During the first 4 months of 2026, 62.7 mn tons was carried between Russia and China by rail, up 3% year-on-year, Russian Railways report. Container traffic grew 5.9% to 1,168 thousand TEU.
Rail export from Russia to China increased 2% to make 54.8 mn tons including 33.7 mn tons of coal, up 0.3%, 4.7 mn tons of iron ore, up 7.9%, 4.6 mn tons of oil and products, up 19.9%, and 2.5 mn tons of fertilizers, up 18%.
Import by rail from China to Russia amounted to 7.8 mn tons, up 10.8% year-on-year, including 1.6 mn tons of chemicals, up 5.4%, 1.2 mn tons of consumer goods, up 31.5%, 0.8 mn tons of non-ferrous ore, up 29.1%, and 0.6 mn tons of vehicles and parts, up 12.5%.
43.9 mn tons of Russia-China rail traffic, up 6% year-on-year, was routed via sea ports, and 18.8 mn tons, down 3.2%, via land-based border crossing checkpoints.
Zabaikalsk is the most busy Russia-China border crossing checkpoint with 7.8 mn tons of cargo, up 4.3% year-on-year, passing via it in January-April 2026. Rail container traffic via Zabaikalsk made 197.4 thousand TEU during that period, up 32%.
Photo: Russian Railways