Russian Railways reaches agreement with Kuzbass on transporting 54.1 mln tonnes of coal for export in 2025

MOSCOW. Jan 20 (Interfax) - OJSC Russian Railways (RZD) and Russia's Kuzbass coal basin have concluded an agreement on transporting coal in 2025, the company said.

Shippers will present 54.1 million tonnes of coal for transportation, and RZD will ship this amount towards the east for export, in line with the parameters of the agreement that was in effect in 2024, the document said.

The document includes a quarterly distribution of transportation volumes towards the east, taking into account plans for maintenance and construction work on the railways.

To enhance the efficiency of infrastructure use on the Eastern Polygon, the document stipulates a full transition to use of high-capacity innovative rolling stock for coal loading starting from Q2 2025, RZD said.

"In addition, measures will be taken to reduce inefficient domestic coal shipments from the Kuzbass towards the east, which will make it possible to increase transportation of other types of cargo," it said.

As reported, RZD shipped 53.6 million tonnes of coal from the Kuzbass to the east for export last year, which was 0.5 million tonnes lower than what was outlined in the 2024 agreement. It was also reported that coal exports from the Kemerovo region fell 10.4% in 2024 to 102 million tonnes. Specifically, 53.6 million tonnes of coal were shipped to the east, up 2% compared to 2023, and 48.4 million tonnes to the west, down 20.8%.