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Medvedev to hold conference on Moscow transport hub Wed

Moscow has launched work to reconstruct the outbound lines

MOSCOW, September 19 (Itar-Tass) — Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev is to hold a conference on the development of the Moscow transport complex (MTU) on Wednesday.

A government press service official said, "Those present at the conference are to review the implementation of the programme for the development of the transport system of the Moscow Region in a period until 2020, as well as its optimization guidelines, in particular, in view of new territories being added to the Russian capital". It is noteworthy that the conference will take place at a section of the M-1 "Belarus" Highway where the reconsruction of the road's 12-km section is nearing completion. The reconstruction has been going on for several years.

"Those present at the conference are to consider proposals made by Federal government bodies, Moscow city and region on ways to improve the transport situation in the capital's region, including those on refinement of the normative basis of the transport system," the government official pointed out.

It is planned that about 7,000,000 million roubles will be spent on the implementation of the 2020 programme. A coordinating center has been set up to ensure the coordination of the actions of the regions and the Federal center.

The MTU programme is to be implemented in three stages. The first one, intended for a 2011-2012 period is being completed now. It is aimed at stabilizing the situation and preventing a transportation collapse. In particular, decisions have been taken to ensure a growing share of suburban and urban railway transportation within the aggregate scope of passenger transportation. The implementation of new first-priority projects has been started to develop radial railway lines. The construction of new rail tracks is being continued with a view to taking transit freight transportatino out of the city.

Moscow has launched work to reconstruct the outbound lines. Mechanisms have been determiend for improving freight transport logistics with a view to withdrawing a considerable part of the freight traffic flows to beyond the Moscow automobile circular road (MKAD). A strategy is being implemented to attract private investments to bringing into being facilities of the Moscow Region transport complex. Under the programme for the Avtodor Company activities, 46,000 million roubles will be attracted for two facilities that directly adjoin MKAD.

Government estimates are as follows: "The efforts made it possible to stabilize the situation in the transport complex of the Moscow Region: public transport traffic speed at rush hours has been recorded to be 11 km/hour; an average interval of ground urban passenger transport movement at rush hours is eight minutes, and passengers' transfer time at large transfer hubs is 15 minutes.

On the whole, the programmes is designed to solve the following tasks: to expedite the transportation of goods, lower transportation costs in the economy, improve the accessibility of transport, raise reliability and effectiveness of operation of the transport complex of the Moscow Region, move on from the development of individual types of transport to an interlinked development of transport and terminal-and-depot infrastructure within the scope of the formation of a single transport logistics complex of the region, and implement the programme's provisions resultant of combining state-run and private-owned resources.