changes meant the Allies who negotiated the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 included the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Japan and the United States; Part One of the Treaty agreed to
4875-418: The Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance . The Triple Entente was made up of the United Kingdom, France, and Russia. The Triple Alliance was originally composed of Germany, Austria–Hungary, and Italy, but Italy remained neutral in 1914. As the war progressed, each coalition added new members. Japan joined the Entente in 1914 and, despite proclaiming its neutrality at the beginning of the war, Italy also joined
5000-459: The Yser Front throughout the war. This allowed Belgium to be treated as an Ally, in contrast to Luxembourg which retained control over domestic affairs but was occupied by the German military . In the East, between 7 and 9 August the Russians entered German East Prussia on 7 August, Austrian Eastern Galicia . Japan joined the Entente by declaring war on Germany on 23 August, then Austria on 25 August. On 2 September, Japanese forces surrounded
5125-402: The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand , heir to Emperor Franz Joseph I ; this brought Serbia's ally Montenegro into the war on 8 August and it attacked the Austrian naval base at Cattaro , modern Kotor. At the same time, German troops carried out the Schlieffen Plan , entering neutral Belgium and Luxembourg ; over 95% of Belgium was occupied but the Belgian Army held their lines on
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5250-458: The 1990s to 934,000 people in 2012. In 2012, it became one of the three largest transport companies in the world. According to a Reuters inquiry, RZD procurement activities in 2012 amounted to $ 22.5 billion; part of this was awarded to private contractors with no genuine operations in de facto noncompetitive tenders. Some of the company addresses listed on the tenders turned out to be private apartments, car repair shops or department stores. It
5375-401: The 19th century, Britain sought to maintain the European balance of power without formal alliances, a policy known as splendid isolation . This left it dangerously exposed as Europe divided into opposing power blocs and the 1895–1905 Conservative government negotiated first the 1902 Anglo-Japanese Alliance , then the 1904 Entente Cordiale with France. The first tangible result of this shift
5500-468: The 2046 that had formed the MR system. Gennady Fadeyev, the Railways Minister, became the company's first president. The reform saw the creation of a new market segment following the privatization of the network's rolling stock. The company divided the bulk of its wagon fleet between two new operating companies, Freight One (which was later privatised) and Freight Two (renamed Federal Freight in 2012), and private players such as GlobalTrans also entering
5625-427: The British army and Royal Navy were committed to support France in the event of war with Germany but even in the British government, very few were aware of the extent of these commitments. In response to Germany's declaration of war on Russia, France issued a general mobilisation in expectation of war on 2 August and on 3 August, Germany also declared war on France. Germany's ultimatum to Belgium brought Britain into
5750-523: The East. The growth of the Russian railway network and increase in speed of mobilisation made rapid victory over France even more important; to accommodate the additional 170,000 troops approved by the 1913 Army Bill, the 'incursion' now became a full-scale invasion. The Germans accepted the risk of British intervention; in common with most of Europe, they expected it to be a short war while their London Ambassador claimed civil war in Ireland would prevent Britain from assisting its Entente partners. On 3 August,
5875-484: The Entente in 1915. The term "Allies" became more widely used than "Entente" , although the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and Italy were also referred to as the Quadruple Entente and, together with Japan, as the Quintuple Entente . The colonies administered by the countries that fought for the Allies were also part of the Entente powers such as American Philippines , Belgian Congo , British India , French Algeria , and Japanese Korea . The United States joined near
6000-556: The Entente in return for German territories in the Pacific, greatly annoying the Australian government which also wanted them. On 7 August 1914, Britain officially asked for assistance in destroying German naval units in China and Japan formally declared war on Germany on 23 August 1914, followed by Austria-Hungary on 25 August 1914. On 2 September 1914, Japanese forces surrounded the German Treaty Port of Qingdao , then known as Tsingtao, which surrendered on 7 November. The Imperial Japanese Navy simultaneously occupied German colonies in
