Independent Practitioner’s Limited Assurance Report [Translation from Russian original]

To Joint Stock Company “Russian Railways”

We have undertaken a limited assurance engagement of the accompanying Russian Railways Sustainable Development Report 2024 (hereinafter referred to as the Report), namely with regard to the disclosed in the Report material sustainability indicators listed in the section of the Report “Independently verified sustainability indicators”:

• Waste management
  • Production and consumption waste generation, kt
  • Share of waste sent to be buried, %
• Consumption of fuel and energy resources
  • Electrical energy consumption, m kW*h, total
  • Diesel fuel consumption (excluding consumption by service companies), kt, total
  • Coal consumption, kt, total
  • Fuel oil consumption, kt
  • Natural gas consumption, mcm
• Occupational injuries
  • Total number of people injured at work through the fault of employees and employer, persons
  • Total workplace injury frequency rate (injuries sustained through the fault of employees and employer) (number of injuries per 1,000 workers)
  • Fatal workplace injury frequency rate (injuries sustained through the fault of employees and employer) (number of fatal injuries per 1,000 workers)
• Working conditions
  • Working conditions and occupational safety improvement expenses, RUB mln
  • Number of workplaces with improved working conditions, thousand workplaces
• Passenger satisfaction
  • Consolidated customer satisfaction index for long-haul passengers, points (Q4)
  • Consolidated customer satisfaction index for suburban passengers, points (Q4)
• Collective bargaining agreements
  • Share of employees covered by the collective bargaining agreement, %
• Employee training
  • Blue- and white-collar employees who completed professional training, thousand people
  • Average hours of professional training per employee per year by category “blue- and white-collar employees”, class hours/person

(hereinafter jointly referred to as Selected Information).

Responsibility of Joint Stock Company “Russian Railways”

Joint Stock Company “Russian Railways” (hereinafter referred to as JSCo “RZD”) is responsible for preparation of the Selected Information in compliance with the applicable criteria: calculation methodology and disclosure approaches listed in the section of the Report “Independently verified sustainability indicators” (hereinafter referred to as Applicable Criteria).

JSCo “RZD” is also responsible for the choice of calculation and presentation methodologies for the Selected Information, their observance and disclosure in the preparation of the Report.

This responsibility includes the design, implementation and maintenance of internal control relevant to the preparation of the Selected Information that is free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, selection of applicable acts for the Selected Information preparation; development of internal documents and calculation methods for the purposes of preparing the Selected Information; prevention and detection of fraud; maintenance of sufficient documentation in relation to the Selected Information.

Our Independence and Quality Management

We have complied with the ethical and independence requirements, that are relevant to our engagement in the Russian Federation, including requirements of the Rules of Independence of Auditors and Audit Organizations and the Code of Professional Ethics for Auditors, as well as in the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants’ International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards) (IESBA Code), which are founded on fundamental principles of integrity, objectivity, professional competence and due care, confidentiality and professional behavior.

Our firm applies International Standard on Quality Management 1, which requires our firm to design, implement and operate a system of quality management, which is supported by policy or procedures regarding compliance with ethical requirements, professional standards and applicable legal and regulatory requirements.

Our Responsibility

Our responsibility is to express a limited assurance conclusion on compliance of the Selected Information with the Applicable Criteria based on the procedures we have performed and the evidence we have obtained.

We conducted our limited assurance engagement in accordance with International Standard on Assurance Engagements 3000 (Revised), Assurance Engagements Other than Audits or Reviews of Historical Financial Information. This standard requires that we plan and perform this engagement to obtain limited assurance about whether the Selected Information is free from material misstatement.

A limited assurance engagement undertaken in accordance with this standard involves assessing the suitability in the circumstances of JSCo “RZD” use of Applicable Criteria as the basis for the preparation of the Selected Information, assessing the risks of material misstatement of the Selected Information whether due to fraud or error, responding to assessed risks as necessary in the circumstances, and evaluating the overall presentation of the Selected Information.

A limited assurance engagement is substantially less in scope than a reasonable assurance engagement in relation to both the risk assessment procedures, including an understanding of internal control, and the procedures performed in response to the assessed risks.

Procedures

The procedures we performed were based on our professional judgment and included inquiries, inspections of documents, analytical procedures, evaluating the appropriateness of quantification methods and reporting policies, and agreeing or reconciling with underlying records.

Given the circumstances of the engagement, in performing the procedures listed above we have undertaken the following activities:

• Interviewing the management and employees of JSCo “RZD” and obtaining documentary evidence.
• Study of information available on the website of JSCo “RZD” related to the Selected Information.
• Study of public statements of third parties concerning environmental and social aspects of JSCo “RZD” activities, in order to check the validity of the declarations made in the Report and related to the Selected Information.
• Study of the existing processes of collection, processing, documenting, verification, analysis and selection of data related to the Selected Information and subject to be included into the Report.
• Selective review of documents and data on the performance of the environmental and social impact management systems in JSCo “RZD” related to the Selected Information.
• Assessment of conformity of the data related to the Selected Information, disclosed in the section of the Report “Independently verified sustainability indicators”, with the documents provided to us, including external and internal reporting documents.
• Analysis of the Selected Information for compliance with the Applicable Criteria.

The procedures were performed exclusively in relation to data related to the Selected Information for the year ended 31 December 2024. The procedures were not performed in relation to any other information disclosed in the Report including compliance statements not related to the Applicable Criteria.

The procedures were not performed in relation to forward-looking statements; statements expressing the opinions, beliefs and intentions of JSCo “RZD” to take any action related to the future; as well as statements based on expert opinion.

The procedures performed in a limited assurance engagement vary in nature and timing from, and are less in extent than for, a reasonable assurance engagement. Consequently, the level of assurance obtained in a limited assurance engagement is substantially lower than the assurance that would have been obtained had we performed a reasonable assurance engagement. Accordingly, we do not express a reasonable assurance opinion about compliance of the Selected Information, in all material respects, with the Applicable Criteria.

We believe that the evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our conclusion.

Limited Assurance Conclusion

Based on the procedures performed and evidence obtained, nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe that the Selected Information has not complied, in all material respects, with the Applicable Criteria.

Restriction on Use

Selected Information is intended solely for the Report users’ purposes and as a result may not be suitable for other parties or other purposes. Our assurance report is intended for JSCo “RZD”.

FBK, LLC

Organization Details

Name:

Joint Stock Company “Russian Railways” (JSCo “RZD”).

Address of the legal entity within its location:

Building 1, Novaya Basmannaya Street 2/1, Inner-city territory, Basmanny Municipal District, Moscow, Russian Federation, 107174.

The registration entry was made in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities on 23 September 2023 under primary state registration number 1037739877295.

Audit Organization Details

Name:

FBK, LLC.

Address of the legal entity within its location:

44 Myasnitskaya St, Bldg 2, Moscow, 101000.

The registration entry was made in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities on 24 July 2002 under primary state registration number 1027700058286.

Primary number of registration entry in the register of auditors and audit organizations of the self-regulatory organization of auditors 11506030481.