Meeting with Russian Railways CEO Oleg Belozerov

Oleg Belozerov Belozerov OlegGeneral Director of Russian Railways : Mr President,

First of all, I would like to thank you for your continued attention to and support for railway workers. Your backing serves as a powerful source of motivation for the entire Russian Railways team as we work to achieve the country's national goals and objectives.

Russian Railways' key strategic priorities remain safety, reliability, and sustained development, ensuring steady, uninterrupted growth.

Vladimir Putin: Are your investment programmes now 45 percent complete?

Oleg Belozerov: Yes, and they are currently being implemented. Following the reallocation of certain funds, we have increased this year's investment volume in order to deliver on the additional tasks you set, including work on the Eastern Operating Domain and the procurement of additional locomotives.

But first of all, I would like to emphasise that Russian Railways is the safest and most reliable railway system in the world. According to the International Union of Railways, our safety performance is three times better than the global average. In terms of the number of accidents per million train-kilometres, we are also twice as safe as the United States. These results are made possible by the dedication of our workforce - the largest in Russia. Today, the Russian Railways Group employs 851,000 people.

Vladimir Putin: But you have reduced your workforce, haven't you?

Oleg Belozerov: Yes. That is part of a separate effort to improve labour productivity. We never reduce staff without first achieving the necessary technological improvements. Workforce reductions occur naturally, as employees retire. We value our people highly, and the overwhelming majority continue working with the company.

Vladimir Putin: And wages have increased by more than 8 percent, haven't they?

Oleg Belozerov: Yes, Mr President. The average salary across Russian Railways has now reached nearly 119,000 rubles.

To be continued.