6125-399: The French and German militaries accepted Germany would almost certainly violate Belgian neutrality in the event of war, the extent of that was unclear. The original Schlieffen Plan only required a limited incursion into the Belgian Ardennes , rather than a full-scale invasion; in September 1911, the Belgian Foreign Minister told a British Embassy official they would not call for assistance if
6250-450: The French logistics company Gefco SA. The total value of the transaction was 800 million euros, the seller being PSA Peugeot Citroen , the parent company of Gefco. A program to modernize the Baikal–Amur Mainline was launched in 2013, costing the equivalent of £4 billion by 2018. In 2015, RZD International won a €1.2 billion contract to electrify the Garmsar–Inche Bourun line in Iran. In August 2015, company president Vladimir Yakunin
6375-424: The French lost nearly 300,000 dead on the Western Front, more than Britain suffered in the whole of WWII and the gaps were partly filled by colonial troops, over 500,000 of whom served on the Western Front over the period 1914–1918. Colonial troops also fought at Gallipoli , occupied Togo and Kamerun in West Africa and had a minor role in the Middle East, where France was the traditional protector of Christians in
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#17327940561876500-404: The German Treaty Port of Tsingtao (now Qingdao) in China and occupied German colonies in the Pacific, including the Mariana , Caroline , and Marshall Islands . Despite its membership of the Triple Alliance , Italy remained neutral until 23 May 1915 when it joined the Entente, declaring war on Austria but not Germany. On 17 January 1916, Montenegro capitulated and left the Entente; this
6625-452: The Germans limited themselves to that. While neither Britain or France could allow Germany to occupy Belgium unopposed, a Belgian refusal to ask for help would complicate matters for the British Liberal government , which contained a significant isolationist element. However, the key German objective was to avoid war on two fronts; France had to be defeated before Russia could fully mobilise and give time for German forces to be transferred to
6750-419: The Italian Army , died on 1 July 1914, taking many of the prospects for Italian support with him. The Italian Prime Minister Antonio Salandra argued that as the Alliance was defensive in nature, Austria's aggression against Serbia and Italy's exclusion from the decision-making process meant it was not obliged to join them. His caution was understandable because France and Britain either supplied or controlled
6875-420: The Joint Stock Company Freight One , a subsidiary of Russian Railways, sold 75% of its shares minus two shares for 125.5 billion rubles (about 4 billion $ ) to Independent Transport Company owned by Vladimir Lisin . Thus, Lisin as Russia's largest operator of rolling stock acquired control of a quarter of the freight market. As part of its reform efforts, RZD massively reduced its workforce, from 2.2 million in
7000-422: The Middle East. Australian troops separately occupied German New Guinea , with the South Africans doing the same in German South West Africa ; this resulted in the Maritz rebellion by former Boers, which was quickly suppressed. After the war, New Guinea and South-West Africa became Protectorates , held until 1975 and 1990 respectively. Between 1873 and 1887, Russia was allied with Germany and Austria-Hungary in
7125-423: The Ottoman Empire, the centrepiece being the planned Berlin–Baghdad railway , with Serbia the only section not controlled by a pro-German state. The exact role played by Serbian officials in the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand is still debated but despite complying with most of their demands, Austria-Hungary invaded on 28 July 1914. While Serbia successfully repulsed the Austro-Hungarian army in 1914, it
7250-437: The Ottoman provinces of Syria , Palestine and Lebanon . Prior to the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Japan was a semi-feudal, largely agrarian state with few natural resources and limited technology. By 1914, it had transformed itself into a modern industrial state, with a powerful military; by defeating China in the First Sino-Japanese War during 1894–1895, it established itself as the primary power in East Asia and colonised
7375-479: The Russian railway sector was given by the establishment of Russian Railways in October 2003. The new company received over 95% of the assets belonging to the Ministry of Railways of the Russian Federation. In 2003, the Federal Law on Railway Transport divided the Ministry of Railways into the Federal Railway Transport Agency (FRTA) and Russian Railways (RZD). The reform also required RZD to provide access to railway infrastructure to other carriers and operators. As
