The effect of electrification of the eastern BAM is expected to be significant both for the railways themselves and for the economy as a whole. According to representatives of JSC Russian Railways, electrification of these two sections alone [Volochaevka – Komsomolsk-on-Amur and Komsomolsk-on-Amur – Vanino] “will remove infrastructure speed restrictions, increase the reliability of the energy infrastructure and ensure the unobstructed passage of forecast freight volumes towards the ports of the Russian Far East.”
And this volume will undoubtedly emerge, industry analysts believe. “Today, under the influence of global geopolitical transformations and increased trade restrictions, the orientation of major export flows is increasingly shifting from west to east,” note the experts of the Institute for Transport Economics and Development (IEDT).
According to the results of the first seven months of 2026, there is an advantage in the growth dynamics of export loading in favor of non-coal cargoes: 8% compared with 5% for coal,” IEDT analysts point out, expecting that this trend will continue in the future, “even if the coal market presents surprises.”
The transition to electric traction fundamentally changes the structure of the carrier’s costs. With diesel traction, the main share of the cost is made up of expenses for diesel fuel and maintenance of power units. “The fuel component remains extremely sensitive to the logistics of supplies in the east and the volatility of petroleum product prices, while the diesel locomotive fleet requires regular and costly repairs of diesel engines, which further increases operating costs,” IEDT explained. “Electricity for traction is significantly cheaper than diesel fuel per tonne-kilometre of work, allowing the carrier to replace one of the most costly expenditure items. At the same time, maintenance and repair of electric locomotives require less investment compared with the diesel locomotive fleet.”
At the same time, electrification also adds new operational elements that did not exist with diesel traction: these are the costs of maintaining and operating overhead catenary facilities and traction substations. In addition, on sections where different types of traction are connected, additional locomotive change operations arise, which also generate operating costs. “Analysis of the cost structure shows that savings on fuel and repairs more than offset the new expenditure items as the freight base grows. As freight traffic increases to the design volumes, the specific burden of these costs per unit of transportation will decrease, while the effect of replacing diesel fuel with electricity and reducing repair costs will be fully realized,” IEDT analysts state, estimating the savings in operating costs upon reaching the planned indicators at approximately 45% per year.
Shippers and rolling stock operators, in turn, benefit from electrification primarily through the removal of infrastructure restrictions, which will make it possible to increase export cargo volumes, as well as through more efficient use of the wagon fleet. “Electric traction makes it possible to increase section speed, which directly affects wagon turnaround: accelerating cargo delivery on the mainline–port section is equivalent to obtaining an additional fleet without capital expenditures on its acquisition,” IEDT notes. In addition, the reduction in the carrier’s operating costs with electric traction creates conditions for restraining tariff growth, which is beneficial to operators working under long-term contracts, analysts suggest.
Electrification of the BAM will also increase the reliability and resilience of the entire Russian logistics system, analysts note. “Today, Russian railway transport is one of the world leaders in terms of electrification: up to 90% of the total volume of freight transportation is carried out using electric traction, and this fundamental technological framework is becoming the main factor in the resilience of the entire transport system,” IEDT believes.
“The transition to electric traction on the Volochaevka II – Komsomolsk-Sortirovochny – Vanino section creates an advance basis for establishing a clean environmental footprint for transportation in the eastern direction, which is particularly important against the backdrop of increasingly stringent requirements imposed by Asian partners regarding the carbon footprint of supplied products,” IEDT specialists note.
The full text of the article is available on the Kommersant website.