| Summary: | The rail industry in Russia is one of the largest in the world. Russia's vast distances, relatively under-developed road infrastructure, and high reliance on bulk commodities imply that the rail industry has a unique and key role in the transportation infrastructure of Russia. At present the industry is organised as a fully-integrated entity, operated by the Ministry of Railways. At a seminar in Moscow in December 2000, OECD experts and Russian officials discussed how this industry could be restructured to promote competition, enhance efficiency and to ensure that this industry best meets the needs of the growing Russian economy. The following summary sets out the key ideas and conclusions to emerge from that seminar. Three main topics are discussed: policies to establish a sound commercial environment for railway operators, structural options for competition and managing the transition to a competitive structure. A key issue is whether it would be possible to enhance competition by dividing the Russian rail industry into a number of verticaly-integrated railways, competing for the provision of rail services along the key rail transport corridors
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