7500-413: The Soviet Union fell apart and its largest republic, the Russian Federation, which then hauled about 2/3 of the traffic of the former USSR, became an independent country. For the USSR in 1989 (shortly before the collapse), the railroads hauled nearly eight times as much ton-km of freight by rail as they did by highway truck. For the US, it was only 1.5 times as much by rail. Thus trucks in the USSR played
7625-400: The Triple Entente with France, which at this stage was largely informal. In 1908, Austria annexed the former Ottoman province of Bosnia and Herzegovina ; Russia responded by creating the Balkan League in order to prevent further Austrian expansion. In the 1912–1913 First Balkan War , Serbia , Bulgaria and Greece captured most of the remaining Ottoman possessions in Europe; disputes over
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#17327940561877750-452: The US (via the Channel Tunnel) a possibility." Limited railway capacity is the main bottleneck for Russian coal exports to Asia. Demand for Russian coal in Europe has declined due to the energy transition and Russia's invasion of Ukraine and this reinforces the need for Russia to reorient coal exports to Asia. Various Russian actors have therefore proposed the rapid expansion of the country's eastward rail capacity. The Russian Federation
7875-407: The USSR so that by 1960 the USSR was hauling about half of all railroad freight in the world (in tonne-km) and they did this on a rail system consisting of only 10% of the world's railway kilometrage. The status of hauling half the world's rail freight continued for almost 30 years but in 1988 rail freight traffic peaked at 3852 billion tonne-km (nearly 4 trillion). And then, a few years later in 1991,
8000-577: The actual results of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles would be powerful factors in the rise of Benito Mussolini . In 1817, the Principality of Serbia became an autonomous province within the Ottoman Empire ; with Russian support, it gained full independence after the 1877–1878 Russo-Turkish War . Many Serbs viewed Russia as protector of the South Slavs in general but also specifically against Bulgaria, where Russian objectives increasingly collided with Bulgarian nationalism . When Austria annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908, Russia responded by creating
8125-413: The bureaucratization of the ministry itself was publicly criticized, which became an occasion for reforms. Shortly after being elected president of Russia in 2000, Vladimir Putin approved the idea of reforming the railway transport, according to which all economic functions on the railway should be transferred to a joint-stock company with 100% state participation. The start of the state program for reforming
8250-551: The carriages and locomotives were destroyed. With the German and Turkish blockade of the Russian Baltic and Black Sea ports, the Trans-Siberian Railway acquired a new significance as the lifeline connecting Russian Empire to its World War I allies. To provide a shorter connection to the Entente powers, a railway was constructed to the newly built Arctic ice-free port of Murmansk as well (1916). Tsar Nicholas II clearly attached great importance to railways since he had his own railway line constructed from Vitebsky railway station to
8375-442: The central part of the staff are at Kalanchevskaya str., 35. Railways in the Russian-occupied region of Crimea are controlled by Crimea Railway , a separate company. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Russian Federation inherited 17 of the 32 regions of the former Soviet Railways (SZD). In the mid-1990s, the profitability of railway transportation of the Russian Ministry of Railways fell to negative values,
8500-434: The company since 20 August 2015. As of December 2013, Russian Railways has controlling interests in the following companies: On 24 February 2022, in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine , US President Joe Biden announced economic sanctions against several Russian companies, including Russian Railways. The main activities of Russian Railways involve freight and passenger traffic. In Russia, railways carry 42% of
8625-585: The company's revenue in 2017. The long-distance passenger fleet includes 19,386 rail cars as of 2017, with an average age of 19.1 years. Over 60% of long-distance passengers travel in third-class sleeping carriages. The long-distance rail passenger business is under increasing competition from airlines, due to their aggressive domestic pricing policies and generally shorter travel times for routes under 1,000 km. International rail passenger traffic dropped from 19.4 million passengers in 2013 to 6.8 million in 2017. In 2005–2010, JSC Russian Railways has launched
8750-530: The date with the lowest index. In 2010 and 2011, the average weighted index for calendar periods was 0.97 and the average volume of passenger traffic – 1.00. According to the JSC Russian Railways statement, the passenger transportation – except for some highly profitable directions – is unprofitable. These losses are partly compensated from the budget, and for the most part – with the help of cross-subsidies by income from freight. Allies of World War I Associated allies and co-belligerents: The Allies ,
