ABOUT THE SERVICE

Russian Railways offers a range of expedited freight delivery services tailored for small and medium-sized businesses.

The "Freight Express" service involves the transport of both loaded and empty wagons according to a dedicated schedule, ensuring a reliable departure date from the consolidation point and a coordinated arrival time at the destination station.

"Freight Express" is specifically designed for: shippers who cannot generate sufficient volume for a block train service; shippers who are transporting goods from various origin stations that converge at the Freight Express consolidation hub and are headed to a single destination; or shippers who are directing consignments to the Freight Express break-up point for further distribution to nearby unloading stations.

Advantages:

• reduced delivery times;
• payment after service quality assessment;
• cost-efficient pricing;
• ability to send any kind of freight (excluding livestock, oversized loads, and trailers);
• transparent and straightforward process;
• optimization of warehouse and terminal capacities, rolling stock and containers;
• reduced transportation costs (through lower wagon usage fees and minimized wagon usage).

Regulatory Documents:

• Model Technology for Train Formation and Dispatch within the "Freight Express" Service approved by Russian Railways Directive No. 1579/r dated 16 June 2022;
• Model Technological Process for Freight Delivery using the "Freight Express" Service approved by Russian Railways Directive No. 2817r dated 30 December 2016.

Freight Express may be complemented by the "Modular Express" service.

"Modular Express" provides scheduled transport of wagons before the Freight Express train is formed or after it is disbanded.

"Modular Express" manages the scheduled reception and dispatch of loaded and empty wagons from public or customer-specific tracks connected to a station, based on a schedule agreed with the customer. The wagons are then transferred to tracks adjoining the station according to a fixed departure and arrival schedule:

• from the loading station, wagons are accepted at a time and place agreed upon with the customer for handover operations to the base station, ensuring their departure in a specific "Freight Express" train ("Modular Express" before the consolidation of the "Freight Express" train).
• from the destination station of the "Freight Express" train to the final destination or unloading station of the wagons ("Modular Express" after the break-up of the "Freight Express" train).

Advantages:

• more efficient work planning for rolling stock operators, shippers and receivers;
• expedited freight and empty carriage delivery;
• simple service;
• low cost.

The key aspect of pricing for these services is reduced wagon usage fees for customers thanks to faster delivery times.

The total cost for the customer includes calculated transport charges according to Price Schedule No. 10-01 and the fees for the "Freight Express" service, including the "Modular Express" service.

Delivery time savings are calculated as the difference between the standard delivery time and the actual transit time with "Freight Express" and "Modular Express" services, allowing for 48 hours for terminal operations.

The contractual delivery time is determined as follows:

          For "Freight Express": From the base station to the destination station of the Freight Express train or the wagon’s detachment point.

          For "Modular Express":

• If used before the "Freight Express" train is formed: From the departure station (if the "Freight Express" consolidation point is different from the loading/unloading station) to the "Freight Express" consolidation point.
• If used after the "Freight Express" train is disbanded: From the "Freight Express" break-up station to the final destination.

The standard delivery time is determined:

for "Freight Express" and "Modular Express": according to the Rules for Calculating Delivery Times for Cargoes and Empty Cars by Rail, as established by Order No. 245 of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation dated 7 August 2015, including any amendments. This applies regardless of the type of service, specifically for direct sender routes.

List of active transport routes:

CONTACTS

Telephone: +7 (800) 755-00-00 – Freight Transport Customer Support Center (24/7)
E-mail: cargo.support@rzd.ru