Traffic safety
Traffic safety is one of the crucial key performance indicators for railway transport.
The Company’s traffic safety priorities include:
- improving the reliability and safety across Russian Railways’ infrastructure;
- managing the risks of traffic accidents;
- preventing or reducing fatalities and injuries among the public at railway facilities;
- taking steps to reduce damage from traffic accidents and incidents;
- preventing any adverse environmental impact.
2024 performance
In 2024, the traffic safety target set by the Management Board for the Group was met, with performance improving by 2.5% against the target. Internal risk exposures improved relative to the permitted threshold, driven by a 16% reduction in traffic safety violations attributable to the Russian Railways Group (535 vs 639).
To improve the traffic safety management system based on acceptable risk indicators and management response assessment metrics for Russian Railways infrastructure, the Company approved the Traffic Safety Programme for Risk Mitigation on Russian Railways Infrastructure. The programme seeks to achieve an acceptable exposure to permissible risk by integrating relevant measures into existing processes.
Compliance with the requirements of the Operation Management Rules for Railways in Russia must align with the current status of Russian Railways’ technological development and resource base.
The programmes aimed at ensuring traffic safety and bringing infrastructure into compliance with the Operation Management Rules in 2024 were fully implemented. Investments totalled RUB 143.3 bn. The number of identified non‑compliance cases dropped by 5% compared to 2023.
In 2024, Russian Railways updated its regulatory framework for self‑assessment of compliance with mandatory requirements for traffic safety and railway transport operation.
Following a campaign to confirm compliance with mandatory requirements, 1,723 units (83%) confirmed their compliance. Of these, 927 units (45%) adopted a declaration of compliance, and 796 units (38%) were certified for compliance with requirements of the traffic safety management system.
The Company has established a system for preventing violations, based on unified approaches to determining personnel responsibility and adhering to principles for applying preventive and disciplinary action against employees who violate mandatory traffic safety requirements or fail to comply with auditor‑mandated actions.
Key areas and the target state have been defined through tools used to achieve the objectives of the traffic safety roadmap. They are aimed at meeting requirements for ensuring the reliability and safety of the transportation process, managing residual risks, regulatory and technical compliance, and interacting with transport market players.