Growth points, tariffs and cargo base

According to the instruction of Russian President Vladimir Putin, by 2030 the volume of transport on international transport corridors (ICC) should increase by at least one and a half times compared with the 2021 level. 

One of the key elements of this strategy is to increase the cargo flow following the MTK North-South, which connects the central and northwestern regions of Russia with the Gulf countries and India. 

Since 2022, there have been significant changes in the geographical structure of Russian exports, which has led to changes in the established logistics patterns of cargo delivery, said the presentation «Prospects of development of railway infrastructure of MTK North-South to provide transport of foreign trade goods of Russia» (the author - Deputy General Director of the Institute of Economy and Transport Development Alexei Zamkova). 

In particular, the share of neutral countries in Russia’s exports in physical terms increased from 47% in 2021 to 81% in 2023.

An important component of the work on developing the North-South corridor is the modernization of railway infrastructure. In the territory of the Russian Federation, this work is carried out by JSC «RZD». Six projects are currently under implementation, including the development of railway approaches to the port of Makhachkala and the Derbent railway crossing. 

Among the foreign projects, the development of MTK railway infrastructure in Azerbaijan, construction of the branch line Rasht - Astara (Iran) to provide a shipping capacity of up to 15 million tons per year and provision of the shipping capacity of the section Serhetak - Bereket Akeyla/Serahs (Turkmenistan) of at least 7 million tons per year.