The Mayor of Moscow Mr Sergei Sobyanin, Moscow Region governor Mr Andrei Vorobyov and chairman of Russian Railways (RZD) Mr Oleg Belozerov inspected progress of preparatory work for the opening of the first two Moscow Central Diameter (MCD) lines on November 8.
The MCD lines are being created by upgrading existing lines and building additional stations. The work involves laying additional tracks, and upgrading communications and power supply. Stations are being provided with full-length roofs and elevated covered concourses with access to both sides of the railway.
MCD-1 Belorussko - Savelovsky will be 52km long with 24 stations, of which eight will provide interchanges with the metro and the Moscow Central Circle (MCC) Line. Another four stations, all of which will be interchanges, will be completed by 2024.
MCD-2 Kursk - Riga will be 80km long and will have 33 stations with another five planned. Initially, 11 stations will offer transfers to the metro and the MCC, while four of the five planned stations will be interchanges.
The two lines will be operated by a fleet of 39 Oriole EMUs which will operate alongside conventional commuter trains. The end-to-end journey times will be 1h 27min on MCD-1 and 2 hours on MCD-2.
Passengers will be able to use the Troika city card to pay for travel on the MCD lines with free transfer to the metro or the MCC. “The main thing is that this project is affordable for residents both in price and in quality,” says Vorobyov. “Travelling on the Oriole trains will cost Roubles 45 ($US 0.70).”
“Together we are implementing a unique project in the Moscow Hub, which is already starting to be replicated in the Russian Federation,” says Belozerov. “It is important for us that all work is on schedule and even ahead of schedule.” Belozerov says all five routes will be completed by 2023-24.
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