Development of the transportation industry discussed at the RUSSIA EXPO
On January
19, the plenary discussion Transportation System of the Future in the
Passenger's Interest was held at the International RUSSIA EXPO as part of the
Passenger Logistics Day. The event was attended by Minister of Transport Vitaly
Savelyev, Chairman of the Board of State Company Avtodor Vyacheslav Petushenko,
Director General - Chairman of the Board of JSC Russian Railways Oleg
Belozerov, Director General of PJSC Aeroflot Sergey Alexandrovsky and Chairman
of the Board of Directors of FESCO Transportation Group Andrey Severilov.
The
speakers discussed the specifics of our country's transportation system,
priority transportation directions, successful solutions of Russian companies
for rail, air and road passengers, new transportation services to be introduced
in the coming years. They also considered the prospect of development of
international transportation and logistics corridors from the perspective of
passenger experience.
Vitaly
Savelyev spoke about new approaches in passenger logistics and transformation
of the transportation industry. He noted that digitalization has become the
most important tool for service development. The transportation industry is
switching to domestic solutions.
For
example, the commissioning of the FSIS Taxi system made it possible to make the
taxi services market competitive and safe for passengers. The introduction of
domestic air ticket booking and passenger registration systems helped to ensure
the industry's technological sovereignty. Digital solutions that have left the
Russian market are being successfully replaced by domestic solutions, and new
platforms are being created. For example, to create a mechanism for seamless
passenger logistics - the purchase of one electronic ticket for several modes
of transportation - a digital platform Russian Transport is being developed.
Registration of discount and subsidized trips and flights will become possible
electronically. The head of the Russian Transport Ministry also noted the
growth of passenger transportation.
"Our
airlines carried about 105 million passengers, which is more than 10% higher
than in 2022. In 2023, the implementation of three air transportation subsidy
programs continued. The total amount of support under them totaled more than 30
billion rubles. Special attention is paid to supporting the availability of
flights to the Far East. In 2023, about 22 billion rubles have been allocated
for these purposes," said Vitaly Savelyev.
In
addition, a new quality of public transportation was discussed. In 2023, under
the programs of the Ministry of Transport of Russia, almost 4.5 thousand units
of new rolling stock were transferred to the regions. This year it is planned
to transfer about 7.5 thousand units. By the end of 2024, public transport will
be upgraded in 82 regions.
The volume
of passenger traffic on railway transport reached almost 1.2 billion people,
which is 5.5% more than in 2022. Carriers are developing their route network
and offering new services. Russian Railways tourist trains are a vivid example.
Vitaly
Savelyev emphasized that the growth of domestic tourism will continue to be
supported by the necessary rolling stock and fleet. Modern domestic high-speed
passenger vessels will soon sail along the Volga River.
"Under
my leadership, a working group has been set up to launch the River Highways
project. The project will connect Nizhny Novgorod region, Tatarstan and Chuvash
Republic by a 675 km water route. Thanks to this project, we will solve the
tasks of increasing transport accessibility of the territories along the Volga
River, developing multimodal passenger transportation, as well as creating new
tourist destinations," he added.
Oleg
Belozerov spoke about the major innovations that await passengers in the near
future on railway transport.
According
to him, the main direction of train evolution is to increase the speed of
movement. The first Russian electric train with a speed of up to 400 kilometers
per hour is currently under development. Its level will be higher than the
existing high-speed trains. It will consist of 8 cars. There will be 4 classes
of service (first, business, comfort, basic), a play area for children with
interactive games, a kitchen with a bar in the bistro car, a multimedia
information and entertainment system. The start of assembly of the first model
is scheduled for 2026. In 2027 the train should be ready. In 2028 it is planned
to receive a certificate of conformity. The realization of the first stage of
the High-Speed Railway is planned until 2030.
High-speed
communication requires an appropriate wireless communication infrastructure
(based on Radio-Ethernet technology), which will make it possible to provide
passengers on the move with Internet access at a speed of 250 Mbit/s. At the
first stage, it will be tested on Sapsan electric trains.
Speaking
about the immediate plans, the head of JSC Russian Railways announced the
launch of a new fair customer service Waiting List this year. It will allow a
passenger to buy a ticket after receiving a notification about the availability
of free seats, if they were not available at the first request.
"We
are also developing the option of boarding the train without presenting
documents - through a QR code in the Gosuslugi (State Services) application and
validation by biometric personal data. For this purpose, together with the
Ministry of Finance of Russia and other specialized departments we are
preparing a full-fledged regulatory framework," Oleg Belozerov informed.
Speaking to
the audience, Andrey Severilov shared the goals set by FESCO. These are
increasing spatial connectivity and transport accessibility of territories,
increasing the volume and speed of cargo transit, development of multimodal
logistics technologies, digital and low-carbon transformation of the industry
and accelerating the introduction of new technologies. The Chairman of the
Board of Directors of FESCO also focused on the creation of a unified national
logistics platform.
"We
have created Russia's first ecosystem that unites partners in the logistics
chain on the principle of a single window for freight traffic. A transparent
and fast service has been formed. This is mobility and convenience in managing
and tracking cargo in electronic format," he explained.
Import
substitution was also discussed. Andrey Severilov informed that FESCO replaces
a lot of foreign equipment with equipment of domestic production. Especially it
concerns software.
In his
turn, Vyacheslav Petushenko stated that roads in Russia are the key factor of
economic development and improvement of the quality of life of the population.
That is why infrastructure service, which includes communication and service in
terms of creating multifunctional zones, is important.
"The
most expensive thing we have is time. It is important to our company, which
builds high-speed roads, that a person reaches their destination in the planned
time. This is primarily influenced by road safety. Today the death rate on our
roads is 2 times lower than on other highways. Because from the very beginning
we have built the separation of flows, put warning signs, as well as emergency
commissars who help drivers," said Vyacheslav Petushenko.
In
addition, the topic of road network development in the new subjects of the
Russian Federation was raised. For 2 years 1.5 thousand kilometers of roads
have been built. In all social surveys of residents of these regions conducted
by VCIOM, roads and their quality are among the top three priorities. Sergey
Alexandrovsky shared his experience in creating services in the field of
digitalization.
"In
2022, Aeroflot switched to a domestic airline booking system. We did it
practically in 6 months. Together with our colleagues from Sirena company, we
plan to reach the level that we had with foreign solutions within 1.5 years. In
fact, the Sirena company can compete with two leading suppliers of the relevant
software," said Vyacheslav Petushenko.
The CEO of
Aeroflot also talked about future projects. For example, the information system
of revenue management will allow to optimize offers for passengers. It will be
built taking into account mathematical models and using neural networks of
demand forecast.
"A unified customer communication platform is a new customer service tool that will allow integration with the loyalty system to personalize service, improve the efficiency of handling requests and increase the quality of service, - added Sergey Alexandrovsky. - We are also working on creating our own aggregator for transportation sales. We are talking about selling tickets of other airlines and multimodal transportation".
The International RUSSIA EXPO is the most important achievements of the country gathered in one place. During the whole period of the Exposition, guests are welcomed by cultural events, a rich business and educational program. The expositions of 89 Russian regions, leading federal agencies, corporations and public organizations are presented to the visitors.
Quantum technologies are the key to digital sovereignty, security, and breakthrough discoveries. We are not copying anyone else's path — we are creating our own.
At the National Centre RUSSIA, a panel pitching session titled "Investments in Technology" was held within the framework of the Open Dialogue "The Future of the World. New Platform for Global Growth".
The final panel pitching session for the "Investments in Connectivity" track took place on 29 April at the National Centre RUSSIA.