Moscow Railway Transport serves about 600 million people in 2021

Moscow, Russia (Urban Transport News): Moscow has maintained an incredible pace of the railway infrastructure development for several years. The passenger demand for the railway transport is growing continuously. In 2021, almost 600 million people were carried by the railway transport in Moscow and the Moscow region: it is 17% more than last year. Since 2019, 24 stations have been reconstructed and built on existing and prospective diameters. This year 7 urban and suburban stations meeting Moscow transport standards were opened. For long-distance trains the Vostochny station was launched.

In fact, instead of old platforms, we have new modern stations of high quality and new transport hubs. Most of the infrastructure improvement work on the Moscow Central Diameters is carried out without stopping the train traffic. We also have global plans for 2022: we plan to complete the construction of new and reconstruction work at 10 stations on existing and prospective diameters, – noted Maksim Liksutov, the Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Transport.

For 2021, the large-scale work on the development of existing diameters and the construction of new ones did not stop. These works will continue in 2022. In order to launch the future Moscow Central Diameter 3 (MCD) and MCD-4, new railroad tracks and overpasses are laid in the center of the capital. The most complex work is carried out on two sites - the Kurskaya-Kalanchevskaya (MCD-2) and the Begovaya-Savelovskaya (MCD-1), the MCD-4 launch is impossible without it. During the construction, train traffic works did not stop on these sections, but organized in reverse traffic. This regime is the most appropriate of all options, otherwise the central section would be closed completely or would stall the construction for many years.

The launch of the MCD-1 and the MCD-2 has improved transport accessibility for 4 million residents of Moscow and the Moscow region. Passengers have made 93 million free interchanges between the MCD, the metro and the Moscow Central Circle, saving over 6 billion rubles. Thanks to the diameters, passengers get to work or school and use them as an alternative to the metro to travel around the city. People are adapting to the new mode of transport, which is strives to meet modern global transport trends. This year, the MCD have carried more than 170 million people - 15 % more than in 2019. This shows that diameters were necessary for passengers of the Moscow agglomeration.

Next year, it is planned to build and reconstruct 10 stations, both on existing and future diameters. All of them will become major hubs, combining several modes of transport. According to Maksim Liksutov, this is an important component of large cities. Thanks to the new interchanges, residents and guests of the megacity can build flexible routes depending on their needs and save travel time.

The third diameter is planned to be launched in 2023. It will connect the northwest of Moscow (Zelenograd) with the southeast of the Moscow region (Ramenskoye). Its length will be 85 km and will include 42 stations. From 14 stations of the MCD-3 it will be possible to make an interchange to the metro, the MCC and radial directions of the railway. Transport accessibility will be improved for more than 20 districts of Moscow and 4 cities in the Moscow region.

The MCD-4 is also scheduled to open in 2023. This is a unique and very important line for Moscow and the region. It will connect the southwest of Moscow region (Aprelevka) with the east (Zheleznodorozhny). The railway line will be 86 km long. There will be 39 stations on the diameter, 18 of which will be interchangeable with metro and the MCC. The opening of the MCD-4 will improve transport services in 23 Moscow districts with a population of more than 2.5 million. people. It will be possible to interchange to the subway from 18 stations of the MCD-4.

The MCD consists of 60 stations with 21 interchanges. The MCD-1 was opened in 2019, the length of the diameter is 52 km, 25 stations, of which 9 stations with interchanges to the metro. The MCD-2 was also launched in 2019. Its length is 80 km, includes 35 stations, of which 12 have interchanges to the metro.