Column by Natalia Skorlygina about the extension of the Moscow Central Diameters

The launch of the new Moscow Central Diameters (MCD) has intensified discussions on the overall modernization of the Central Transport Hub (CTH). Yes, and. O. Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Transport Maxim Liksutov September 25 reported, that it involves, in particular, the extension of the MCD to a number of regions of Russia. This idea was already approved by President Vladimir Putin on September 9: “We have decided to implement a large-scale modernization program for the entire central control center. As a result, the diameters of the above-ground metro will be extended to Kaluga and Tula, and to other large cities in the regions surrounding Moscow.” The plans sound ambitious, but clearly require some explanation.

Thus, many passengers took the concept of “extending the MCD” literally – as if it would be possible to travel from Tver to Ryazan through the center of Moscow once every five to ten minutes and with all stops. But this is neither practical nor planned. The head of the Passengers Union, Kirill Yankov, emphasizes that the idea of ​​such an extension would contradict the very idea of ​​the MCD: “Why are they trying to build third and fourth tracks everywhere? So that fast trains with a small number of stops would run in the same direction parallel to the MCD.” In his opinion, organizing a stable express service with neighboring cities would be in demand, given that passengers regularly complain about the lack of direct trains to Vladimir and Ryazan. Meanwhile, this is precisely what, apparently, is not planned.

According to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, we are really talking about increasing the number of trains from neighboring regions – they should run at intervals of 20-30 minutes, and not 45-180 minutes, as now. But not to Moscow, but to the terminal stations of the MCD, where passengers would transfer to diameters. And this is not the same thing at all.

In fact, MCDs themselves already, to a certain extent, limit the development of direct trains, which have to fit into a tight schedule. Transferring to the MCD will partially solve the problem. But, according to the calculations of the President of the National Research Center for Transportation and Infrastructure, Pavel Ivankin, the price will be additional travel time, which on the Tver-Moscow section, for example, can increase by 40 minutes.

Really increasing the number of direct trains to the center of the capital will only be possible through the construction of new tracks, but for now the development plan for the Central Transport Center, apparently, is designed for the existing infrastructure. And the number of passengers who need to get from regional centers specifically to the intermediate stations of the MCD is small: according to Pavel Ivankin, for example, on the Tver-Zelenograd shoulder we can currently talk about 1.5–2 thousand passengers per day. And, for example, between Vladimir and Zheleznodorozhny passenger traffic will be noticeably less.