Russia Predicts 31.5% Rise This Year in Freight Transport to and from China - 2 April, 2003

Freight transport between Russia and China totaled 16.8 million tonnes in 2002, compared with a planned level of 15.4 million tonnes. According to the Russian Railway Ministry, the agreed volume of freight transport for 2003 is 22.1 million tonnes, which is 31.5% higher than in 2002.

In order to cope with the growth in freight transport the Russian and Chinese railways have introduced an additional container service on the Beijing - Zabaikalsk - Moscow route. The service runs daily in addition to the existing daily container service between Zabaikalsk and Moscow.