Passenger transportation

The main measures carried out in 2016, which was declared the Year of the Passenger, aimed to develop and improve passenger transportation as well as enhance the quality and expand the range of services offered.

Mikhail Akulov

For the year, we carried 1.037 billion passengers, a 1.6% increase from the number of passengers transported in 2015. Passenger turnover also increased, reversing the negative trend seen over the last three years. I am pleased to note the situation has stabilized in suburban transportation. Government decisions as well as our constructive joint work with the regions have made it possible to create a long-term sustainable model for the suburban transportation sector. I must also mention the success of the Moscow Central Ring. Passenger traffic via the MCR was only launched in September, but by the end of the year more than 27 million people had already used it.

Key achievements in 2016
  • Passenger turnover via Russian Railways infrastructure totalled 124.5 bln pass. km in 2016, including 93.5 bln pass. km for long-haul transportation and 31 bln pass. km for suburban traffic.
  • A total of 1,037.0 mln passengers were transported, including 101.4 mln passengers on long-haul transportation and 935.6 mln passengers on suburban transportation.
  • Passenger turnover via rapid-transit trains grew by 24.3% to 4.6 bln pass. km in 2016.
  • The share of railways in overall passenger transportation via the main types of transport increased by 1.4 p.p. to 27.3% in 2016.
  • The Moscow Central Ring (MCR) opened in September. The MCR carried more than 27 mln passengers in 2016, or 239,200 people per day on average.
  • Strizh trains began running from Moscow to Berlin in December 2016. This train had capacity utilisation of 65.8%.
  • The satisfaction index rose to 77.7 points for long-haul train service and to 76.3 for suburban trains (out of a possible 100 points).
  • The customer satisfaction level calculated based on an assessment of the level of passenger satisfaction with the quality of services provided by Federal Passenger Company totalled 95%

Performance of the passenger service

Passenger turnover on public transportation totalled 456.4 bln pass. km in 2016, including 124.5 bln pass. km on railways, 116.6 bln pass. km on road transportation and 215.3 bln pass. km on air transportation.

Negative trends with passenger railway transportation on Russian Railways infrastructure have been several years now. The deterioration in the macroeconomic environment in Russia has above all resulted in the decreased mobility of the most disadvantaged members of the population – potential passengers in the socially significant regulated transportation segment.

The negative trends continued in the first quarter of 2016 (–2.3% versus 2015), and the situation only began to stabilise starting in April. This was facilitated by systematic marketing work supporting affordability as well as an expanded route network and increased speeds. In addition, regular work was conducted to improve services and additional services for passengers.

As a result, railway passenger turnover grew by 3.4% in 2016. The number of passengers increased by 1.6% to 1,037 mln people.

Key indicators for passenger transportation using Russian Railways infrastructure
Indicator 2015 2016 Change
+/– %
Passenger turnover, bln pass. km 120.4 124.5 4.0 103.4
Suburban transportation 30.9 31.0 0.1 100.4
Long-haul transportation, including 89.5 93.5 3.9 104.4
Rapid-transit transportation 3.7 Data for 2015 and 2016 presented taking into account rapid-transit transportation of Federal Passenger Company and the branch of Russian Railways – High-Speed Transportation Directorate (HSTD). 4.6 Data for 2015 and 2016 presented taking into account rapid-transit transportation of Federal Passenger Company and the branch of Russian Railways – High-Speed Transportation Directorate (HSTD). 0.9 124.3
Passengers transported, mln passengers 1,020.4 1,037.0 16.6 101.6
Suburban transportation 922.5 935.6 13.1 101.4
Long-haul transportation, including 97.9 101.4 3.5 103.6
Rapid-transit transportation 7.7 Data for 2015 and 2016 presented taking into account rapid-transit transportation of Federal Passenger Company and the branch of Russian Railways – High-Speed Transportation Directorate (HSTD). 9.2 Data for 2015 and 2016 presented taking into account rapid-transit transportation of Federal Passenger Company and the branch of Russian Railways – High-Speed Transportation Directorate (HSTD). 1.5 119.1
Railway passenger turnover, bln pass. km
Number of passengers transported by railway, mln passengers