All urban light rail trams in Moscow will be low-floor in 2023

Moscow, Russia (Urban Transport News): There are about 800 trams in Moscow, and 50% of them are fully low-floor three-section Vityaz-Moscow trams. Today the city is striving for a complete renewal of its rolling stock: over the past 10 years, 70% of the fleet has been replaced.

In 2023, in accordance with global trends, only low-floor trams will operate on all Moscow routes. So, next year, another 109 new-gen trams will be launched on city routes. There will be 19 three-section trams and 109 single-section cars.

“Moscow is a modern megalopolis with a multimillion population. Our task is to make sure that every day every citizen has the opportunity to travel to work, the city center, or any other part of Moscow quickly and comfortably using surface transport. The tram is the most reliable overground mode of transport, it is reliable and eco-friendly, so we do everything to preserve and develop the tram network in Moscow while aligning with the best foreign practices”, – shared Leonid Antonov, the General Director of Mosgortrans, the major surface transport operator in Moscow.

The Moscow trams are one of the key modes of transport for the city. It ranks second after the metro in terms of carrying capacity. In 2019, trams carried 212 million passengers, which is 12 times more than the population of Moscow.

In addition to purchasing modern cars, Moscow develops its transport infrastructure. So, in order to make tram traffic regular and reduce the number of emergency situations, Moscow is isolating tram lines. Today, vehicles cannot travel on 80% of tram lines. In these areas, the number of accidents decreased by 60%. The schedule is fulfilled on the dedicated bands. All trams arrive at stops once in a certain period of time, for example, every 8 minutes. When transport arrives at stops at the same minutes of every hour, it is easier for passengers to navigate the schedule.

In addition, tram tracks are replaced and repaired in Moscow. So, since 2010, more than 250 kilometers have already been repaired – more than half of the total length in the city. After the reconstruction, the noise level is reduced by 30% – vibration-insulating mats are installed. Transport traffic becomes safer. Also, for new cars and tracks, Moscow repairs stopping points for raised ones. Today there are already 270 of them. These stops are located at the level of 30 centimeters above the tracks to be on the same level as the entrance to the tram for the comfort of low-mobility passengers.

Ecological concerns are very important, too. During the reconstruction, eco-friendly sleepers from recycled plastic waste are laid. By giving preference to plastic, Moscow simultaneously conserves 140 trees for each kilometer of track and conserves resources. One sleeper is 75 kg of plastic or 1200 plastic bottles, which are given a second life. The service life of such sleepers is 50 years – five times longer than wooden ones.

The development of the Moscow tram network was noticed at the international level. Recently, the Moscow tram received the Global Light Rail Award. This award is presented annually to the best tram systems in cities worldwide. It is the first victory of this level in the entire 121 years of the history of the Moscow tram.