Putin proposed separating passenger and freight railway flows in the southern direction

President Vladimir Putin, during a meeting on the development of the south and the Azov region, proposed separating passenger and freight flows of railway traffic in the southern direction. According to him, this will expand the capacity of railways towards the Azov and Black Seas.

Vladimir Putin emphasized that there are bottlenecks in the transport infrastructure in the southern direction. “First of all, I’m talking about the railway. These bottlenecks should also be on our radar now. The railway carries out the main burden of transporting goods. The railway is operating under increased load, including growing business demand for transportation to southern ports,” the president explained (quoted by Interfax).

Vladimir Putin also instructed to reduce the travel time of passenger trains from Moscow to the Black Sea coast to 16 hours. According to the president, it is necessary to ensure that as many citizens as possible can relax in Russia and “choose a vacation to their liking.” He added that holidays in Russia should be financially affordable for citizens, as well as have a “high level of comfort.”