News / Russia looks to expand rail links, but has trouble oiling the wheels

Trans-Siberian Rail © DiegoFiore Dreamstime.com

Russia’s government may be pushing its logistics to the rails to avoid sanctions, but a lack of lubricants has left it some 50,000 train services short on its existing connections.

News broke this week that the Putin government was providing Tehran with $1.7bn to build a 100-mile stretch of track linking the Iranian cities of Astara and Rasht, in an effort to open connections to Mumbai and further skirt western sanctions.

And Bloomberg has reported that Mr Putin had authorised a multi-billion-dollar upgrade of “two key eastern rail lines” linking Russia and China.

Moscow has not been quiet when it comes to the Iranian links, describing the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) as a potential rival to the supremacy of the Suez Canal in global trade.

David Szakonyi, a political scientist at George Washington University, told Business Insider the trade links would help Russia import products it could not produce itself.

Among them, as sanctions bite, are parts essential to keeping railways running, including lubricants, bearings and electronic components, while the country’s war-footing has also left it short of maintenance staff, with half-a-million sent to fight.

According to Railfreight.com, Russian Railways (RZD) saw the number of trains delayed or suspended last year (roughly 42,600) double those in 2022.

In terms of freight volumes, those hits to services led to more than 2m tonnes of goods not being delivered and, with the west intensifying its sanctions programme, expectations are that the numbers will climb further this year.

According to reports, expectations are for servicing companies to replace parts before breakdowns occur, with RZD moving to domestic rolling stock to reduce reliance on external suppliers.

Details of the companies being tapped to supply the wagons and locomotives are few, but Sinara-Transport Machines has netted a $1.6bn deal to supply 28 passenger trains as part of the country’s move to high-speed rail.