Sergei Sobyanin speaks on Moscow transport performance in 2022 and development plans for 2023

The Moscow Government disclosed transport performance in 2022 and discussed plans for 2023. The goals of the Moscow Government Program for the Transport Development were achieved in full in 2022, with the revived popularity of Moscow city transport being a key trend in the last year. In 2022, the average number of weekday trips by public transport increased by 580,000 (+ 4%) y-o-y. Overall trips by public transport grew by two percentage points up to 64 per cent as more and more residents prefer traveling around the city by metro, Moscow Central Diameters (MCD), trams or electric buses every day.

Moscow is believed to be the number one in Europe and among top 3 cities of the world by passenger traffic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic; in 2022 the average travel time by public transport from the Moscow Ring Road to the downtown was 53 minutes at the peak hours, which is 21 per cent less than in 2010 (67 min.).

Although since 2010 the number of cars registered in the Moscow region has grown 1.5 times, the average speed on the capital’s main highways has increased by 22 per cent (vs. 45 km per hour in 2010). In 2022, an average of 300,000 trips year-of-year were made by road, while Moscow has reached a high level of road safety as social risk (i.e., deaths caused by traffic accidents per 100,000 people) has decreased almost three times, from 6.6 in 2010 down to record low 2.4 in 2022.  Moscow is the number-one Russian region in terms of road safety, with more than 2,500 lives saved over the past twelve years.

Trips by public transport in Moscow

(weekdays, mln trips)

Type of transport	2021	2022	Percentage c/w 2021
Metro, including MCC	7.54	7.69	+ 2%
Ground transport	4.03	4.06	+ 0.7%
Commuter trains, including MCD	1.88	1.95	+ 3.7%
Taxi	1.35	1.61	+ 19.3%
Carsharing	0.22	0.23	+ 4.5%
Personal transporters (i.e., bicycle/scooter rentals)	0.06	0.12	+ 100%
Total	15.08	15.66	+ 4%
Private cars	6.69	6.39	- 4.5%

 

Growth of the Central Transport Hub

In 2022, builders constructed or reconstructed nine suburban stations of the Central Transport Hub with a total area of approx. 60,000 m2, including Minskaya station of the future MCD-4 (launched in April and completed in December 2022), Tolstopaltsevo station of the future MCD-4 (launched in May 2022), MCD-2 Pechatniki station (launched in June 2022), Three Stations Square transit point of MCD-2 and the future MCD-4 (with Phase I completed in August 2022); MCD-1 Okruzhnaya station (with the northern lobby opened in November 2022 and completed Okruzhnaya transfer point), Meshcherskaya station of the future MCD-4 (launched in November 2022), and Peredelkino station of the future MCD-4 (opened in December 2022). In addition, they launched a new 15,000 m2 Aeroexpress terminal at Sheremetyevo Airport, so now passengers can get from Moscow to terminals B and C without transfers. As a result, passenger traffic at those stations grew by 12 per cent immediately after the launch.

The main and the most difficult reconstruction stage, including contraflow arrangements, is completed on the future MCD-4 related segment between Three Stations Square (Kalanchevskaya) and MCD-2 Kurskaya to eventually reduce MCD-2 train intervals three times down to 6 minutes (vs. 18 min. with the contraflow traffic system).

The plans for 2023 include opening of new diameters, such as Leningradsko-Kazansky MCD-3 and Kaluzhsko-Nizhegorodsky MCD-4.

Following modern standards: how stations along Moscow Central Diameters change

Upgrade of Moscow metro infrastructure

The Moscow metro is the world’s number one manually operated metro in terms of punctuality (99.98 per cent). In 2022, builders replaced 91 kilometers of rails and 210 kilometers of cable and repaired 128 escalators in the metro; they also renovated the Novoslobodskaya station lobby (Circle Line) and the Rizhskaya station (Kaluzhsko-Rizhskaya Line) to install four new escalators (instead of three) and some extra turnstiles.

