Trains from China to Russia delayed by several weeks as European trade gets priority

Chinese freight trains destined for Russia are facing delays of several weeks. Trains heading to Europe are reportedly being prioritised by Chinese companies because the Russian rail network cannot accept all incoming trains. Meanwhile, traffic in the opposite direction is also at its limits.

“As our partners from China report, 6-7 trains out of 10 are currently sent to Europe, 3-4 to Russia. We stand in line and wait. Trains to Russia are delayed and rescheduled. We have cases where trains have been rescheduled for three weeks already”, a logistics expert told Russian publication RZD-Partner. In other words, China is prioritising freight towards Europe over its trade with Russia.

“The Chinese railway operators themselves, as well as Chinese stations do not know when they will receive permission to send a train to Russia and even if it is postponed, they cannot name the planned date”, the source explains.

Due to the logistical issues, railway transportation rates have grown by 80 per cent over the past half years, he says. The delays mean “worsening service, higher transportation costs, and longer delivery times. This hurts the consumer, to whom the goods take a long time to get there, with congestion”.

Opposite direction also confronted with limitations

The route from China into Russia is not the only direction that is struggling with capacity issues. Goods from Russia travelling to China or Far East ports for further exportation are also running into the limitations of the rail network: Russian Railways (RZD) was planning to send 162,5 million tonnes of goods in the eastern direction in 2024. However, the company is already saying that the final score will be around 156 million tonnes.

There are various underlying reasons for the disappointing numbers. Frozen goods in winter time, a growth in the share of (lighter) container traffic and a growth of domestic freight towards the east all contribute to the setback, according to RZD’s deputy director Michail Glazkov.

A Kommersant market source adds a number of other reasons to that list. Reportedly, RZD is not completing construction works in the Far East region and technological solutions are insufficient. They also mention that RZD “cannot introduce new trains into the schedule”, likely referring to the locomotive and staff shortage at the rail operator.