The Russian Rail open-end joint-stock company was established 18 months ago on federal government resolution. The monopoly overtook a thousand government-owned companies with close on a million rolling stock units. Its joint stock initially came close to $60 billion.
The young government company started full-fledged activities last year, after railroad economic management got out of government regulation. A major part of efforts saw completion that year to get going new arrangements for railroad development government regulation. The Railroad Ministry was disbanded, and the Transport Ministry overtook its competences to allow railroad development guidelines tied in with the progress of other transport means-maritime, river, pipeline, etc., etc.
Igor Levitin, Transport Minister, today addressed the State Duma, parliament's lower house, to sum up last year's Russian Rail performance. Railroad economic and financial indices did not get down, and that matters most, he said. The year increased Russia's gross domestic product by 7.1 per cent. Meanwhile, the Russian Rail freight turnover came 8 per cent up, passenger turnover 3.5 per cent, and labor efficiency roughly 7 per cent.
Consumer service competition is gaining momentum. The share of private companies came notably up last year. Now they account for 30 per cent of the national total.
The ministry set up, January last, an ad hoc team to streamline the railroad transport legal and normative basis. The team has brought together spokesmen of all involved agencies and offices to amend the federal laws on railroad transport and the Railroad Transport Statute.
As for Russian Rail plans for the near future, the minister highlighted blueprints to establish independent branches as open-end joint-stock companies. They will get out of Russian Rail subordination. Thus, a Federal Passenger Company will appear, 2007, for long-distant passenger travel. The government will come as its sole stockholder.
New joint-stock companies to manufacture and overhaul railroad machinery, manufacture electric equipment, and maintain freight and passenger cars will be central Transport Ministry goals, expects Mr. Levitin. Coming on a par with them will be emergent construction companies, and companies to arrange container and refrigerator transportation-the Transcontainer and the Refservice.
Efforts have started by now to establish 33 affiliated companies for suburban passenger transport. Here, the ministry has joined hands with Russia's regions the arrangement concerns.