Exits from 17 metro stations were protected against rainfalls and snowfalls with a total of 48 canopies; so, about 400,000 passengers can now enjoy more comfortable trips.

They also continued to modernize the ventilation system with 99 per cent of the ventilation units being replaced in the Moscow metro since 2010 to finally make ventilation at the stations 30 per cent better.

The capital’s metro has become more user-friendly for reduced mobility passengers (RMPs) as each of the stations is equipped with sound beacons and the pass offices have got hearing loops. In 2022, employees of the Passenger Mobility Center helped more than 400,000 people — not only with routine support, but also when being on duty at closing time, with new station launches or in case of emergency; situational assistance was also provided during peak hours, this including bottled water distribution in summer.

In 2023, they are going to launch the full Big Circle Line (BCL) and open nine BCL stations, with a total of 14 metro stations to be commissioned throughout the year. In fact, Moscow has been ahead of European and North American cities in terms of new metro launches since 2010.

Sergei Sobyanin on Moscow metro construction in 2022Sergei Sobyanin on Moscow Metro growth in 2023

Escalator gallery on Vorobyovy Gory

The restored escalator gallery, which had been closed to passengers for almost 40 years, opened on Vorobyovy Gory (‘Sparrow Hills’) in December 2022 to offer traveling free of charge like it was in previous times.

The gallery became another lobby of the Vorobyovy Gory metro station. Its launch significantly reduced the travel time from the metro to famous landmarks, such as the Lomonosov Moscow State University, Palace of Pioneers on Vorobyovy Gory, observation deck, Vorobyovy Gory natural reserve, Trinity Church, winter sports complex, passenger aerial cable way, and scientific institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

With the launch of the escalator gallery, the passenger flow of Vorobyovy Gory metro station has doubled; it has also relieved traffic through the neighboring stations.

New fleet

In 2022, the local government bought 272 new-gen Moscow-2020 metro cars, plus 446 electric cars for commuter and MCD trains, thus updating the fleet by 70 per cent in the metro (+ 4,157 cars since 2010) and by 68 per cent in the case of commuter/MCD trains (+ 3,996 cars since 2010), with a 100% update of the bus fleet (+ 10,174 buses since 2010) and a 95% update of the tram fleet (+ 641 trams since 2010).

The Moscow Metro is Europe’s pacesetter in terms of train updates; the year of 2022 saw a ceremony of accepting the 100th train of the latest Moscow-2020 model.

The Russian capital also ranks first in Europe with the youngest train fleet, with the average age of the rolling stock being 3.5 years.

The Mosgortrans fleet included 1,055 electric buses in 2022; so, Moscow is on top in Europe by the number of this type of vehicles operating on 79 ground routes. It also piloted two high-capacity articulated electric buses produced by KAMAZ and GAZ Group, with a capacity of up to 140 passengers.

On July 1, 2022, they put into operation the first in Russia and the largest electric bus fleet in Europe near the village of Krasnaya Pakhra, which would also serve about 50 per cent of the TiNAO rolling stock to reduce empty runs (without passengers) from the bus yards within the Moscow Ring Road up to two hours per driver per shift.

In addition, Moscow arranged 43 kilometers of priority lanes intended for public transport in 2022, with their total length having reached 436 km. So, Moscow is also number one in Russia in terms of the priority lane length.

In 2023, the local government will buy 360 new-gen Moscow-2020 metro cars, plus 612 electric cars for commuter/MCD trains, and 550 electric buses.

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Expansion of tramlines

Moscow is on top in Europe by updating the tram fleet with 500 streetcars having been bought since 2017. In 2022, they purchased 43 modern Vityaz-Moscow trams, repaired 21 kilometers of tramway tracks and replaced 12 kilometers of trolley lines, 30 kilometers of aerial contact wires and 69 trolley line supports.

Release on the road increased by 23 per cent y-o-y from 380 to 465 streetcars; as a result, the average waiting time decreased by 30 per cent down to 4.3 minutes.

