Sergei Sobyanin: In December, we will start testing Russia’s first unmanned metro train

Expanding the use of smart technologies is an important part of the capital’s development strategy. Sergei Sobyanin wrote about the program in a post on his blog.

“Artificial intelligence has long been a working technology in virtually every sector of Moscow’s urban economy. It is being used in the public transport sector, and is making trips around the city more comfortable, faster and safer,” wrote the Mayor of Moscow.

Biometric payment and unmanned trams

Artificial intelligence is at the heart of an innovative biometric fare payment system in use on the Metro, the Moscow Central Circle (MCC) and some stations of the Moscow Central Diameters (MCD). Passengers can pass through the turnstiles simply by looking into the camera, without using cards or phones.

After a passenger registers for the service via the Moscow Metro app, the neural network creates an encrypted biometric key, a unique digital code for that passenger. It cannot be decoded back into a facial image, so the technology is completely safe. It is protected using banking-standard encryption systems, and the technology was developed by the Moscow City Government.

By the end of 2025, all metro and MCC turnstiles will be connected to the biometric fare payment system, and in 2026 the service is expected to work at all MCC stations. In the future, such an opportunity will also appear on above-ground urban public transport.

Artificial intelligence is also being used to communicate with passengers. In 2019, it was introduced in the Moscow transport hotline, accessed by dialing 3210. The system handles calls and answers questions on issues such as car towing. Since the beginning of this year alone, the artificial intelligence system has taken more than 240,000 calls.

The implementation of artificial intelligence has also improved the efficiency of Alexandra the chatbot. This virtual assistant now better understands non-standard wording, remembers the context of each conversation and gives more accurate answers. Moreover, the system is constantly learning, improving with each new call. Since the beginning of the year, the chatbot’s neural networks have processed more than 320,000 user questions. There are plans to migrate half of the virtual assistant’s knowledge base to AI technology in the near future.

In addition, unmanned trams are now operating on routes in the city. Russia’s first fully unmanned tram has already carried over 26,000 passengers. Artificial intelligence and special software control the movement without human input.

The streetcar independently performs all functions: stops, opens and closes doors, obeys traffic signals, allows pedestrians to cross, stays on schedule and switches lines at the track points with the help of neural networks. Nevertheless, an employee of the tramway department remains in the cabin at all times to monitor the processes, as required by law.

Two more pilot trams are being tested on Routes No. 15, 23, 27, 30 and 31. By 2030, it is planned that unmanned technologies will be used to operate two-thirds of the capital’s tram fleet, and by 2035 this will increase to 90 percent.

Testing of Russia’s first unmanned Metro train will also begin this December. The tests will take place without passengers on the Big Circle Line at night on a modern Moskva series train. Artificial intelligence systems will control acceleration, braking and door operation, while the driver will monitor processes to ensure safety. By the end of 2026, the first unmanned train will be ready to make trips, with the usual 90-second interval, carrying residents during the rush hours.

In turn, Mosgortrans has introduced a system to automatically assign drivers to routes using AI algorithms in all 25 conventional and electric bus fleets. The system selects the optimal shifts, taking into account labor and rest times, creating a level playing field for all drivers when selecting routes and shifts. This will halve the workload of the employees involved in planning the release of buses for service.

Traffic analysis and safety

Artificial intelligence is indispensable in the development of an intelligent transportation system that can control traffic on Moscow’s roads. Since 2021, more than 1,500 smart cameras have been installed on the Moscow Ring Road (MKAD), the Moscow High-Speed Diameter and other highways, monitoring the traffic situation in real time.

The system recognizes 13 types of incidents. In online mode, the smart cameras transmit signals about incidents on the roads to the situation center of the Traffic Management Center (TMC) in a few seconds. The information is sent to the operator, who makes a decision, for example, on whether to call the highway patrol or emergency services to the scene of an accident.

A network of 160 emergency information displays located on the Moscow Ring Road interacts with the smart cameras. They notify drivers of traffic events, weather conditions and highway congestion. The displays give warnings of obstructions or roadworks. More than one million incidents have been processed since the beginning of 2025. As a result, in the first nine months of this year there were 11 percent fewer traffic accidents on the Moscow Ring Road and 18 percent fewer casualties compared to the equivalent period in 2021.

Moscow’s photo- and video-registration system, one of the most technologically advanced in the world, is also based on artificial intelligence. Almost 3,800 units of equipment recognize 65 types of traffic violations. Since the beginning of 2025, 12 percent fewer violations have been recorded than last year, about 28 million in total.

Cameras also help find stolen cars and, importantly, prevent car thefts. Over 13 years, the number of car thefts in Moscow has decreased by 96 percent.

The system also monitors the safety of electric scooter use. 350 special cameras monitor compliance with the rules on busy road sections. Neural networks recognize speeding, crosswalk violations and other infringements. Since the beginning of the year, the photo- and video-registration system of the Central Road Traffic Safety Department have recorded more than 4,800 violations by users of personal mobility equipment.

In addition, about a thousand smart road intersections are now operating in Moscow. With the help of special sensors and video detectors, the system analyzes traffic and adapts the operation mode of traffic lights to the current situation in order to evenly distribute the flow of cars, while giving priority to public transport.

As a result of the introduction of the smart system, during the daytime vehicles pass through intersections 25 to 30 percent faster and pedestrians spend 20 to 25 percent less time waiting for a green light. At night, the system cuts the waiting time by a half or two thirds. In the coming years, up to 70 percent of intersections will be smart intersections, which will increase travel speeds and reduce traffic congestion on Moscow’s roads.

Since 2020, the Sphere video analytics system has ensured safety on urban public transport. Modern facial recognition technology helps law enforcement agencies in locating offenders and missing persons. In this way it has been possible to detect more than 19,000 on urban public transport and find more than 2,600 missing people, including more than 450 children.

“The introduction of artificial intelligence opens up new prospects for the development of urban public transport, which will become even more convenient and safer,” concluded Sergei Sobyanin.