Service functions
Freight transportation
In 2013, 1,396.1 million tonnes of freight were transported (including luggage) – 3% less than in 2012. At the same time, the volume of domestic traffic decreased in 2013 more significantly than that of international transportation – by 3.6% vs 2.1%, respectively. Consequently, the share of international traffic in the overall structure rose slightly, from 39.2% to 39.6% in 2013.
Export is the main sector of international traffic. In 2013, its volume amounted to 405.6 million tonnes of freight. Traffic export volume for the year decreased by 2.3%; in particular, traffic towards ports decreased - by 3%, and via border crossings – by 1.3%.
The import and transit share in total freight transportation volume is relatively small, at 10.6%. During the year, the transportation of imported freight decreased by 1.5% to 114.9 million tonnes of transit freight – by 1.6%, to 32.7 million tonnes. In particular, the transportation of imports from Kazakhstan decreased by 2.4%. Coal and ore transported to the South Ural and Sverdlovsk railways account for the largest share in the aforementioned traffic.
The main reason for the decrease of transit through the territory of the Russian Federation is the decrease of grain transportation volumes from Kazakhstan to third countries.
In 2013, the average distance of freight transportation increased by 29.7 km (or by 1.9%) compared to 2012, at a total of 1,575 km.
The greatest impact on the average distance increase as a whole was the increase in export shipments via ports.
In terms of freight groups, the average distance increased mainly for stone coal (+33.3 km), mineral construction materials (+2.2 km) and other freight types (+2.5 km). The decrease in distance for ferrous metals (-4.1 km) and ore (-1 km) transportation was a deterrent to average distance growth.
Freight transport (including luggage) in 2013
| Indicators | Transported freight | Average distance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| thousand tonnes | % to 2012 | km | % to 2012 | |
| Freight transport, total | 1,396,085.7 | -3.0 | 1,573 | 1.9 |
| Domestic traffic | 842,829.4 | |||
| Freight | 838,245.2 | -3.6 | 1,140 | 1.4 |
| Luggage | 4,584.2 | -13.0 | 931 | -0.9 |
| International traffic | 553,256.3 | |||
| Routed traffic | 553,242.4 | -2.1 | 2,235 | 1.8 |
| Export | 405,623.7 | -2.3 | 2,630 | 1.8 |
| Import | 114,881.9 | -1.5 | 937 | 0 |
| Transit | 32,736.8 | -1.6 | 1,887 | 7.8 |
| Luggage | 13.9 | 3.7 | 612 | 0.8 |