Sergei Sobyanin outlines main Moscow transport system development objectives till 2030

The objective to design basic industry development programs for Moscow till 2030 (and for some industries, even longer term) was set in late 2023. These documents draw a line under the progress achieved in that area and allow us to look forward, set the main goals, coordinate efforts in all area, and concentrate resources to get results we want, wrote Sergei Sobyanin on his blog. 

“We will start by developing and upgrading the Moscow transport system till 2030. That is the most ambitious program to be implemented in the coming years. Our goal is to make one of the best transport systems in the world as the foundation for developing the best city on Earth,” said Moscow Mayor.

2010–2023: things that changed

In 2010, the Moscow Government set the objective: preventing the transport system from collapsing and solving the mounting issues as quickly as possible. They started working on all fronts at once. Emphasis was put on developing the rail transport: the metro, and integrating railways into the urban environment. At the same time, road bottlenecks were being expanded and a new road network was laid out.

That was when vehicle pool modernization started for all public transport sectors, and has already finished in some. Shared taxis were replaced with new, comfortable and safe buses with unified fare rates and discounts for school students and pensioners.

They set up a comfortable, high quality, fully legal and affordable taxi system. Thanks to traffic control measures, the road incident mortality rate fell three times compared to ten years before. Parking fees allowed to free Moscow streets from cars that used to be chaotically parked everywhere, including on sidewalks.

New types of transport have appeared in Moscow: regular electric-powered boats, car sharing, bike and scooter rent. Pedestrian have been expanded hundreds of times; modern digital services and mobile apps appeared, along with new ways to pay your bus or metro fare. Public transport in the city has become predictable, affordable, comfortable, and safe, and Muscovites started trusting it.

Back in 2010, Moscow metro was overloaded. So many people were clogging trains and stations that passengers could not board the first arriving train, only managing that on their second, or even third try. Every Muscovite wasted a whole month, or 20 minutes every day, queuing for tickets. Now Moscow is the European leader in rail transport development rate. As a result of unprecedented effort, the city now has 430 metro stations instead of 182 stations before, as well as Moscow Central Circle (MCC), and Moscow Central Diameters (MCD) stations. Thanks to new lines being built, the metro 13 years later, has no overloaded trains left.

Instead of paper tickets and queues, Muscovites now have Troika Travel Cards, biometry payment, mobile apps: Moscow Transport, Moscow Metro, and Parking Lots of Russia, WI-FI, USB charging slots and countless smart services that help passengers.

Back in 2010, all sidewalks in the city were crowded by cars; chronic traffic jams and constant road incidents were a pain for Muscovites. Now roads of Moscow are the safest in Russia and among the safest in the world.

Moscow has the best parking fee payment system in Russia. 99 per cent of operations are done through mobile services, including Parking Lots of Russia, the most convenient and modern app.

The heart of the smart transport system is the newly created situation room at the Traffic Management Center, the most advanced of its kind in Europe. Operators there are monitoring traffic around the clock, managing it with traffic lights, cameras, sensors and displays.

The above-ground public transport in Moscow also used to be overloaded and old. Insufficient quality of transport services was a point of contention for Muscovites. Shared taxi drivers were also not known for driving safe. This day, Moscow has the newest above-ground public transport fleet in Europe, being the leader in the number of electric buses used. Modern, comfortable buses, trams and electric buses are always there to carry passengers. The shared taxi problem has been solved: Moscow authorities have signed contracts with carriers, obliging them to follow a common high quality service standard.

“Transport in Moscow has been transformed, and now other mega-cities are using it as a benchmark. Muscovites now save up to seven days a year on average on public transport trips from the Moscow Ring Road downtown, no matter which type of transport they use. Trips have become much safer and more comfortable. I believe almost everyone in Moscow can tell the difference between before and after, but it would be completely unacceptable of us to stop here. The nature of transport is movement, the constant development,” explained Moscow Mayor.

