Passengers

The primary objective of Russian Railways is to provide all Russian regions with affordable passenger transportation. Along with suburban transportation comprising multimodal routes, the Company is developing long‑haul passenger services, including high‑speed and ultra high‑speed transportation between metropolitan areas. The Company’s priorities include continuous improvement of customer experience, development of new products and services, digitalisation, and creation of a comfortable transport environment affordable to all categories of passengers.

• The Company continued to foster domestic railway tourism. Passengers can now benefit from 53 interregional routes to tourist destinations, including six special projects, and 28 suburban routes.
• We opened 12 new suburban routes and five long‑haul routes.
• The Company launched the first stage of the unified customer relationship management system.
• QR codes with information for passengers are now available at 2,000 railway stations.
• Passengers can pay for their suburban train tickets in the RZD Passengers mobile app using the Faster Payments System.
• 18 suburban passenger companies switched to domestic software for purchasing tickets for various modes of transport in a single interface.
• The Company proceeded with the development of multimodal transportation, including water transport.
• The Ded Moroz (Grandfather Frost) Train set a record in the Russian Book of Records for the longest distance travelled in three months.

Development of railway station infrastructure

Repairs were carried out at the Ussuriysk, Balashov‑Passazhirsky, Yekaterinburg, Navashino, Kaliningrad‑Yuzhny, Lgov‑Kievsky, Arsk, Gavrilov Posad, and Grafskaya railway stations.

50 platforms saw overhaul in preparation for the launch of the MCD‑3 and MCD‑4 diametersMCDs – Moscow Central Diameters.. Overhaul was undertaken at passenger platforms of the Prokhladnaya, Belorechenskaya, and Velsk railway stations, Zima, Mezhdurechensk, and Severodvinsk railroad stations, along with railway station areas in Nizhny Tagil, Lipetsk, and Samara. The Company also renovated facades of the Perm‑2 and Kirov railway stations, and more.

In preparation for the 11th PRO//Motion.Expo fair of railroad machinery and technologies designed for the 1,520 track gauge, Russian Railways completed an extensive renovation of the platform entrance area, seven platforms, and the main station building of the Baltiysky station in St Petersburg.

2023 also saw the completion of an upgrade of the Kostroma station, along with the opening of the new railway station building in Berdsk and construction of a combined passenger hall at the Irkursk‑Passazhirsky station.

• The Company is rolling out more automatic luggage lockers while phasing out obsolete stationary ones. The new option is currently available at 345 railway stations, with 2,690 lockers and 12 payment terminals already in place, including those accepting QR code payments.
• Russian Railways installed 116 power bank sharing stations of the Beri Zaryad (Take Charge) brand at 88 railway stations.
• In 2023, we developed a new format of retiring rooms and renovated a total of 13 existing rooms at various railway stations. Five more retiring rooms are expected to be repaired in 2024.
• Russian Railways alsintroduced capsule hotel accommodation at seven railway stations.
• The Fast Track contactless system for parking lots was rolled out to ten railway stations.
• Eight new coffee shops under the Railway Stations of Russia brand were put intcommercial operation, bringing the total number of the chain’s coffee shops to 20.
• December 2023 saw the introduction of self‑service laundries at the Paveletsky railway station featuring payment terminals on washing machines.
• Universal ticket offices were put in place at 13 stations. They are set to expand their services to include issuing tickets for subsidised transport options and tourist routes.

Care for people with reduced mobility

Stations and trains are becoming more accessible for passengers with reduced mobility every year.

In 2023, the share of passenger‑intensive railway stations that meet accessibility requirements for reduced mobility groups was 29.5%, accounting for about 70% of all passenger traffic. Other facilities are partially accessible, with functional areas made available for certain categories of passengers with reduced mobility. The share of suburban electric trains adapted for people with reduced mobility increased to 25%

Long‑distance trains include administrative cars specifically designed for passengers with disabilities. These cars make up 94% of the total number.

The Company purchases administrative cars with four‑berth compartments to accommodate twpassengers with disabilities and twaccompanying persons simultaneously. As at the end of 2023, Russian Railways had 119 cars of this kind. In 2024, plans include developing a car designed to transport people with disabilities, featuring four specialised compartments. These measures improve the accessibility of railway transport services and meet the growing demand from disabled people and other reduced mobility passengers.

The Company is developing services of the Mobility Assistance Centre. Passengers with reduced mobility can obtain necessary information 24 hours a day, get information about their trip in advance, and update the Company on the assistance and support services that they need at railway stations, stops, and en route. They can alsreserve special seats on the train and, if unavailable, request the inclusion of a special car in the train. Railway transport employees meet and see off passengers with reduced mobility, assist with issuing travel documents and transporting luggage, and accompany passengers from the station square to the train, making sure that boarding and leaving the train is a comfortable experience.

Services are provided at more than 10,000 passenger infrastructure facilities and on long‑distance and suburban trains.

Russian Railways is fostering a modern corporate culture of servicing passengers with reduced mobility. These efforts are part of the existing personnel training framework. In 2023, all employees involved in servicing passengers with disabilities (around 46,000 people) were instructed or trained on respective matters.

