MONTHLY season tickets for commuter services on Russia’s Moscow Railway were replaced by smart cards with effect from July 24, following a month-long transitional phase. The changeover is the first phase in a programme to modernise the MR fare collection systems, together with the introduction of automatic gates and electronic ticket checking equipment.
Installation of gates at Moscow’s nine commuter terminals was completed on August 1, and is now being followed by gating at six key interchange stations. Combined tickets for rail and metro services are due to be introduced this month. According to MR’s head of passenger services O Prokhorov, the first phase of the programme saw ticket revenues doubled in two months. The railway is currently handling 2·5 million passenger journeys per day.
On August 2 the company announced plans to refurbish its fleet of Riga-built 450 suburban EMUs, which have been in service for between 25 and 30 years. The units are to be rebuilt at the Moscow locomotive repair works, where they will be stripped to bare shells and the interiors renewed. Vandal-resistant seats and windows and new lights will be fitted. n
