Residents of Dagestan considered the reduction in the number of carriages on commuter trains to be unjustified.

The Dagestan Ministry of Transport attributed the reduction in the number of carriages on commuter trains to the low number of passengers and attempts to curb fare increases. Residents of the republic are outraged that commuter trains are overcrowded. Social media users have complained about the reduction in the number of carriages on commuter trains. "I was traveling from Makhachkala to Khasavyurt with my children today, and there was nowhere to sit; people were crowded in the vestibule. Adults and children alike, we stood for almost two hours, that is, almost the entire journey. And naturally, there weren't enough seats for those who got on again!" [This sentence appears to be a mistranslation.] A resident posted on the Chernovik Telegram channel today from Khasavyurt, departing at 1:00 PM Moscow time. It was already full at the starting point. Along the way, more people were joining, and everyone was practically sitting on top of each other. We arrived in Makhachkala, and this is what happened. They're traveling on to Derbent." - says another Dagestani resident's post, along with a photo and video from one of the passengers, showing a crowd of passengers exiting a commuter train.

"The picture painted by the Ministry of Transport and Roads of the Republic of Dagestan, where they desperately try to prove there is no shortage of cars on commuter trains, differs significantly from the reality demonstrated by the passengers themselves, who use commuter trains every day," commented Rasul Asad, author of the Telegram channel "Ask Rasul," on this video.

"I want to describe today's situation with the Makhachkala-Khasavyurt commuter train (following at 3:45 PM), perhaps it will reach those who make decisions. I was traveling today, like many others, on business. In Makhachkala, it was already impossible to sit down - the cars were full, people were standing in the aisles. It's especially hard to watch mothers holding small children—they, too, have nowhere to sit. At the next stop, "Sortirovochnaya," more people arrived, and it became even more crowded. There used to be more cars, and the ride was easier. Now there are only four, and frankly, that's not enough. People don't travel for fun - they travel to work, to run errands, to take their children to the doctor," he previously posted the words of a passenger on the Makhachkala-Khasavyurt commuter train.

"I travel Khasavyurt-Makhachkala every day and have never sat down. There are crowds of people standing, mothers holding small children in their arms, and there are a lot of them," he quoted another passenger as saying.

The Dagestan Ministry of Transport published a clarification on its Telegram channel. In particular, the message states that, according to official data, since the beginning of 2026, on three of the nine trains, where the number of cars was reduced from six to four as part of optimization, the maximum number of passengers on the train at one time has been recorded at 193 people, while a four-car train has 370 seats. In other cases, during the same period, the peak occupancy of these trains "The average passenger capacity ranged from 72 to 167 people," the ministry reported on its Telegram channel.

The ministry reported that the optimization was carried out based on the results of monitoring operations in 2024-2025, as the average carriage capacity in 2025 was 14 people, compared to 21.4 in 2024. Suburban rail transportation is subsidized from the republican budget, as the fare covers only a small portion of the cost of transportation. "For 2026, the tariff for the population (1.40 rubles per 1 km) covers only 24% of the cost of transportation (5.72 rubles)," the ministry reported, explaining the reduction in carriages as an attempt to "restrain the rate of tariff growth for the population." A video of commuter train carriages with virtually no passengers was also attached to the publication.

As "Kavkazsky Uzel" reported, in 2023, authorities launched additional evening commuter trains on the Derbent-Makhachkala route from May 1 to August 31, authorities reported. The additional trains on this route are needed due to constant traffic jams, as well as because the route is popular with tourists, local residents explained.