Coal exports via Russian Railways network down 11.7% in Dec to 14.1 mln tonnes

MOSCOW. Jan 14 (Interfax) - Coal export via the network of OJSC Russian Railways (RZD) decreased 11.7% year-on-year in December 2025 and amounted to 14.1 million tonnes, the company said.

In total, 27.7 million tonnes of coal were shipped via the RZD network in December, down 8.1% YoY.

According to calculations made by the Institute of Economics and Transport Development (IETD, controlled by RZD) at the end of December, the efficiency of external deliveries of thermal coal compared to the previous month decreased in the eastern (-21.1% compared to the end of November 2025), southern (-18.9%) and northwestern (-16%) directions, including under the influence of deteriorating market conditions and a strengthening ruble.

More than half (58%) of all coal was loaded towards the east. The share of export shipments to the east in innovative wagons increased by 1 percentage points (p.p.) to 85%, and by 2 p.p. from Kuzbass, to 86%.

According to IETD data, the deterioration of coal market conditions towards the end of the year slightly reduced the level of inflated transportation applications compared to the previous month. In December 2025, shippers submitted applications but did not actually ship 2.4 million tonnes of coal, including 1 million tonnes for export, of which 0.6 million tonnes were towards the east.