The current situation and some key trends and challenges in Russia's transportation sector in 2025

By the end of 2025, the Russian transportation system will see a slight decline in transportation volumes. Freight turnover for all modes of transport in January- September 2025 decreased by approximately 1–2% with a slight reduction in freight volumes, reflecting a contraction in demand for logistics against the backdrop of high rates and a slowdown in economic growth. In the meantime, there’s been a shift in traffic to the eastern and southern corridors, with seaports in the Far East basin playing a bigger role. The passenger segment is showing mixed dynamics: total passenger traffic for the first nine months of 2025 reached approximately 7.6 billion people, with growth in certain segments, but air traffic is showing a slight decline (2–4%). There is a growing trend towards digitalization (TMS, platforms, AI routing), market consolidation around major players, and the development of regional transport connectivity through large-scale government investment in the transportation industry (approximately Rb1.5 trillion in 2025 and another Rb6 trillion by 2028).