24 ноября 2020

The Moscow Central Diameters – the first year at service

The Moscow Central Diameters (MCD) is one of the largest and notable transport projects that have been implemented in Russia in recent years.

The main goal was the integration of suburban trains into the Moscow system of urban transport. Suburban trains were always in demand by passengers. But mostly, they were used by the Moscow region residents and Muscovites traveling to their country houses. The trains were not used for the in-capital trips. For money-saving, passengers preferred to go to the nearest subway station, even if they had to transfer several times. Thereat, the transfer stations were heavily loaded. At the same time, the city and its population continued growing. There was a massive load on the transport system as a whole. To improve the situation, it was necessary to change the suburban electric trains' idea and make this mode of transport comfortable and convenient. Initially, skeptics argued that it was impossible, and the city train would never become an alternative to the subway. But the MCD proved that it is not true. Its launch has changed the transport habits of thousands of Muscovites.

The experience and technologies of the world's largest transport analogs were used. The MCD was inspired by S-Bahn in Germany, RER in France, technological innovations of Crossrail in the UK.

The MCD were launched in record terms. The way from the idea to implementation took only two years, and it is the world record. The best transport tendencies were applied in the MCD creation, including the technology of couplingless track and modern rolling stock. The Ivolga train was developed especially for the MCD. The successful experience of world analogs was adapted for the Russian railways, in particular, to work in different weather conditions.

The Moscow Central Diameters is a system of railways, which is based on the existing railway infrastructure. All the lines pass through the center of the capital, connecting the towns of the Moscow region through the very heart of Moscow.

The project is planned to launch 5 diameters — a total of 375 km of track and 182 stations for 6.9 million Muscovites and 5.5 million residents of the Moscow region. After all the five routes launch, the load on Moscows existing transport infrastructure will be reduced by 10-12%, unloading metro lines and stations, and roads.

The first two diameters (MCD-1 and MCD-2) were launched a year ago — November 21, 2019.

In two years, the large-scale works were carried out. The disparate transport systems were unified into the one urban network. In front of the passengers, the titanic works on transforming the existing railway network were carried out. In fact, the railroad was invented anew. To create the MCD, infrastructure upgrades were made, the new stations, convenient interchanges with other transport modes and the unified ticket menu were developed for passenger service quality to rise to the new level. The modern world transport trends were applied in the course of the project implementation.

On the MCD, the highest passenger service standards were introduced — previously, they did not have exist on the railway transport, but were successfully tested in the Moscow Metro and transferred to the MCD.

With the launch of the MCD-1 and MCD-2, the transport accessibility has improved for more than 4 million residents of Moscow and the Moscow region. Passengers have received comfortable tariffs, which allow saving up to 75%. Modern trains, short headways (5-7 min), as well as shorter routes — thanks to convenient interchanges — are the new routine for all the passengers. Moscow ticket system and the Troika smart card became the basis of the new unified service.

The volume of train traffic on the lines significantly increased compared to the period when there were regular suburban trains — at the MCD-1 by 73%, and at the MCD-2 by 69%. The Moscow and Moscow region residents, who lived far from the subway, received a surface metro at a walking distance.

These large-scale changes made trips by urban railways more attractive. Muscovites and residents of the region managed to change their transport habits and use more convenient and faster routes. The MCD created new opportunities for travelling between Moscow and the Moscow region and for trips within the boundaries of the capital. After the diameters' launch, the passenger flow of some previously low-demanded metro stations and the Moscow Central Circle grew up to 50%. Thus, the MCDs became an excellent alternative to the metro and surface transport during the closure of certain subway sections due to construction works.

Today the MCD is two diameters of 132 km of roads and 60 stations, 20 of which are interchanges to other modes of transport.

The work on the integrated development of the project continued throughout the year. Construction is carried out not only on the existing lines but also on the perspective routes. Dozens of stations are being built and reconstructed at all five lines. Five new stations were built at the first two diameters, and five more were rebuilt during the year. From classic railway stops, they turn into modern city stations that meet all the passengers' requirements on comfort and safety.

The stations gradually lead to the single MCD standard — the platforms will be equipped with full-length tents to protect passengers from wind and rain/snow, the safe aboveground and underground crosswalks with ticket machines and turnstiles are being built. A barrier-free environment is being created at all stations. The new infrastructure is convenient for everyone — mothers with babies, elderly people and low-mobility passengers. The works are so ambitious that in fact the stations are being rebuilt. At the same time, all works are carried out by a special 24/7 technology without stopping the train traffic.

The new stations become a part of large transport hubs, which combine several modes of transport.

City stations also appear in those areas, which in the near future are waiting for large-scale development. Thus, the diameters outpace the growth of passenger traffic and look into the future, increasing the attractiveness of the capital's districts and contributing to the development of areas adjacent to the station. Since opening, more than 6,3 million passengers in total have used the new stations.

The project faced one more important task — to renew the rolling stock. It was necessary to launch new trains on the diameters, which would turn over the old system of ideas about the city trains. The solution was the «Ivolga» trains, designed and assembled in Russia.

«Ivolga» train meets all requirements of comfort and safety. It can speed up quickly and smoothly. Everything is done in order to make the trips as comfortable as possible. There are USB connectors for charging gadgets, wireless Internet, bike mounts, special places for luggage storage, and changing bathroom tables. «Ivolga» is equipped with climate control systems, video surveillance, and vigilance control of the driver. The train is also adapted for low-mobility passengers: head cars have free space and fastening for wheelchairs. During the pandemic, trips in «Ivolga» became safer due to the air disinfection systems with ultraviolet radiation. This system kills up to 99% of germs and viruses, which is especially essential during pandemics.

The renewal of trains is at an accelerated pace. It is planned to complete it by the end of 2020. At MCD-2, the renewal of the fleet has already been completed. Their average age is no more than 3 years. The renewal MCD-1 trains will be completed by the end of 2020.

In the world pandemic era, the disinfection on the diameters was increased. Exceptional measures have been taken to protect passengers. Every two hours at the stations, all surfaces with which passengers come into contact are treated — turnstiles, validators, ticketing machines, cash windows, information stands, and other surfaces. Three times a day, wet cleaning and disinfection are carried out in trains that run to the MCD. During nighttime parking, all the MCD rolling stock is processed with cold fog. The technology allows contactless disinfection of all surfaces, including hard-to-reach places. All the employees wear masks and gloves and regularly use antiseptic.

Despite the pandemic, the diameters have demonstrated high demand —more than 130 million people travelled by the MCD in this year. The record number of passengers was registered on March 6, 2020. During this day, 568 thousand trips were made, which is 15% more than on March 6, 2019, when the same routes were used by regular suburban trains.

During this first year of operation, tremendous work has been done, but the complex development of the project continues. The new stations will open while older ones are reconstructed, additional tracks and connecting branches will be built, and the MCD-3/4/5 will be launched.

The Moscow Central Diameters is a young, ambitious, challenging, but already successful project. Much work remains to be done for full implementation. Moscow's urban transport system is on a new development stage, which will undoubtedly bring it to a qualitatively new level.

Photos: https://yadi.sk/d/Jcn-UBYo74Jx6w?w=1

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