8875-416: The defender of its fellow Slavs and on 30 July, mobilized in support of Serbia. In response, Germany declared war on Russia on 1 August, followed by Austria-Hungary on 6th; after Ottoman warships bombarded Odesa in late October, the Entente declared war on the Ottoman Empire in November 1914. French defeat in the 1870–1871 Franco-Prussian War led to the loss of the two provinces of Alsace-Lorraine and
9000-579: The division of these resulted in the Second Balkan War , in which Bulgaria was comprehensively defeated by its former allies. Russia's industrial base and railway network had significantly improved since 1905, although from a relatively low base; in 1913, Tsar Nicholas approved an increase in the Russian Army of over 500,000 men. Although there was no formal alliance between Russia and Serbia, their close bilateral links provided Russia with
9125-448: The end of the war in 1917 (the same year in which Russia withdrew from the conflict) as an "associated power" rather than an official ally. Other "associated members" included Serbia , Belgium , Montenegro , Asir , Nejd and Hasa , Portugal , Romania , Hejaz , Panama , Cuba , Greece , China , Siam , Brazil , Armenia , Luxembourg , Guatemala , Nicaragua , Costa Rica , Haiti , Liberia , and Honduras . The treaties signed at
9250-571: The entire population. In 1830, the southern provinces of the Netherlands broke away to form the Kingdom of Belgium and their independence was confirmed by the 1839 Treaty of London . Article VII of the Treaty required Belgium to remain perpetually neutral and committed Austria, France, Germany and Russia to guarantee that against aggression by any other state, including the signatories. While
9375-655: The establishment of the League of Nations on 25 January 1919. This came into being on 16 January 1920 with Britain, France, Italy and Japan as permanent members of the Executive Council; the US Senate voted against ratification of the treaty on 19 March, thus preventing the United States from joining the League. For similar statistics of the Central Powers, see Central_Powers#Statistics . For much of
9500-639: The establishment of the Third Republic . The suppression of the Paris Commune by the new regime caused deep political divisions and led to a series of bitter political struggles, such as the Dreyfus affair . As a result, aggressive nationalism or Revanchism was one of the few areas to unite the French. The loss of Alsace-Lorraine deprived France of its natural defence line on the Rhine , while it
9625-594: The expansion of its railway network, particularly in border areas with Germany and Austria-Hungary. However, Russian defeat in the 1904–1905 Russo-Japanese War damaged its credibility, while Britain's isolation during the Second Boer War meant both countries sought additional allies. This resulted in the 1904 Entente Cordiale with Britain; like the 1907 Anglo-Russian Convention , for domestic British consumption it focused on settling colonial disputes but led to informal co-operation in other areas. By 1914, both
9750-494: The first Russian steam locomotive . The first railway line was built in Russia in 1837 between Saint-Petersburg and Tsarskoye Selo , and called the Tsarskoye Selo Railway . It was 27 km (17 mi) long and linked the Imperial Palaces at Tsarskoye Selo and Pavlovsk . Track gauge was 6 feet (1830 mm). This railway has been described as a " toy " railway, as it had no economic, political or social impact on
9875-597: The frontlines and often evacuating entire factories and towns from European Russia to the Ural region and Siberia . The loss of mining and industrial centers of the western Soviet Union necessitated speedy construction of new railways during the wartime. Particularly notable among them was the railway to the Arctic coal mines of Vorkuta , extended after the war to Labytnangi on the Ob River ; construction work to extend it all
10000-443: The government had guaranteed payment of interest and dividends on the securities of the private railroads resulting in a strong incentive for government takeover of failing railroads. Sergei Witte was able to turn around some money-losing railroads and make them profitable. The remaining private companies had strong incentive towards more efficient operation in order to avoid nationalization . The result, according to one observer
10125-490: The high-speed rail sections linking Moscow–Kazan (1.2 trillion rubles), Moscow–Tula (268.6 billion rubles), Chelyabinsk–Yekaterinburg (122.6 billion rubles), Tula–Belgorod (86.8 billion rubles), Yekaterinburg–Nizhny Tagil (12.9 billion rubles) and Novosibirsk–Barnaul (62.3 billion rubles). The project design of the largest container port in Ust-Luga for reception and distribution of containerized freight on China–Europe route
