For the first time in Russia's history, the management of Russian Railways is planning to place Eurobonds in Swiss francs. There have been no official statements yet, but several sources at once (both the company itself and independent ones) have reported this news. The crucial stage for making the final decision will be the results of the roadshow which has recently completed in Geneva and Zurich. According to sources in the financial community, Russian Railways has almost definitely decided on this issue. Now the company is currently defining output volumes and measuring future profits. Notably, there are currently 14 outstanding Eurobonds in the market issued by Russian Railways, but this does not address the problem of funding shortfalls. Being subject to sanctions, like other Russian public corporations, the company is suffering a serious lack of financing. For this reason, the company is going to offer the market the issue of new bonds. The attracted money can be diverted to both refinancing and new investment projects, including locomotive fleet renewal, capacity growth, and railway infrastructure security. The latter covers projects under national programmes such as the expansion of the Baikal-Amur Mainline and the Trans-Siberian Railway, development of the Mezhdurechensk-Tayshet section, transportation development of the Azov-Black Sea basin, and extension of the Central Transport Hub.
