MOSCOW, January 18. /TASS/. Russian Railways will employ extra locomotives on the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) because of shipments growth, the railway operator said on Tuesday.

"The extra locomotive fleet was engaged based on shipments growth. The eastern segment of BAM will receive ten new mainline locomotives 2TE25K2M this week," the company said.

More than 80 such locomotives are already on the line, Russian Railways noted.

Shipments of goods in Russia gained 5% from the start of January, the railway company said. Exports have slippage of 10.1% but the situation is improving gradually. Bottlenecks in port destinations are removed and delayed trains enter destinations.

Shipments in broad terms "are recovering steadily after the dip during New Year holidays due to problems with discharging in ports," the company added.