Air protection
GRI 3–3, 305–7
| Parameter | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stationary sources | ||||||
| Solids | 11.8 | 10 | 9.3 | 8.2 | 7.7 | 7.6 |
| Carbon monoxide (CO) | 20.8 | 18.5 | 17.4 | 16.9 | 16.7 | 16.5 |
| Sulphur dioxide | 11.9 | 10.5 | 9.5 | 8.8 | 8.1 | 8.1 |
| Nitrogen oxides | 6.8 | 5.7 | 4.9 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 3.9 |
| Hydrocarbons (excluding volatile organic compounds) | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Volatile organic compounds | 2.2 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 1.0 |
| Other gases and liquids | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Mobile sources (diesel locomotives) | ||||||
| Carbon monoxide (CO) | 30.7 | 28.7 | 29.4 | 25.6 | 30.1 | 29.6 |
| Hydrocarbons | 15.7 | 14.6 | 15.1 | 15.5 | 14.3 | 14.6 |
| Nitrogen oxides | 113.5 | 105.5 | 108.8 | 103.2 | 110.7 | 107.4 |
| Soot | 6.9 | 6.4 | 6.6 | 6.0 | 6.7 | 6.6 |
In its operations, Russian Railways seeks to minimise air pollutant emissions from stationary and mobile sources. The Company conducts regular internal checks of mainline and shunting diesel locomotives and track maintenance equipment for compliance with technical standards for air pollutant emissions through the use of environmental monitoring points furnished with diagnostics facilities. Emissions are also measured following diesel locomotive rheostat testing.
Stationary sources
Emissions from stationary sources make up around 18.5% of all emissions by Russian Railways.
As part of the corporate Environmental Strategy, the Company cut its pollutant emissions from stationary sources in 2024 by 1.1% y‑o‑y, exceeding the target of 1.0%. We are achieving these reductions through constructing new boiler houses, reconstructing existing ones, and converting facilities to more environmentally safe fuel types.
During 2024, we decommissioned 21 boiler houses (including 19 not in active use) and converted 63 boiler houses to alternative fuel and energy sources (55 of which were not in active use). Currently, gas boilers produce as much as 48.3% of heat energy
We are also increasing the share of alternative energy used in hot water and heat supply systems (solar collectors and heat pumps). We replaced small coal and diesel boilers with 48 boiler houses running on pellet fuel.
Mobile sources
Emissions from mobile sources make up around 81.5% of gross emissions of which approximately 88.5% come from mainline and shunting diesel locomotives. Initiatives to make transportation more energy efficient helped us reduce diesel driven transportation, cut downtime and time to cover delay for passenger trains, and decrease per unit diesel consumption in train traction. Thanks to these measures, per unit emissions of pollutants into the air from mobile sources came in at 36.65 mg/tkm – below our target value of 36.7 mg/tkm.
