Message From The Ceo — Chairman Of The Management Board, Russian Railways
The railway industry proved highly competitive in 2018. Passengers choose rail when they expect faster trips due to higher travelling speeds and a great customer experience.
FPC maintained growth in key metrics during the year by focusing on passenger services operating new types of carriages, while our longdistance trains carried over 100 million people, with passenger km travelled up by 6%. This growth is particularly prominent in the segments of high-speed and daytime trains made up of the newest and latest carriages — our doubledeckers carried 37% more passengers than the year before.
Our outstanding service for football fans during the 2018 FIFA World Cup also contributed towards FPC’s strong performance and international recognition.
Transporting fans by the Federal Passenger Company’s trains during the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
In response to our passengers’ evolving needs, we have been consistently replacing and upgrading our carriage fleet while offering new routes, launching marketing campaigns and new high-quality services, and enhancing our digital proposition. More than a half of all long-distance rail tickets are now sold online, driven by the continuous improvements to both our RZD Passengers mobile app and the RZD Bonus Loyalty Programme.
Guide: how to buy train tickets on the Russian Railways website
Guide: how to buy train tickets using the app
We aim to provide only the very best customer experience across all of our routes, paying close attention to feedback by carefully considering all passenger inquiries.
In the coming years, we are planning to replace or upgrade most of our rolling stock, with innovative types of carriages being designed in collaboration with major Russian manufacturers. We are maintaining our focus on new multimodal and digital services to offer a smooth doorto- door travelling experience and are expanding the routes covered by our high-speed train services. All these initiatives are captured in the Long-Term Development Programme of Russian Railways to 2025.
Oleg Belozerov
JSC FPC’s Annual Report was approved by resolution of the Board of Directors dated 24 May 2019 (Minutes No. 22 dated 27 May 2019)