Russian Railways Cuts Investments in 2026 0 16

Russian Railways is sharply reducing its investment program for the second consecutive year due to a deterioration in its financial situation, which has been hit by the most severe drop in freight transportation in 15 years.

In 2026, Russian Railways will spend 713.6 billion rubles on investments, RBC reports, citing a source close to the monopoly. Compared to the current year (890.9 billion rubles), the company's investment program will decrease by a quarter, and when compared to 2024 (1.5 trillion rubles) — by more than half.

Expenditures on the purchase of cars and locomotives will amount to 161.7 billion rubles. This is 37% less than what was budgeted by Russian Railways for the current year (257.2 billion rubles). Funding for railway construction will decrease by 20% — 182.2 billion rubles compared to 225.6 billion. Spending on the repair of tracks, rolling stock, and infrastructure will be reduced to 288 billion rubles from 298 billion in the current year.

The budget of Russian Railways is under severe strain due to rising interest rates on loans and an unprecedented decline in transportation, which has continued for the fourth consecutive year: down 3.9% in 2022, down 0.2% in 2023, down 4.1% in 2024, and down another 6.7% for January–September 2025.

As a result of the first nine months of last year, Russian Railways reported a net loss of 4.4 billion rubles for the first time in five years. At the same time, cash reserves on the monopoly's accounts decreased twelvefold: from a "cash cushion" of 251.6 billion rubles at the beginning of the year, only 21.7 billion remained by the end of September. Due to financial problems, the company sent some employees on unpaid leave, and in October it was forced to initiate staff reductions.

A significant problem for Russian Railways has been its enormous debt, which has reached 4 trillion rubles, a source close to the company told Reuters. Russian Railways requested the government for urgent budget injections of 200 billion rubles, but the Ministry of Finance refused.

Instead, the government is preparing a support plan for Russian Railways amounting to 1.3 trillion rubles, which will include restructuring debts to banks and selling real estate. In particular, the monopoly plans to dispose of the 62-story skyscraper in Moscow City, which it acquired from Arkady Rotenberg's structures in 2024, spending its entire annual profit on it.

According to RBC sources, to make ends meet, Russian Railways is also preparing an "optimization" of its management staff, with some being offered to relocate from Moscow to the regions. Additionally, a de facto freeze on salary indexation is planned — it will amount to only 0.1%.