Russian Railways is Russia’s leading railway company and one of the largest companies in the global transport sector. The Company is a natural monopoly and fully owned by the Russian Federation. Our primary goal is to meet the state’s rail transport and employment needs, and to provide services to passengers. Russian Railways is: - one of the largest freight carriers in the world (third in the world by freight turnover); - ranked fourth in the world for passenger rail transportation; - a leading contributor by size to the Russian economy (about 1.6% of GDP in 2013); - supported by the Russian Federation. Russian Railways was established by Decree No. 585 of the Russian Government on 18 September 2003, “On establishment of the Joint-Stock Company ‘Russian Railways’”. Russian Railways began operations on October 1st, 2003. We seek to effectively develop a transportation business that is able to compete on the Russian and international markets, whilst respecting our responsibility as a national carrier and rail infrastructure owner. For more information about Russian Railways, please visit: www.eng.rzd.ru