OREANDA-NEWS  Russian Railways lacks about 2.5 thousand drivers: now there are more than 118 thousand people, and 120.5 thousand are needed, follows from the words of the company's deputy general director Dmitry Shakhanov.

"... 120.5 thousand (machinists - ed.). Now the total staffing percentage is 97.4%. The shortage is not that big," Shakhanov replied to a question in an interview with the corporate television company RZD-TV, how many Russian Railways drivers are needed.

He said that the company currently employs more than 118 thousand machinists.

Russian Railways previously reported that since November 2024, they have increased the salaries of machinists and their assistants by 15-20% and introduced a payment of 150,000 rubles when applying for these positions. Such a decision, monopoly explained, was made by the company's management board to increase the competitiveness of the wage level of employees of locomotive crews.