Current and necessary: how digital technologies and electric traction can change public transport in Russia

The next Innoprom international exhibition has come to an end in Yekaterinburg. This year, one of the main discussions at the event revolved around the prospects and innovations in the field of public transport. The fuel crisis and the deadline for updating the fleet of vehicles gave rise to disputes. "By 2030, the task has been set to bring the share of rolling stock in a standard condition to at least 85%," said Alexey Shilo, Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation. In his opinion, the bar is achievable: the industry is moving from quantity to quality, and digitalization is the main element of this process. Many manufacturers and transport companies in the country have already drawn conclusions and are implementing new approaches. The details are in the Izvestia article.

Unmanned line

Temporary fuel shortages at Russian gas stations have made electric transport the only type of urban transportation that has not been affected by the urgent issue. Against this background, the Bogatyr M two-section tram with a comprehensive solution for unmanned operation has become one of Innoprom's main premieres. After the exhibition, it will go on further testing and testing on the Yekaterinburg — Verkhnyaya Pyshma route.

Yuri Smagin, Director of Business Development at TMX-Intelligent Systems (TMX IS), told the session "Efficient Transport Solutions for Cities" of the Innoprom business program that a Competence Center for testing, implementation and operation of unmanned rail Transport systems would be created to develop this area. An agreement on this was signed at the forum. Representatives of the government of the Sverdlovsk region, TMX-IS, PC Transport Systems and Movista Group of Companies will take part in the work of the center.

The equipment installed on the Bogatyr M can start movement, recognize obstacles and brake in front of them without the driver's participation. The depot's digital infrastructure has also been created for the tram, which makes it possible to optimize a variety of operations, from maintenance to self—cleaning.

The Ural experience for other regions

The country's first intermunicipal tram route has been created in Yekaterinburg for the innovative tram. Denis Chegaev, Minister of Transport and Road Management of the Sverdlovsk Region, suggested at the session to take a closer look at the Ural experience and other regions. "I think that today everyone has the same task — to ensure the development of agglomerations, in which the distance between cities will cease to be an obstacle for both people and business development," he said during the discussion. There are many advantages opening up: it is the reliability and predictability of communication for the long term, the creation and development of residential buildings around such routes with social infrastructure and workplaces, and, of course, the unloading of the road network.

According to Alexey Zotov, Chairman of the Commission on Passenger Transportation Development of the Public Council under the Ministry of Transport, General Director of Movista Group of Companies, this project will bring together all the elements of the future industry model — from a rolling stock manufacturer and a developer of intelligent systems to an infrastructure operator, a real-world operation site and a region that will become a pilot for testing new solutions.. The result of this comprehensive work will be the development of a standard solution that can be extended to other regions of the country.

Manufacturers will adapt to the demands of cities

Manufacturers are ready to be guided by the demands of cities and passengers themselves, especially taking into account the challenges of the current time. Daria Marku, CEO of TMX-Urban Transport, divided them into permanent and sudden ones. Among the first is the growth of urbanization and passenger traffic. The second category includes, for example, the fuel situation. It will not be possible to avoid such force majeure situations, but it is the shakeups that force us to reconsider the concept of efficiency. In transport, it means proper planning, in which the passenger, no matter what, receives comfortable, reliable and regular transportation. "If the city is large, with a lot of traffic jams, then, of course, the subway is more effective for it. But not everyone needs subways, because this solution is quite expensive. If the city is small, then a dedicated tram line is more efficient for it, which will quickly bring passengers from point A to point B. As a manufacturer and supplier with a full range of rolling stock, including infrastructure solutions, we are ready to adapt to the needs of the city," said Marku, noting that the quality and reliability of rolling stock, as well as passenger comfort, always remain a priority for TMX.

However, one component of efficiency remains unchanged. "Even without taking into account the issue of fuel availability, energy is always at the forefront," she continued. For example, the same trams and trolleybuses with autonomous running take off the cost of building and maintaining a contact network. As for unmanned technologies, they can both completely replace humans and become their reliable assistant. Each region determines the appropriate model for itself.

Where to find money

There was also a discussion of the financial issue. Daria Marku suggested not to dramatize: the situation, in her assessment, "is not as stalemate as it seems" — there are enough federal support tools, they need to be developed and updated. For example, the national project "Infrastructure for Life" today is focused mainly on wheeled vehicles, but against the background of fuel shortages, it begins to "play with different colors."

In turn, Alexey Zotov mentioned such an instrument as concessions. This is a kind of "mortgage", according to which the city receives a ready-made transport solution (wagons, tracks, depots, digital systems). Also, according to Zotov, the creation of specialized funds can help the renewal of rolling stock, because the problem cannot be solved solely at the expense of ticket revenue. The source of funds? For example, the same fines paid for traffic violations by motorists.

"Last year, we collected more than 250 billion rubles in such fines,— Zotov said. — It is assumed that up to 30 billion rubles can be allocated to these funds for the renewal of rolling stock. It is clear that this will be co-financing from municipalities, regions, and the federal government. But, as it seems to me, this is a good option — from the point of view of launching the update process itself. And this is necessary, especially in rail transport."