Trams became more popular, indeed, as the average number of trips on weekdays grew up to 500,000 trips (+ 3 per cent), while passenger satisfaction with this type of transport reached 84 per cent.

Bus terminals in Moscow

Moscow Metro, SUE as the main city carrier is an operator of four bus terminals, including the Northern Gates, Southern Gates, Salaryevo and Central terminals, plus two bus stations of Orekhovo and Varshavskaya, with another bus station — Krasnogvardeyskaya — being closed for reconstruction to be completed in 2023.

Moscow bus terminals and bus stations are a reliable transportation channel in the context of restrictions for flights to the southern Russian regions. They serve 161 routes (including 136 domestic and 25 international destinations) with 423 daily bus trips carrying approx. 8,200 passengers per day.

In 2022, they launched nine new destinations, including:

— from the Orekhovo bus station to the micro-district of Sokolniki in Novomoskovsk (Tula Region);

— from the Central Bus Terminal to Yadrin (Chuvash Republic), Gelendzhik (Krasnodar Territory) and Michurinsk (Tambov Region);

— from the Northern Gates Bus Terminal to Kalyazin (Tver Region) and Riga (Latvia);

— from the Southern Gates Bus Terminal to Krasny Luch (Lugansk Region) and Yalta (Crimea);

— from the Salaryevo Bus Terminal to Sukhinichi (Kaluga Region).

In total, three million passengers were transported in 2022, while the passenger flow for some destinations increased by up to 45 per cent, the most popular routes being Orekhovo-Novomoskovsk, Salaryevo-Obninsk, and Salaryevo-Voronezh.

Moscow High-Speed Diameter

The new 68-km road known as the Moscow High-Speed Diameter (MHSD), including three lanes in each direction, will connect the largest outbound routes, such as Dmitrovskoye, Altufyevskoye, Yaroslavskoye, Shcholkovskoye and Entuziastov motorways, Ryazansky and Volgogradsky Prospekts, Kashirskoye and Varshavskoye motorways, the Third Ring Road, the Moscow Automobile Ring Road (MKAD), etc. MHSD will be connected to M-11 federal highway between Moscow and Saint Petersburg in the north, M-12 Moscow-Kazan highway in the east, and M-2 Crimea in the south.

The main MHSD segment, the so-called North-Eastern Chord, was built in September 2022, with its southern segment — the South-Eastern Chord — to be launched in 2023.

MHSD is, first and foremost, an intracity road offering unconditional priority for motorists of Moscow and the Moscow Region. With the launch of the main MHSD segment, traveling time on some routes has decreased by 25 to 50 per cent, with the travel duration to be 10-50 minutes shorter, depending on the distance and time of the day.

MHSD can attract transit transport arriving in the metropolitan area, which largely levels the positive effect of creating a new motorway. In this regard, it was decided to introduce a fee for MHSD travels for transit vehicles starting from January 2, 2023 to guarantee that the new road is used for its original purpose as an intraregional motorway.

On top of that, MHSD is completely closed for trucks, except for those that have permissions to drive through Moscow.

Today, 270,000 motorists use the MHSD segment on a daily basis; the vast majority of them (236,000) are Muscovites. The launch of the main MHSD segment has also relived traffic congestion on the Third Ring Road, Garden Ring Road and MKAD by up to 15 per cent, while travel times within the Moscow Ring Road have decreased by an average of 15 minutes.

On average, 220 transit cars move along MHSD every day, which is less than 1 per cent of the entire flow. With the launch of the southern segment, traffic is expected to increase up to 400,000 cars and MHSD will enter the top 3 highways in Moscow.

Taxis, carsharing and personal transporters

In 2022, the taxi fleet of the Moscow region reached 154,000 cabs (61,000 in Moscow and 93,000 in the Moscow Region). The average number of passengers getting a ride on weekdays has increased by 19 per cent y-o-y to reach 1.6 million per day, with the average pick-up time being 4 minutes.

