In August 2026, on the dispatch screen of Russian railways, the coal transportation data for July had just completed its final update. A series of freight trains loaded with coal are speeding eastward along the Beia Railway and Trans Siberian Railway, continuously delivering energy resources from the Russian hinterland to ports in the Far East. An impressive monthly transportation report has been released.

Coal transportation saw a significant year-on-year increase in July

In July 2026, the total coal loading capacity of the Russian railway network will reach 27.2 million tons, an increase of 7.5% over the same period last year, of which 16.6 million tons will be contributed by coal export transportation, with a year-on-year growth rate of 13.3%. The export coal transportation volume in the east direction reached 10.9 million tons, and even with the total amount of coal transported in the east domestically, the scale of coal transportation in the east direction still maintained a year-on-year growth of 3.8% throughout the month.

The total amount of coal transported by railway to various ports throughout the month exceeded 15.3 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 16.1%. Among them, the fastest growth rate of transportation volume in southern ports reached 31.2%, followed closely by northwestern ports with a growth rate of 19.7%. Far Eastern ports, as the core eastward hub, also achieved stable growth of 12.7%. The proportion of coal transportation in all categories of freight transportation by Russian Railways has risen to 29.5%, an increase of 2.1 percentage points compared to the same period last year, becoming the core driving force for the growth of the freight market.

Accumulated data for the first seven months remained stable with a slight increase

Looking at the timeline, the cumulative coal loading of Russian Railways from January to July 2026 reached 193.2 million tons, a steady increase of 2.6% compared to the same period in 2025. The export sector performed even better, with a cumulative coal export volume exceeding 110.6 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 7.2%, continuing to outperform the overall transportation market. Keywords: coal exports, total coal loading capacity

From the heavy-duty railway line by Lake Baikal to the coal yard at Far Eastern ports, the coal transportation network of Russian Railways is maintaining efficient operation. The continuously rising transportation volume data not only confirms the stable demand for Russian coal in the global energy market, but also reflects the continuous release of the transportation potential of Russian railway trunk lines.Editor/Cheng Liting