In the northwestern region of Russia, tests have started to put trucks on trains. The popularity of such intermodal operations has grown last year, according to Russian Railways (RZD). One of the underlying reasons is a well-known burden for Russian rail: sanctions.
Russian Railways has begun tests to transport semi-trailers and swap bodies on trains in the area around Saint-Petersburg. The company sent the first such intermodal train to the Far Eastern region in late February.
Despite the launch of this regional test, semi-trailer transport on rail is not an entirely new concept in Russia. The first trial operations took place in 2019, and serial production of 4-axle platforms for piggyback transportation has been ongoing since 2020. The first Russian fully-loaded semi-trailer train ran in 2022.
Russian piggyback operations are on the rise. In 2025, its volume across the country grew by 22%. The routes Moscow-Ussuriysk and Moscow-Vladivostok (Far East) saw the number of wagons transported grow to 886, an increase of 28%.
Sanctions drive piggyback transportation
One of the factors supporting the growth of intermodal rail is the continuing pressure of Western-imposed sanctions. “The use of piggyback transportation reduces wear and tear on [trucks and semi-trailers] and cuts repair and maintenance costs”, the Federal Freight Company told Russian media. This RZD subsidiary is primarily a wagon owner, with over 160,000 units in its fleet. “Given the sanctions, solutions aimed at conserving vehicle resources are needed, and piggyback transportation is one such solution”, it says.
However, the reduction of wear and tear through the use of intermodal is not without its obstacles. A structural challenge will sound familiar to European companies: the road remains cheaper than rail. Attracting customers therefore remains difficult, despite the fact that intermodal rail is faster than the road.
“The technology hasn’t yet proven itself for one reason: transporting cargo by road is cheaper than using containerised freight”, commented Pavel Ivankin, President of the Russian National Research Center for Transportation and Infrastructure.
“Russian Railways has a mandatory infrastructure payment for everyone.” Road transport does not pay a comparable compensation. “If road transport will get a different level of transparency in the future, it’s entirely possible that containerised freight will increase demand, at least on long-haul routes. Until then, we can only talk about the implementation of a pilot project, which isn’t even reflected in the [financial statements].”