The Russian rail sector, being one of the largest in the world, plays an extremely important role for the country's economy. For this reason, the problem of choosing the optimal organi­zational model is particularly crucial in the case of Russia. The country has already implemented some reforms the sector. Liberalization, partly repeating the European experience, began in the early 2000s. The economic management was separated from the government administration and independent operators appeared. However, a significant part of the initial reform plan was not implemented or was implemented only partially. Is it reasonable to bring this plan to completion? Which market structure is the most efficient? Which reforms contribute to the development of rail freight and which have a negative effect? The experience of which countries is the most relevant for Russia? The purpose of this article is to find answers to these questions. The first part of the article provides an overview of the rail freight markets of various countries. In particular, it considers European countries, as well as China and a number of countries in the North and South America, including the United States. The second part contains an overview ofscientific studies, that compare various market structures and asses the results of certain re­forms. The third part examines the history of the Russian rail sector and describes its current state. In the final part of this article various scenarios for further development are discussed.