With approx. 30,000 shared cars, Moscow still ranks first in the world in terms of the number of carsharing vehicles whose average age is two years (one of the youngest fleets in Europe). The year of 2022 cracked a record with 230,000 passengers using carsharing vehicles per day.

The bicycle/scooter rental fleet demonstrated a record-breaking growth to reach 47,200 vehicles, while the number of daily rides doubled up to 120,000 per day over the past year, and the total length of the bike lanes increased by 15 per cent (473 km).

Bicycles and scooters are not just fun, but also a popular type of vehicles; in 2022 bikes or scooters were rented to go to work, schools, parks or shopping centers in 80 per cent of the cases.

User-friendly payment solutions

The Face Pay fare system is now available at all metro and MCC stations, this method being used by about 320,000 people.

In 2022, Troika card based fare systems became available in 15 regions, including the Vladimir and Saratov Regions, the Republic of Altai, Karelia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Tuva, Perm and Stavropol Territories, Lugansk, etc. Today, the Moscow-pioneered fare system can be used by more than 30 million inhabitants in 26 regions across Russia (the world’s second highest number after China).

Russia has created and started producing Troika travel card chips, with 3.7 million of such cards being sold through the metro cash desks.

Tickets bought at the Big Circle Line pass offices or through the Parking Lots of Russia app can be paid using the Quick Payment System (QPS), which was implemented under the agreement between the Moscow Government and National Payment Card System, JSC (signed on June 17, 2022 at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum). In 2023, QPS powered payments will be extended on ground transport and other mobile applications of the Moscow transport system.

Since May 2022, the on-request personalized driving service known as Po Puti, available to TiNAO passengers, use new totally Russia-made software. 50 comfortable buses carried 583,000 people (+ 33% y-o-y) in the past year.

In 2022, the Parking Lots of Moscow mobile app was upgraded into the Parking Lots of Russia for people to be able to pay for car parking not only in Moscow, but also in Saint Petersburg and in some parking lots in the Moscow Region, with the new service being used by 6.6 million users. Over time, the app will accessible in other cities as well. Today, more than 95 per cent of parking sessions in Moscow are paid through the Parking Lots of Russia.

The metro has got new vending machines, including the first-ever machines selling pizzas, crêpes, and Moscow Metro souvenirs.

Business support and import substitution

In April 2022, the Moscow Government signed a cooperation agreement with Volga-Dnepr airline, Russia’s largest freight air carrier, to deliver about 20,000 tons of goods from other Russian regions and foreign countries to Moscow, including medicines, medical products and consumables, foods, IT/communications products, children’s and consumer goods, as well as equipment and components for Moscow-based enterprises. In 2022, the airline operated 576 flights, carrying 10,600 tons of cargo.

In May 2022, the former Moskvich Plant became officially owned by the Moscow Government. As soon as in November, it started series assembly of Moskvich-3 crossovers, with electric cars to be manufactured in the future. The company has maintained its staff of 2,045 people and has become the first Russian car factory launched after foreign owners fled the country. In 2023, they expect to produce approx. 50,000 cars, including 10,000 electric vehicles.

Key transport development plans for 2023:

— launch the full Big Circle Line;

— open Leningradsko-Kazansky MCD-3 and Kaluzhsko-Nizhegorodsky MCD-4;

— open the southern MHSD segment and the northern relief road for Kutuzovsky Prospekt;

— re-launch Krasnogvardeyskaya station after reconstruction;

— continue to update the fleet of metro trains (+ 360 cars), electric commuter/MCD trains (+ 612 cars), and electric buses (+ 550 buses);

— launch two scheduled river routes along the Moscow River from the Fili Park to Kievsky (13 berths) and from the Avtozavodsky Bridge to Pechatniki (10 berths);

— re-open the reconstructed Southern River Station;

— launch the virtual QR code based Troika travel card and continue the card’s extension in Russian regions.

The year for mega projects: Sergei Sobyanin talks about Moscow transport network development in 2023

 

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