10250-695: The idea of an independent Albania , since this would prevent Serbian access to the Austrian-controlled Adriatic Sea . The success of the Albanian revolt in 1912 threatened Serbian ambitions for the incorporation of " Old Serbia " into its domain and exposed the weakness of the Ottoman Empire. This led to the outbreak of the First Balkan War , with Serbia , Montenegro , Bulgaria and Greece capturing most of
10375-566: The import of most of Italy's raw materials, including 90% of its coal. Salandra described the process of choosing a side as 'sacred egoism,' but as the war was expected to end before mid-1915 at the latest, making this decision became increasingly urgent. In line with Italy's obligations under the Triple Alliance, the bulk of the army was concentrated on Italy's border with France; in October, Pollio's replacement, General Luigi Cadorna ,
10500-730: The largest component (after Britain herself) was the British Raj or British India, which included modern India , Pakistan , Myanmar and Bangladesh . Unlike other colonies which came under the Colonial Office , it was governed directly by the India Office or by princes loyal to the British; it also controlled British interests in the Persian Gulf , such as the Trucial States and Oman . Over one million soldiers of
10625-468: The law requires carriers to provide service to customers anywhere in Russia, RZD retained its dominant position. Later in 2003, the Decree No. 585 established RZD as a joint stock company, making it a holding in charge of 63 subsidiaries, including TransContainer , RailTranAuto, Rail Passenger Directorate, Russian Troika, TransGroup, and Refservis. RZD acquired 987 companies (95% in asset value) out of
10750-745: The light trains were equipped with 76.2mm guns. The railways and railway workers played a major role during the Russian Revolution . For example, the Tashkent Soviet was founded on 2 March 1917 by thirty five railway workers. The Transcaspian Government was founded by Menshevik and Social revolutionary railway workers in revolt against the Bolsheviks who ran the Tashkent Soviet and existed from July 1918 to July 1919. Tsektran (Central Administrative Body of Railways)
10875-504: The market. In 2003, RZD launched a project to replace the narrow gauge on Sakhalin Railway to the broad gauge used in the rest of Russia, which it formally completed in August 2019. The share of privately owned wagons in the freight transport increased to one-third of the total by 2005. On 18 May 2006, the company signed an agreement with Siemens for the delivery of eight high-speed trains. On 23 May 2007, Russian Railways adopted
11000-405: The new company logo Sans-serif RussianRail Grotesque Medium was used. In 2008, the new logo of Russian Railways became a runner-up for the international design competition WOLDA '08 award. Strategy 2030, an investment plan to expand and modernize the railway network, was approved by the Russian government in 2008. Since 2008, as part of the structural reform of rail transport, with separation of
11125-441: The rail freight of the USSR). This amounted to significantly more rail freight than any country in the world. However the severe depression in Russia in the 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union (actually beginning in the last year of its existence), resulted in rail freight falling to about 40% of its 1988 value to its low point in 1997 (1020 billion ton-km). Russia was no longer number one for rail freight. In 1993 Russia
11250-568: The railway network to a total length of 106,100 km by 1940. A notable project of the late 1920s and one of the centerpieces of the first five-year plan was the Turkestan–Siberia Railway , linking Western Siberia via Eastern Kazakhstan with Uzbekistan . During the Great Patriotic War ( World War II ) the railway system played a vital role in the war effort transporting military personnel, equipment and freight to
11375-594: The railway would provide a more reliable method of transport particularly during the climatic extremes of summer and winter. Although influenced by military considerations, the railway would help bring food grown in the South to the less fertile northern areas. The plan for this first railway also offered the possibility of creating a network which could extend to the Lower Volga and the Black Sea , developing Moscow as
11500-533: The reassurance needed to take on Russia in the 1905 Russo-Japanese War ; victory established Japan in the Chinese province of Manchuria . With Japan as an ally in the Far East, John Fisher , First Sea Lord from 1904 to 1910, was able to refocus British naval resources in the North Sea to counter the threat from the Imperial German Navy . The Alliance was renewed in 1911; in 1914, Japan joined
