Monorail in Moscow: a photo from the window of her train is the Ostankino Tower and the Telecentre, the All-Russian Exhibition Center, busy highways and streets, urban landscapes. For a long time it was used not as a transport, but as an entertainment. Does monorail in Moscow have serious prospects?
History
The Moscow Monorail Transport System (MMTS) appeared in the north of the capital in 2004. For some time she worked on a tour, later her main task was to transport passengers. Nevertheless, it is not very popular, although tourists enjoy traveling by train past the Ostankino tower and television center, reaching VDNH. However, the route includes some industrial zones and simply not too remarkable areas.
Initially, the idea of MMTS appeared when the capital fought for the right to host the Expo 2010 exhibition - its main venue would be the All-Russian Exhibition Center, so transport that was convenient for accessing the center was required. They became the monorail in Moscow. The cost of this project was huge, and although the exhibition was still held in another city, the transport line remained, its construction was not interrupted or frozen. Immediately after the start of operation, the monorail management was faced with many reproaches. It was said that it is too expensive in construction and use. And although the system was developed from scratch, it was not clear why the experience was not used, for example, in Japan, in which the monorail plays an important role in transport communication. Still, Moscow has other climatic and weather conditions, so there are special needs. So now this is just one line.
Route
The monorail in Moscow connects the Timiryazevskaya and VDNH metro stations , passing over the Oktyabrskaya Railway, Altufevsky and Dmitrovsky Highways, and Mira Avenue. There are 6 stations on the line, the distance between them is about 700-800 meters. Their list is from west to east: Timiryazevskaya, Milashenkova street, Telecentre, academician Korolev street , All-Russian Exhibition Center and Sergey Eisenstein street .
The creation of this line made it possible to avoid a trip by metro through the center, which reduced the total travel time by 2-3 times. So, after 10 years of work, what are the results and prospects? Will the monorail in Moscow, the scheme of which includes only one short line, develop in the future?
Characteristics and reviews
Currently, the monorail in Moscow is the maximum passenger flow of 7,000 people per hour, 6 wagons and 44 seats. The train can reach speeds of up to 60 km / h, although, as a rule, it moves more slowly. The journey between the two end stations takes about 16 minutes, and this really saves time, because the Kaluga-Riga and Serpukhov-Timiryazevskaya metro lines do not have a direct connection between them. The noise level at a standard speed of 40 km / h at a distance of 25 meters is 40-65 dB, so this does not interfere with the residents of neighboring houses, even if the train passes very close to them.
The main advantage of the monorail is that it is an off-road transport system, that is, it is not affected by traffic jams, accidents and difficulties on ordinary streets. On the other hand, a special situation will make it difficult to evacuate passengers if such a need arises. The advantage over tram lines is that the monorail is more environmentally friendly, although more expensive in construction and operation.
Currently
Despite the fact that some time ago the project was declared unsuccessful, the Timiryazevskaya-VDNH monorail in Moscow still exists. A few years ago, there was talk of closing it, but the capital’s government postponed this issue until 2015, when this route will be duplicated by a subway line. If this causes an outflow of passengers from the monorail, the road will be dismantled. The current situation is completely satisfied with the transport department. Of course, there is no question of profitability, but indicators are steadily growing, so, since the beginning of 2014, almost 2 million people have used this type of transport, and there have been more paid passengers. Nevertheless, subsidies are allocated from the capital budget year after year.
Problems and their solution
Although it seems that the monorail in Moscow is an excellent solution, there are also its opponents who invariably criticize this mode of transport. Many believe that it simply does not fit into the architectural appearance of the city. In addition, the lack of interaction with other modes of transport affects, although the authorities are constantly trying to solve this problem. Initially, it was assumed that the monorail would be integrated into the subway system, but in fact, the stations of the two lines are at a considerable distance from each other. Quite a long time, separate tickets were valid for this type of transport , but since 2013 all travel documents for the metro can also be used for traveling on the MMTS. Moreover, for a transfer within 90 minutes, an additional trip from the ticket is not deducted.
Critics often point out the futility of this route, since it really cannot be called popular. However, it is also not possible to replace the monorail with land transport, at least a similar route for the bus will take much more than 16 minutes. Moreover, the mode of operation and the relatively small gap between trains make MMTS much more attractive.
Prospects
The monorail in Moscow, obviously, has both advantages and disadvantages. It is not yet clear what prospects await this mode of transport in the future. Perhaps the city authorities will consider the light metro project operating in the southern part of the city more successful. The route was also laid for the most part on overground structures, so it is largely similar to a monorail. In the meantime, MMTS remains too expensive and completely unprofitable mode of transport, although it is possible that in the future this situation will change. The construction of new lines can help connect the near Moscow region with the capital, duplicating the busiest routes of suburban trains. The main thing is not to sacrifice integration into the existing transport network.