A lot of attention is paid to information accessibility and the development of digital services for passengers with reduced mobility. Russian Railways’ website has a dedicated section for passengers with disabilities or reduced mobility where they can get all the necessary information on services and discounts and how to obtain them. There is alsan accessibility map of railway stations with information on functional areas, photos, and explanations, helping passengers with reduced mobility to learn more details and plan their travel in advance.

The Mobility Assistance Centre accepts online requests for services. Passengers with hearing impairment can get videconsultations in the Russian sign language. An operator whspeaks the same language as the deaf passenger will help find a convenient train, buy a ticket, make an application for assistance, and answer all questions.

For suburban train passengers, there is the Notifications section in the RZD Passengers mobile app to send timely alerts to users’ mobile phones, notifying them in advance of their arrival to their station of destination.

Thanks to integration with federal information platforms, Russian Railways can issue electronic tickets for specialised seats designed for disabled passengers. Additionally, the integration facilitates cashless travel documents for holders of federal travel benefits in suburban transportation, and allows for the use of coupons from the Social Fund of Russia and the Ministry of Social Development of the Moscow Region for travel to and from medical treatments.

Customer service

The challenges of recent years have highlighted the importance of rapid adaptation to change and the maximisation of digital processes. In times of turbulence, maintaining a high level of service becomes crucial for ensuring customer peace of mind and loyalty.

Russian Railways Customer Support Centre provides information on the Company’s passenger services.

In 2023, the Company placed a great emphasis on the development of new services for passengers, including digital services. The share of electronic services offered by Russian Railways and available to passengers reached 70%.

To improve the call centre’s performance, we use AI technologies in our mobile app, the website, messenger platforms, and the hotline. Our virtual assistant provides quick and accurate FAQ answers.

We introduced a new design for the electronic travel document form for long‑haul trains, eliminating the need to carry a paper ticket for boarding.

The sales of e‑tickets for long‑haul trains reached 77.9% of total ticket sales. Today, passengers have the opportunity to purchase both long‑haul and suburban tickets using Russian Railways’ online tools.

Monitoring of service quality

The results of passenger satisfaction surveys represent a target indicator for assessing the performance of passenger services. Passenger surveys are conducted in the form of personal interviews on trains using a special questionnaireSurveys are aligned with the methodology set out in Russian Railways’ Order No. 3041/r dated 29 December 2021.. The questions are grouped to match the eight types of services provided by Russian Railways to its passengers. The surveys are conducted on a quarterly basis.

Satisfaction is assessed at each of the five stages of passenger interaction:

• preparing for the trip: obtaining necessary information and buying a ticket;
• at the beginning of the journey: servicing at passenger infrastructure facilities, such as the railway station or platform;
• en route on the train: directly during the journey;
• at the end of the journey: servicing at passenger infrastructure facilities at the destination;
• post‑transport service: handling enquiries and the loyalty programme.

In 2023, the respondents ranked the following criteria as the most important:

• long‑haul routes – optimal schedule, train speed, safety, cost of travel and services, technical condition of the train, comfort during travel, convenient ticket purchase;
• suburban routes – optimal schedule, train speed, cost of travel and services, safety, technical condition of the train, comfortable passenger experience at railway stations and transport stops.

Of all the respondents surveyed, approximately 45% indicated that the quality of service had remained the same. However, 40% reported that the quality had improved.

This positive trend was noted by both train passengers and users of passenger infrastructure services.

RZD Bonus loyalty programme

RZD Bonus is Russian Railways’ loyalty programme that enables long‑haul passengers to earn points by making trips and exchange them for tickets.

The number of programme participants reached 9.9 million. The audience of the Discount Railcar Telegram channel grew to 426,000 people (up 1.5 times y‑o‑y).

The Travellers’ Club programme is gaining popularity, enabling passengers on tourist trains to accumulate tourist points and medals, which can be exchanged for travel experiences and souvenirs. More than 30,000 participants of the programme have made some 30,000 trips, accumulating 32 million tourist points and receiving 94,000 tourist medals.

Russian Railways’ mobile app for passengers

The RZD Passengers mobile app, available from RuStore, a Russian app store, has all a traveller would need and more:

• long‑haul and suburban train schedules and real time travel monitoring;
• tickets sold for long‑haul and suburban trains, including season tickets, single ride tickets, and tickets for holders of travel benefits that meet eligibility requirements;
• refund for tickets purchased via the website or mobile app;
• Russian Railways’ information and news.

The number of tickets issued via the mobile app increased by 70% compared to 2022.

In 2023, the mobile app, which has issued over 100 million tickets over its lifetime, was removed from the AppStore marketplace. Russian Railways aims to maximise the availability of its digital services and is working to introduce a user‑friendly, full‑featured mobile version of the web portal in 2024 to be used as an app on mobile devices with any operating system.

The Company continues to enhance the app’s functionality with regular updates for passengers. Notable additions in 2023 include:

• ability to pay for suburban fares with via the Faster Payments System;
• contactless ticket validation for suburban transportation at twrailways using the NFC technology;
• pilot project for contactless fare payment using an open‑loop payment system within the app.