In 2022, Russian Railways was forced to respond promptly to the changes. During the year, loading in the direction of unfriendly countries fell by 37%, in the direction of friendly countries — increased by 23%, including by 28% — to China. This increased the demand for the Eastern Polygon.

The EU wants to slash emissions from transport by 90 percent by 2050 by getting cargo off of CO2-emitting trucks and on to much cleaner railways and barges.