11625-584: The red, but by 1965 they returned a profit to the Soviet Government of 13.3% on their capital investment. By 1980 profits had nearly halved to 7.1%. Passenger travel on Soviet and Russian railways has long been subsidized by profits from freight transportation. In 2000 (post-Soviet), long-distance passengers only paid 55% of the cost while commuter train passengers paid only 15% of costs. But six years later (2006) these figures were about 80% and 50% due mainly to increased fares. Current policy (2010)
11750-448: The remaining Ottoman possessions in Europe. Disputes over the division of these resulted in the Second Balkan War , in which Bulgaria was comprehensively defeated by its former allies. As a result of the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest , Serbia increased its territory by 100% and its population by 64%. However, it now faced a hostile Austria-Hungary, a resentful Bulgaria and resistance in its conquered territories . Germany too had ambitions in
11875-458: The risk was acceptable; they expected a short war while their ambassador in London claimed troubles in Ireland would prevent Britain from assisting France. On 3 August, Germany demanded unimpeded progress through any part of Belgium and when this was refused, invaded early on the morning of 4 August. This changed the situation; the invasion of Belgium consolidated political and public support for
12000-457: The rolling stock (including supply of Sapsan trains). In 2010, Federal Passenger Company was established as a fully owned subsidiary of Russian Railways, providing long-distance passenger services both in Russia and abroad. By the end of 2013, it operated all long-distance routes, except for high-speed Sapsan lines, which are operated by RZD. RZD issued its first dollar-denominated bond in 2010, raising $ 1.5 billion. On 28 October 2011,
12125-440: The rolling stock. In March 2016, RZD approved an updated version of high-speed rail development program until 2030. The 5 trillion ruble program includes the construction of Moscow–Kazan–Yekaterinburg, Moscow–Adler and Moscow–Saint Petersburg high-speed lines, as well as other high-speed lines connecting regional cities. The construction program is divided into three stages. By 2020, Russian Railways planned to put into operation
12250-409: The sale of shares . In 2009, Russian Railways stated that it expected a loss of 49.7 billion rubles in the year, compared with a profit of 13.4 billion rubles in 2008, and that it planned to shed 53,700 jobs from its workforce of 1.2 million. In 2007, as part of a liberalisation process, Russian Railways established First Freight Company which holds a large number of freight wagons; in 2010, it
12375-515: The services infrastructure of transportation activity and the emergence of a competitive environment, Russian Railways has been transformed into a vertically oriented holding company. In 2009, the investment budget was 262.8 billion rubles (excluding VAT), of which 47.4 billion for projects related to the preparation and staging of the Olympic Games in Sochi; 58.7 billion for the renovation of
12500-626: The shipping company CMA CGM announced to be acquiring the French logistics company Gefco SA from Russian Railways and minority shareholder Stellantis . On 11 April 2022, the Wall Street Journal and Reuters reported that the International Swaps and Derivatives Association had determined a "failure to pay" credit event occurred on 250 million CHF worth of Swiss franc loan participation notes linked to an entity related to Russian Railways, RZD Capital. The determination
12625-646: The then-unified Korea and Formosa, now modern Taiwan . Concerned by Russian expansion in Korea and Manchuria , Britain and Japan signed the Anglo-Japanese Alliance on 30 January 1902, agreeing if either were attacked by a third party, the other would remain neutral and if attacked by two or more opponents, the other would come to its aid. This meant Japan could rely on British support in a war with Russia, if either France or Germany, which also had interests in China, decided to join them. This gave Japan
12750-439: The total cargo traffic, and about 33% of passenger traffic. Some passenger categories, such as pensioners, members of parliament, and holders of Soviet and Russian state decorations, receive free or subsidized tickets. In 2013 railways carried nearly 90% of Russia's freight, excluding pipelines. In 2014, railway infrastructure and locomotive services accounted for 74% of the company's total revenue. The cost of freight tariff
12875-621: The two into direct conflict, as did the long-held Russian objective of gaining control of the Bosporus Straits and with it access to the British-dominated Mediterranean Sea . Defeat in the 1905 Russo-Japanese War and Britain's isolation during the 1899–1902 Second Boer War led both parties to seek allies. The Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 settled disputes in Asia and allowed the establishment of
