Putin discontented with performance of Russian rail roads

Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized today the inefficiency of the Trans-Siberian Railroad (Transsib), illustrating by this example the drawbacks in the performance of Russia’s Railroad Ministry on the whole. The criticism was voiced at today’s meeting of Russia’s State Council (an advisory body at the President). “The ministry has invested nearly $1bn in the Transsib, and this road has big advantages in carrying freights between Asia and Europe, but it is still incompetitive these days, and the carriers prefer alternative routes,” the President complained. In this connection, the President singled out major drawbacks in the work of Russia’s Railways Ministry. Among them, the “lack of stimuli for lowering the cost of services and for raising their quality”. “Common citizens and businessmen point to a continuous growth of tariffs,” the President said.