Russian Railways: Russia-China Rail Freight Volume Up 3% Year-on-Year to 62.7 Million Tons in Jan-Apr 2026

On May 27th, Russian Railways announced data showing that from January to April 2026, the total volume of rail freight between Russia and China increased by 3% year-on-year, reaching 62.7 million tons. Among this, container transport volume reached 1.168 million TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 5.9%. In terms of cargo flow, export freight volume to China totaled 54.8 million tons, up 2% year-on-year, with major export categories including 33.7 million tons of coal, 4.7 million tons of iron ore, 4.6 million tons of petroleum products, and 2.5 million tons of fertilizers. Import freight volume from China was 7.8 million tons, a significant year-on-year increase of 10.8%, primarily consisting of chemicals, industrial manufactured goods, non-ferrous metal ores, and automotive parts. By transportation route, freight volume transported via ports amounted to 43.9 million tons, up 6% year-on-year, while freight volume transported through border crossings was 18.8 million tons, down 3.2% year-on-year. Notably, the Zabaikalsk crossing, a key transport node, handled a two-way freight volume of 7.8 million tons, a 4.3% year-on-year increase. Container transport performance was particularly strong at this crossing, with volume surging 32% year-on-year to 197,400 TEUs. Russian Railways expressed its hope that the annual Russia-China rail freight volume for 2026 will achieve a 1.7% growth, reaching at least 190 million tons. This would set a new record, following the historic high of over 186 million tons in total rail freight volume achieved in 2025. [This article is sourced from Ebrun Go. An automated writing robot developed by Ebrun, it delivers e-commerce industry intelligence via algorithm as fast as possible. This young dog welcomes contact at run@ebrun.com or feedback to help it grow.]