Roland Branzia, Head of the Passenger Transport Development Center at the Institute for Transport Economics and Development (IEDT), PhD in Economics, gave an interview to Gudok newspaper on the strategic directions for developing the Central Transport Hub, taking into account infrastructure capacity and the demand for suburban and urban rail services.

— The President and the Government have set an ambitious goal to improve transport connectivity between the Moscow agglomeration and the regions. What are the key principles and stages of this large-scale effort?

— To achieve transport integration between the capital and the regions, it is necessary to increase the frequency of modern express services. It is expected that a one-hour headway on routes between Moscow and regional capitals will provide maximum convenience for the population.

By 2030, the project is planned to be implemented on three priority corridors. The Kyiv and Kursk directions will ensure connectivity with Kaluga and Tula regions, respectively. The Gorky direction will link Moscow with Vladimir and Ivanovo regions. Design documentation for these projects is already under development.

In the longer term, the geography of regional routes will be expanded to include Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Tver, Smolensk, and Ryazan regions. By 2040, the project is expected to be implemented across all ten corridors, significantly improving the accessibility of the Moscow agglomeration for nine regions of Central Russia.

The full interview is available on the Gudok website.