Factors that influence the transport system development

According to Sergei Sobyanin, the population of Moscow keeps growing. 13 million people live in Moscow right now, and forecasts say the city’s population will grow to about 14 million by 2030. Another 9 million in the Greater Moscow could be added to that. So, in just 6 or 7 years, the Moscow metropolitan area will have a population of 23 million.

Population growth is key for development, but it also puts new strain on the transport infrastructure.

The Moscow Government could radically change their urban development policy. Unlike before, the majority of new jobs are now being created closer to residential neighborhoods, not downtown. Flexible employment and remote work formats are being expanded. All that serves to reduce shuttle migration that has plagued Moscow transport system for decades.

But people also need to communicate to live fully. Naturally, passengers rushed back to public transport after the pandemic was over. In order for the transport system to keep improving, it has to outpace the growth of Moscow’s population and economy.

Key objectives of 2030 transport program

The scope of Moscow’s plans in all areas is enormous. The rail network, for example, will keep expanding; Moscow is going to be a key player in federal-level infrastructure projects, including the high-speed railway (HSR) and the Central Transport Hub development.

Constantly improving passenger comfort is also one of their priorities. That is why upgrades to the municipal transport pool will keep coming. The in-city commuter terminal network will keep growing, so that passengers can conveniently switch between various modes of transport. Work on making new neighborhoods more accessible for pedestrians is also underway, creating quick shortcuts between residential blocks and transport stops. Moscow will keep expanding the use of advanced technologies in transport, including introduction of unmanned trams.

Muscovites have always loved new technologies, so the biometry payment system will grow and cover all transport types. Artificial intelligence will be used to control the smart transport system and parking rates. Moscow transport services are coming to all major corporate ecosystems. The most advanced Russian-made electricity-powered models will form the majority of Moscow transport fleet: from taxis to commuter trains.

Muscovites’ preferences were the cornerstone of transport development programs. Over 90 per cent are feeling positive about the reforms that took place throughout the city’s transport system in the last decade. They love the improvements, in particular metro development and new types of transport: electric buses, MCD and MCC.

As for ideas for the future, Muscovites believe it belongs to electricity-powered and unmanned transport. Speaking of innovations, the city’s residents think that contactless payment systems, including biometry, will be developing rapidly, while passenger security will be mostly ensured by video surveillance.

Transport development: priority areas

One of the key areas is rail transport development: metro, MCDs and urban trams. Projects launched previously are still ongoing, bit their geography keeps expanding. The rail transport, for instance, initially started developing within the city limits. Later, the project spread to the Greater Moscow cities that are closest to Moscow; now we have 4 operational Moscow Central Diameters.

For 2024–2030, we are talking about developing the entire Central Transport Hub (Moscow, Moscow region, and the adjacent regions) along with a network of high-speed rail lines.

Moscow transport system will see some changes in the coming years.

Three new metro lines (Troitskaya, Rublyovo-Arkhangelskaya and Biryulyovskaya) and 48 rail stations: 39 new metro and 9 new and reconstructed MCD stations are to open before 2030.

There will be a review of options and the appropriate decision will be made to include Yaroslavsky a Paveletsky branches of Moscow Railway (39 stations in total) into the joint Moscow tariff system. That way, its ticket system is going to cover all suburb lines. Passengers will be able to plan their trips based on travel time and convenience, not cost.

By 2030, all sections of the Central Transport Hub will feature clock train movement. Trains that connect Moscow to regional capitals and largest cities in the Russian heartlands will run six times as often as they do now.

Reconstruction effort will bring 125 MCD and MCC stations in line with the common standard of Moscow commuter terminals.

The Moscow — Tver — Veliky Novgorod — Saint Petersburg HSR-1 project is to be implemented together with the Russian Government, Russian Railways, Sber and regional governments concerned. The project will cut the travel time between Moscow and St. Petersburg to 135 minutes compared to 245 it takes now.

“This program will bring a new transport reality to 31 million people in Moscow and over the entire Central Russia, 8.8 million people around the North-Western Transport Hub, and link Moscow and St. Petersburg, the two largest cities of the country, as close as never before,” concluded Mr. Sobyanin.