The City Uniting Europe and Asia

For more than two centuries Ekaterinburg has been an important transportation hub. Crossing of 7 railway routes makes Ekaterinburg the third important railway centre in Russia. The main thoroughfare of the Trans-Siberian railway connecting the European part of Russia to its eastern regions passes through the city. The Sverdlovsk Railway Company is the leading cargo carrier in Ekaterinburg.

The city is a part of the second international transport corridor, which provides a direct connection with the Netherlands, France, Germany, Poland, Byelorussia in the west, and Mongolia, China, North Korea and Japan in the east. The Trans-Siberian Route branch lines provide direct access to countries of Middle Asia via Kazakhstan.

Construction of several modern logistic complexes caused a qualitative change in the development of transport infrastructure.  In the nearest future the city will take up fourth of the total volume of cargo traffic in Russia. Today the volume of freight traffic amounts to 3,464 thousand tons per year.

The Koltsovo international airport stands out because of its importance for the city. It is one of the 20 largest transit airports in Russia. Thanks to its modernization, the airport will be the largest and most advanced airport in the eastern part of Russia. Today Koltsovo's rating by volume of passenger and cargo transport is only surpassed by airports in Moscow and Saint Petersburg.