A sad wire: public electric transport has become obsolete in a number of regions
In dozens of Russian cities, public electric transport — trolleybuses and trams — has reached a critical 20-30 years service life. The most difficult situation has developed in Angarsk, Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Kaliningrad, Ufa and Vladivostok, industry representatives told Izvestia. The Federation Council pointed out the risk of suspending the operation of electric vehicles due to the high level of wear and tear and appealed to the government accordingly. The Cabinet of Ministers, in turn, instructed the Ministry of Transport to work out the issue of developing the infrastructure of this type of transport. According to experts, the renovation of parks will require budget support in the amount of 100-150 billion rubles annually.
Which cities have outdated public electric transport
Trolleybuses and trams in dozens of cities of our country have reached their service life. This follows from the protocol of December 9 following the results of the round table held in the Federation Council on the prospects for updating the infrastructure and rolling stock of urban electric transport in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Izvestia has reviewed the document. The protocol was sent to the government by the Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy, Andrei Kutepov. Alexey Kaymanov, head of the government's transport department, forwarded it to the Ministry of Transport for consideration.
The service life of a tram is 30 years, and that of a trolleybus is 15-20 years. And in many Russian settlements such transport has already reached this age, follows from the document of the Federation Council.
— In most cities, the deterioration of urban ground-based electric transport (GNET) infrastructure reaches a critical level, and in some of them there may be a risk of traffic interruption. Significant financial involvement of the state and the development of long—term federal support programs are required," the protocol says.
Today, the average depreciation of electric transport infrastructure in Russian cities along tram tracks is about 18%, along the contact network — 17%, along the cable network — 14%, and at substations — about 38%, Andrey Yukhnenko, General Director of PC Transport Systems, told Izvestia. The share of tramcars in the Russian Federation exceeding the regulatory deadline is about 38.9%, and trolleybuses — about 7.7%, he added.
According to various estimates, the percentage of wear on public electric transport in the country at the beginning of 2026 in some cities may reach 80% or higher, said Dmitry Baranov, a leading expert at Finam Management Management Company.
— The percentage of equipment wear varies greatly from city to city. Various municipal organizations have been saving a lot over the years. They just gave me money for current needs, such as salaries. And the GNET update was constantly postponed. These savings have led to the current situation," said Vladimir Fedorov, Executive Director of the International Association of Urban Electric Transport Enterprises, member of the Public Council at the Ministry of Transport.
Vladimir Chernov, an analyst at Freedom Finance Global, noted that the greatest risks of disruptions in electric transport are typical for cities with large but chronically underfunded networks. So, the worst situation with the state of the GNET infrastructure today is in Angarsk, Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Kaliningrad, Ufa, Vladivostok, Andrey Yukhnenko specified.
— The big problem is not only the deterioration of infrastructure and rolling stock, but also the lack of interest on the part of local authorities in the development of urban electric transport. There is no understanding that trolleybus transportation is 10-15% more economical than bus transportation, and tram transportation is 40% more economical than bus transportation," said the head of PC Transport Systems.
However, to achieve this effect, it is necessary to plan the route network and transport work correctly, as well as to eliminate duplicate routes as much as possible, he added.
Izvestia sent requests to the Ministry of Transport and the Federation Council.
— There are a total of 105 cities in Russia with trams and trolleybuses (excluding electric buses). In about 10-15 years, the situation with such transport is the most critical, and in them the GNET is on the verge of stopping transportation," said Pavel Zyuzin, director of the Center for Transport Planning at the Institute of Transport Economics and Transport Policy at the Higher School of Economics.
The expert noted that there are problems with updating the GNET in such cities as Orel, Voronezh, Barnaul, Kazan, Rostov-on-Don, Novocherkassk, Tula, Yoshkar-Ola, Samara, Ryazan, Vladikavkaz, Chita, Izhevsk.
Izvestia sent inquiries to the regions.
In some cities, public electric transport eventually stopped working, for example in Makhachkala and Tver, Vladimir Fedorov added. According to him, disruptions and stoppages of this type of transportation are fraught with reduced mobility of the population: the movement of any resident will constantly become more expensive, citizens will be forced to look for more expensive alternatives.
How much money is needed to upgrade electric vehicles
The process of updating public transport in Russian cities was launched five years ago as part of the national project "Safe high-quality roads". As a result, 16.3 thousand vehicles (TC) — buses, trolleybuses, trams and electric buses - were updated during the period 2020-2024. A new national project "Infrastructure for Life" is currently in operation in Russia: due to the renovation of more than 40 thousand In agglomerations and cities, the share of public transport rolling stock in a standard condition is expected to reach 85% by 2030.
In 2024, as part of the preparation of the GET Development Program until 2030, the project office of the Ministry of Transport conducted a national inventory. According to its results, the total number of vehicles in GNET systems amounted to more than 17.5 thousand units, of which trams — about 7.3 thousand. Of these, more than 4 thousand needed updating.
The Ministry of Transport previously reported that the agency is supporting the implementation of the GNET development program in nine regions of the Russian Federation.: in Kursk, Lipetsk, Yaroslavl, Rostov, Saratov, Nizhny Novgorod, Volgograd regions, Perm and Krasnodar territories. The total cost of the program, formed at the expense of concessionaires, preferential loans from VEB.The Russian Federation and the National Welfare Fund, as well as support from the federal budget, exceed 246 billion rubles.
At the same time, the Federation Council believes that financing the renewal of urban electric transport from federal funds should be increased, according to the materials of the upper house of parliament. The total amount of the annual federal subsidy should be about 100-150 billion rubles per year, Andrey Yukhnenko estimated.
"This amount will ensure the conclusion of gross contracts, the performance of transport work according to quality standards, and the complete restoration of infrastructure and rolling stock to a standard condition during their service life," the expert explained.
Given the accumulated wear and tear, early restoration of infrastructure and replacement of rolling stock with a long service life will be necessary, he added.
In order to effectively develop the GNET infrastructure, the All-Russian Association of Passengers proposes to form regional funds for the development of public transport, similar to road funds, with an average budget of about 1 billion rubles.
— Among the funds that will make it possible to form a fund, we can allocate part of the funds from fines for traffic violations, a percentage of the fee for paid parking, funds from public transport (which will not lead to price increases), funds from industry development institutions and banks, — Ilya Zotov, chairman of the association, told Izvestia.
According to him, the fund will be able to direct funds to urgent tasks of public transport in the region, such as bringing the tracks to a standard state, updating the vehicle and building infrastructure.
To start the process of reconstruction of the GNET infrastructure, a division of efforts may be required: regional and local authorities will only be able to undertake the renewal of rolling stock and coordination in the field of transport planning with buses. And only the federal budget is able to provide initial financing for capital expenditures in infrastructure (rails, depots, energy facilities), the expert believes. In terms of the energy sector, it may be necessary to create a federal energy marketing company specializing in the supply of mountain electric transport networks, Pavel Zyuzin added.
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