Riga Station in Moscow has been put up for sale

The Russian state-owned railway monopoly, RZD, has published an announcement on the Avito platform regarding the sale of the historic Riga Station property complex. 

This is stated in the company’s official listing, which notes that the buildings are no longer used for their intended purpose. 

The lot includes the main station building from 1901, with an area of 3,900 square meters; a structure from 1929, with an area of 3,700 square meters; and a land plot of 13,500 square meters. The company decided to divest these assets amid a critical deterioration in its financial condition: RZD’s net profit for the past year fell 22-fold to 2.3 billion rubles. The carrier’s debt obligations rose to 3.8 trillion rubles, while debt servicing costs reached 534.1 billion rubles. The auction is scheduled for April 29, and the acceptance of bids from potential buyers will continue until April 20. 

The sale of this iconic infrastructure points to a deep crisis in the Russian state monopoly due to declining freight volumes and high borrowing costs. RZD management is considering adapting the station for new commercial purposes as a way to partially cover the budget deficit. Previously, the station had been closed for renovation for a long time, but passenger service to it was never fully restored. Currently, this is one of the largest deals involving the sale of railway real estate in Russia in recent years.

Previously, the Russian government ordered Russian Railways (RZD) to put the 62-story Moscow Towers complex, located in the Moscow City business center, up for sale.

The Russian state-owned company RZD put the Moscow Towers skyscraper in the Moscow City business center up for sale to reduce its debt burden.

RZD plans to lay off about 6,000 employees due to its deteriorating financial condition and a decline in freight volumes.