A 75% stake of the rail freight subsidiary of Russian Railways has been bought by Russia’s (reputedly) richest man. His company now has control of 21% of the freight rolling stock in the country.
Russia moves 42% of its freight on the world’s second-longest rail network. Russian Railways is losing market share to the upgraded fleets of large, non-state rail freight operators, and is now below 50%, according to its 2010 annual report.
Putting Freight One into private hands may mean that its fleet is upgraded more quickly.