13000-556: The war by presenting what appeared to be a simple moral and strategic choice. The Belgians asked for assistance under the 1839 Treaty and in response, Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914. Although Germany's violation of Belgium neutrality was not the only cause of British entry into the war, it was used extensively in government propaganda at home and abroad to make the case for British intervention. This confusion arguably persists today. The declaration of war automatically involved all dominions and colonies and protectorates of
13125-432: The war on 4 August, although France did not declare war on Austria-Hungary until 12 August. As with Britain, France's colonies also became part of the war; pre-1914, French soldiers and politicians advocated using French African recruits to help compensate for France's demographic weakness. But it eventually proved useless, the soldiers from Metropolitan France still undertook all the tasks. From August to December 1914,
13250-437: The war was over it took a few more years to restore the railroads and get back to the pre-war level of traffic. Then the USSR embarked on a series of more five-year plans and rail traffic rapidly increased. By 1954 their rail freight traffic (about 850 billion tonne-km) surpassed that of the United States and the USSR then hauled more rail freight than any other country in the world. Rail freight continued to rapidly increase in
13375-633: The way to the Yenisey continued into the 1950s, aborted with the death of Joseph Stalin . As a result of the World War II victory over Japan, the southern half of Sakhalin Island was returned to Russia in 1945. The 1,067 mm ( 3 ft 6 in ) railway network built by the Japanese during their forty years of control of Southern Sakhalin now became part of Soviet Railways as well (as
13500-582: Was 1,524 mm ( 5 ft ) and this became the Russian standard gauge . From 1853 to 1862, a line was built from St. Petersburg to Warsaw, thus connecting with Western Europe. On 15 June 1865, an edict of Alexander II established the Ministry of Communications, which absorbed the Department of Railways. In the 1860s and 1870s, Pavel Melnikov , Russia's first Minister of Communications, played
13625-582: Was British support for France against Germany in the 1905 Moroccan Crisis . The 1905–1915 Liberal government continued this re-alignment with the 1907 Anglo-Russian Convention . Like the Anglo-Japanese and Entente agreements, it focused on settling colonial disputes but by doing so paved the way for wider co-operation and allowed Britain to refocus resources in response to German naval expansion . Since control of Belgium allowed an opponent to threaten invasion or blockade British trade, preventing it
13750-577: Was a long-standing British strategic interest. Under Article VII of the 1839 Treaty of London , Britain guaranteed Belgian neutrality against aggression by any other state, by force if required. Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg later dismissed this as a 'scrap of paper,' but British law officers routinely confirmed it as a binding legal obligation and its importance was well understood by Germany. The 1911 Agadir Crisis led to secret discussions between France and Britain in case of war with Germany. These agreed that within two weeks of its outbreak,
13875-515: Was a surge of anti-Japanese nationalism in China and an economic boycott of Japanese goods. In addition, the other Allies now saw Japan as a threat, rather than a partner, lead to tensions first with Russia, then the US after it entered the war in April 1917. Despite protests from the other Allies, after the war Japan refused to return Qingdao and the province of Shandong to China. The 1882 Triple Alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy
14000-437: Was about five times higher). But due to the war, a few years later Russian traffic had crashed to about 20 billion ton-km. Then the civil war started with the reds fighting the whites, which delayed the recovery of rail traffic. The reds (communists) won, resulting in the formation of the Soviet Union (USSR) and a new chapter in railway development. The USSR rebuilt its rail system and industrialized with five-year plans . As
14125-428: Was alleged that the contractors were actually shell companies , used to convey billions of dollars in tenders to close associates of Yakunin, president of RZD. Zheldoripoteka, RZD's real estate arm, was revealed to have sold land plots located close to railway stations in major cities to the son of Russian Railways president Vladimir Yakunin. Far East Land Bridge, a company partnered with a Russian Railways subsidiary,
14250-558: Was also linked to Yakunin's son. On 16 October 2012, Russian Railways has completed competitive negotiations with potential buyers of the remaining 25-percent plus 1 share stake in JSC Freight One . The best binding offer was received from the Independent Transport Company LLC. The assets were sold for 50 billion rubles. In early November 2012, Russian Railways announced the purchase of 75% of
