Specifics of Railway Development in Russia

Abstract

The state of rail transport in Russia today cannot be commended, considering that the leading countries in the industry are sometimes several times more efficient than Russia. A number of current problems, such as the lack of high-speed railways, the underdeveloped rail network, the monopoly of one company and, consequently, the unreasonably high prices for transportation, need to be resolved as soon as possible. Improvements in this area will help railways to be competitive among other transport: today, transportation by rail is slower than it could be and more expensive. Solutions need to be found that will soon solve the existing range of problems and also allow the railway industry to continue making a major contribution to the country's economy. Russia is a potentially game-changing country in this industry: it has a huge area, which means there should be no problems in accommodating the HSL. Besides, the country has good engineers trained in this field, and the investments made into changing the railroad sector would allow the country to develop at a pace similar to that of China, for instance.