OREANDA-NEWS. On 23 May 2007, Russian Railways will adopt a new corporate style which changes fundamentally the way the Company presents itself visually to the outside world.

Changing the image of Russian Railways is a project unprecedented in its scale on the global transport market. For the first time, a company with a 170-year history, nearly two centuries of tradition, over 1,3 million employees and fulfilling major social and economic functions, is changing its look.

Russian Railways accounts for 39% of total freight turnover and approximately 41% of passenger turnover in Russia and every year carries over 1,3 billion tonnes of freight and 1,3 billon passengers.

The new corporate style at Russian Railways symbolises the many changes at the Company. Russian Railways nowadays not only handles rail transport, but is involved in logistics, tourism, construction, telecommunications, medicine and many other areas. The new sign therefore carries all this information and does not merely emphasise the rail part of the business. Changing the Companys look will become a powerful instrument in forming a major international enterprise and improve the efficiency of the business.

The rebranding is a planned stage of the Companys structural reforms begun in 2003 when Russian Railways was originally formed and a new official brand appeared on the global transport market. But a cardinal change in its look, which the new railway company inherited from the Ministry of Communications, was not accorded a high priority since the immediate tasks were to solve questions of business development and adapt the company effectively to a market environment.

Now, 3 years later, Russian Railways has become a diversified holding integrated into the global transport system. The new corporate style will, according to the Companys experts, better define the holdings structure and emphasise its universal character.

The Company sees the rebranding as a worthwhile investment in the future. A strong brand will help increase the value of the subsidiaries and the total value of the holding, as well as increase its competitiveness in the global transport system.

The Russian Railways brand embodies such values such as tradition, customer care and attention, guaranteed quality services, reliability, speed, innovation, technology, broad interests and active development. The bright red colour and modern design of the new company logo developed by BBDO Branding graphically demonstrates that the Company is ready to play an active role in the modern economy. The unique monogram based on the Cyrillic (Russian) abbreviation retains the authenticity and Russian origins of the Company and at the same time creates an attractive image for an international audience.

"The new face of Russian Railways, a modern logo and corporate style reflect the major changes underway at the Company as a result of the reforms. It is also our response to the challenges set by the market and the high demands we have to meet both in Russia and abroad", says Vladimir Yakunin, President of Russian Railways.

"In order to compete realistically on global markets and earn the funds we need to develop transport infrastructure, we have to be even more reliable and flexible to meet the needs of our clients, become more attractive and friendly to our customers and more modern and purposeful across the whole range of our work", says Yakunin.

The change in the corporate style of Russian Railways will take place in stages between 2007 and 2010. The official presentation of the new sign will be held in Sochi on 24 May at the 2nd International Rail-Business Forum "Strategic Partnership - 1520mm".