14375-406: Was announced that Second Freight Company would be established, and remaining freight wagons transferred to that. In July 2010, RZD signed an agreement for Siemens to provide rolling stock (240 EMUs) and upgrade 22 marshalling yards. The first initiative in developing railways came following a meeting called by Tsar Nicholas I held on 13 January 1842 where he announced that the state would build
14500-601: Was dismissed, allegedly because of poor performance and mismanagement. Yakunin was replaced by Oleg Belozyorov . RZD International began works on the reconstruction of the Serbian Vinarci – Djordjevo line in 2016. The Moscow Central Circle railway, designed and managed by Roszheldorproject , an RZD subsidiary, opened in September 2016. In July 2018, the company announced plans to phase out third-class carriages on long-distance trains by 2025. On 8 April 2022,
14625-785: Was established in September 1920 as a fusion of the Commissariat of Transport , the Railway unions and the relevant political departments of the Bolshevik Party . Trotsky was put in charge. Leon Trotsky spent much of the Russian Civil War on board his armoured train : The Revolt of the Czechoslovak Legion , a rebellion by returning Czech and Slovak prisoners of war on the Trans-Siberian Railway from prisoner-of-war camps in Siberia, posed
14750-462: Was exhausted by the two Balkan Wars and unable to replace its losses of men and equipment. In 1915, Bulgaria joined the Central Powers and by the end of the year, a combined Bulgar-Austrian-German army occupied most of Serbia. Between 1914 and 1918, Serbia suffered the greatest proportional losses of any combatant, with over 25% of all those mobilised becoming casualties; including civilians and deaths from disease, over 1.2 million died, nearly 30% of
14875-467: Was offset when Germany declared war on Portugal in March 1916, while Romania commenced hostilities against Austria on 27 August. On 6 April 1917, the United States entered the war as a co-belligerent, along with the associated allies of Liberia , Siam and Greece . After the 1917 October Revolution , Russia left the Entente and agreed to a separate peace with the Central Powers with the signing of
15000-532: Was ordered to begin moving these troops to the North-Eastern one with Austria. Under the April 1915 Treaty of London , Italy agreed to join the Entente in return for Italian-populated territories of Austria-Hungary and other concessions; in return, it declared war on Austria-Hungary in May 1915 as required, although not on Germany until 1916. Italian resentment at the difference between the promises of 1915 and
15125-692: Was overtaken by the United States and the next year, 1994, it was overtaken by China So for rail freight, Russia had fallen from a strong first place to third and remains so to this day even though there was partial recovery to 2116 ton-km by 2008, which is still well below the peak of 2606 ton-km in 1998. For a graph ('til 2002) (in Russian) see. By 2010 there was reported to be a growing share of railroad freight being diverted to highway trucks. Russian Railways Russian Railways (Russian: ОАО «Российские железные дороги» (ОАО «РЖД») , romanized: OAO Rossiyskie zheleznye dorogi (OAO RZhD) )
15250-537: Was renewed at regular intervals, but was compromised by conflicting objectives between Italy and Austria in the Adriatic and Aegean seas. Italian nationalists referred to Austrian-held Istria (including Trieste and Fiume ) and Trento as 'the lost territories' , making the Alliance so controversial that the terms were kept secret until it expired in 1915. Alberto Pollio , the pro-Austrian Chief of Staff of
15375-405: Was that: "Russian railroads gradually become perhaps the most economically operated railroads of the world." Profits were high: over 100 million gold rubles a year to the government (exact amount unknown due to accounting defects). After the Russian Revolution (1917) all railroads become government owned by the Soviet Union. During the earlier years, the Soviet railroads were financially in
15500-494: Was the most successful passenger train of JSC Russian Railways with occupancy rate of 84.5% (according to RZD in 2010) and profitability of 30% (although capital costs were not included in its calculation). Passenger tariffs (except for travelling in the stateroom, sleeping and VIP-cars) are approved by the State, represented by the Federal Tariff Service with social orientation of its traffic operations below cost. Passenger fare
15625-493: Was weaker demographically than Germany, whose 1911 population was 64.9 million to 39.6 in France, which had the lowest birthrate in Europe. This meant that despite their very different political systems, when Germany allowed the Reinsurance Treaty to lapse, France seized the opportunity to agree the 1894 Franco-Russian Alliance . It also replaced Germany as the primary source of financing for Russian industry and
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