Suburban transportation services are provided by 24 suburban passenger companies (SPCs), with Russian Railways, regional executive authorities, private investors and Aeroexpress among the co-founders.

Russian Railways holds more than 50% in the charter capital of 19 suburban passenger companies. In January 2018, the Company changed its holding in Central SPC by selling the stake through a public bidding process.

Thanks to the government support of suburban transportation by way of reimbursed infrastructure costs and a discount factor of 0.01, passengers can buy tickets at a socially affordable price. In 2018, most regions opted not to increase rail fares.

Federal support of the suburban segment made it possible to stabilise transportation volumes and even expand local transportation services. As the owner of the public infrastructure, the Company fulfilled its obligations to all carriers.

SPC performance in 2018

Suburban passenger companies’ income from passenger transportation totalled RUB 28.5 bn, up 6% y-o-y, with 19 out of 24 carriers generating higher income compared to 2017.

Transportation expenses rose by 4% y-o-y to RUB 37.4 bn.

In 2018, SPCs (Russian Railways’ subsidiaries and affiliates) reduced their prior debt under agreements with Russian Railways by RUB 0.9 bn, with 20 companies reaching the break-even levelNorth-West SPC, Moscow-Tver SPC, Volga-Vyatka SPC, Sodruzhestvo, North Caucasus SPC, Kuban Express Suburb, Chernozemye SPC, Saratov SPC, Volgogradtransprigorod, Bashkortostan SPC, Samara SPC, Perm Suburban Company, Omsk Suburb, Express Suburb, Altai Suburb, Krasprigorod, Baikal SPC, Zabaikalsk SPC, Primorye Express, and Sakhalin PC..

Moscow Central Circle performance in 2018

In 2018, the MCC serviced 129.6 million passengers (up 17% y-o-y), with total passenger traffic since its launch in 2016 exceeding 267.6 million. This is driven by the opening of new Moscow metro stations and a large influx of tourists and fans seen in Moscow during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™. Early autumn saw the commissioning of residential property located in close proximity to the MCC, which brought about more passengers.

At present, its daily traffic exceeds 400,000 people, and the number keeps growing. On 7 November, the MCC transported a record 501,767 people per day.

The development of the MCC continues. The Company has done simulation modelling using five-, four- and three-minute intervals between trains. A four-minute interval between Lastochka electric trains will increase the MCC’s throughput capacity in the range from 592,000 to as much as 806,000 passengers per day (215 and 295 million passengers per year, respectively).

Urban Commuter Train project

In 2018, passengers gave positive feedback on Urban Commuter Train, a regional project to integrate railway transportation into the urban environment by establishing a train connection between districts.

The first Urban Commuter Train project that kicked off in 2012 in Krasnoyarsk is now viewed as similar to a surface metro. During the XXIX Winter Universiade these trains transported spectators and various client groups. September 2016 saw Moscow launch of the MCC.

The advance of urban railway transport will contribute to:

• reducing traffic congestion;
• improving service quality and accessibility;
• increasing passenger mobility;
• reducing travel time from the suburbs.

Currently, the project is ongoing in 11 cities: Moscow, Krasnoyarsk, Ufa, Rostov-on-Don, Tambov, Voronezh, Volgograd, Kaliningrad, Kazan, Yaroslavl and Yekaterinburg.