Climate change risks

The Company pays special attention to climate change risks, analysing the climate change impact and taking it into account when planning activities. The key potential threat to the Company’s business is the growing number of meteorological hazards that jeopardise railway operations, including heavy rains and snowfalls, very low and high temperatures, extreme temperature swings, glaze, rime and greater impact of dangerous hydrological phenomena, such as spring floods and freshets.

The Company assesses nature and climate risks and develops response measures to mitigate them on an ongoing basis. Russian Railways is regularly exposed to the following anthropogenic and natural external risks:

  • damage and accidents at sites supporting the Company’s operations;
  • industrial accidents involving associated transport modes (primarily in sea port water areas and at highways);
  • fires and natural disasters in the Company’s areas of operation;
  • more frequent hydrometeorological hazards (frost, heat, snowfall, heavy rainfall);
  • growing incidence of natural phenomena affecting the railway infrastructure (washaway, landslide, washout of slopes, rockfalls, etc.).

To mitigate these risks to infrastructure, the Company implements various reinforcement solutions (anti‑washout slab covers, rock dumping, rock anchorage) and structures for the protection of the track bed from natural hazards (such as mudflows, landslides, avalanches and rockfalls).

In 2024, Russian Railways introduced an automated system to monitor and analyse external impacts on its infrastructure, which integrates hydrometeorological and hydrological data of Roshydromet and the Company’s own stations. The system identifies man‑made structures that are at risk of flooding using the data on forecast rainfall and drainage basin parameters.

To monitor the condition of permafrost at the railways, Russian Railways has a Network Permafrost Station that is in charge of diagnosing the roadbed, controlling soil temperatures and cooling structure performance, as well as quality of construction and installation. A specialised laboratory assesses physical and mechanical properties of soils and the degree of their subsidence. At the Northern, East‑Siberian, and Far Eastern railways, there are ten stations of 24/7 soil temperature measurement collecting data on a regular basis, which helps assess permafrost degradation.

To model freshets and manage respective risks, in 2024, jointly with the EMERCOM of Russia, the Company made aerial mapping of 306 infrastructure facilities in the Far Eastern Federal District. The digital terrain model created was included in the EMERCOM’s Atlas of Risks and Hazards. The model helps forecast the water rise level based on hydrological and ice conditions.

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