What is the difference in railways, goods transported between Russia and United States?

399,160 million ton-km, with Russia ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Russia and United States?

27 years are reported by both, from 1995 to 2021.

Where does this data come from?

Railisa Database (UIC), International Union of Railways (UIC), published as Railways, goods transported (million ton-km). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Russia vs United States: Railways, goods transported

Russia

2.64 million million ton-km

in 2021

United States

2.24 million million ton-km

in 2021

Russia rank

2nd

United States rank

3rd

Railways, goods transported over time

Russia
United States

How they compare

Russia currently reports 2.64 million million ton-km against 2.24 million million ton-km in United States, a difference of 399,160 million ton-km.

That makes Russia's figure about 1.2 times United States's.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 27 shared years of data; in 1995 it was United States ahead.

Russia ranks 2nd and United States ranks 3rd of 104 countries.

Across the 4 decades both report, Russia averaged higher in 1 and United States in 3.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Russia	United States	Difference	Ahead
1990s	1.13 million million ton-km	1.99 million million ton-km	857,716 million ton-km	United States
2000s	1.77 million million ton-km	2.37 million million ton-km	604,157 million ton-km	United States
2010s	2.32 million million ton-km	2.49 million million ton-km	175,631 million ton-km	United States
2020s	2.59 million million ton-km	2.17 million million ton-km	420,955 million ton-km	Russia

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher railways, goods transported, Russia or United States?: Russia, at 2.64 million million ton-km against 2.24 million million ton-km in United States as of 2021.
What is the difference in railways, goods transported between Russia and United States?: 399,160 million ton-km, with Russia ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Russia and United States?: 27 years are reported by both, from 1995 to 2021.
How do Russia and United States rank globally for railways, goods transported?: Russia ranks 2nd and United States ranks 3rd of 104 countries.
Where does this data come from?: Railisa Database (UIC), International Union of Railways (UIC), published as Railways, goods transported (million ton-km). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Russia vs United States: Railways, goods transported. Statizoid, drawing on Railisa Database (UIC), International Union of Railways (UIC). Retrieved 29 August 2026, from https://infrastructure.statizoid.com/compare/railways-goods-transported-million-ton-km/russian-federation/united-states/

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About this data

Indicator: Railways, goods transported (million ton-km)
Unit: million ton-km
Source: Railisa Database (UIC), International Union of Railways (UIC)
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 134 places, 2,685 data points, 1995–2021
Last refreshed: 20 August 2026

Goods transported by railway are the volume of goods transported by railway, measured in metric tons times kilometers traveled.