In the 21st century, public transport has become a defining factor for economic growth. This sector has become more and more attractive, for investors and users alike. In Eurasia, where the cities own underground transport networks, the level of attractiveness for investors in project implementation is a well known fact. Hence, the projects under development or even future the projects, whose feasibility studies have been finalized and implemented, amount to tens of millions of euros, encouraging the constructions industry and increasing passenger attractiveness towards this eco-friendly and fast mode of transport.
In the capital of Armenia, Yerevan, investing in underground development brings economic growth, new work places, an increased number of passengers who choose this mode of transport and, last but not least, a reduction in CO2 emissions. In order for the underground to become the backbone of the capital, the authorities are trying to allocate state budget funds and take on loans to ensure underground development. In August 2009, the Armenian Government announced that the financial institutions were planning to allocate a little over EUR 16 Million for Yerevan underground. According to Minister of Public Finance Tigran Davtian, “the funds will come from the European Union, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB). The European Commission will allocate EUR 6.5 Million from the total cost of project implementation, while EBRD and EIB will provide a EUR 5 Million loan”. The Underground Rehabilitation Project aims at improving and developing the underground network and transport safety and reform public transport services. In January 2010, this project was approved and the necessary amount, covered from the state budget and the European institutions, will be used for underground development in Yerevan. “We need to modernise the passenger safety system through rolling stock acquisition and modernisation, installation of escalators and network rehabilitation”, said Ninel Vartanian, spokesman for the underground company. Yerevan underground has 10 stations, along a 12,1 km long network. The capital’s Architectural Master Plan stipulates that the network should be extended by another 4 stations by 2020, with costs amounting to over USD 160 Million. According to several maps and articles published in the press, the authorities plan to build another underground main line with 5 stations and a joint rail link to ensure transfer from one main line to the other. Also, the existing underground main line may be extended by at least two more stations.
Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, is the only city in the country to have an underground network. This network is divided into 2 main lines (33,1 km) and has 22 stations. “We plan to build over 41 new underground stations, which will serve a new bus complex and the international airport. These projects will be handled by a local contractor”, said, during a conference, Taghi Ahmedov, general manager of the underground operator. In December 2008, Baku underground finalized the rehabilitation of the oldest station, Icharishakhar, based on a reconstruction project which required financing of more than EUR 13.5 Million. The station was modernised by an Israeli company, in collaboration with companies from Germany, Turkey and other countries. In 2009, the authorities in Baku inaugurated a new underground station, “Azadlyg Prospekti” and a new 167 m long access tunnel at “May 28” station.
In 2009, three companies won the tender for the elaboration of the plans concerning the future underground network extension by two more lines. Once the projects are finalized, the network will be 60 km longer and will have 50 new stations. Another major project concerns the acquisition of new rolling stock. In 2007, the operator acquire 25 metro cars, and in 2008 the company received 35 metro cars.
Turkey competes with large European cities in the “extension” department
Istanbul underground in Turkey is one of the most active underground systems in Asia, due to many ambitious projects under development or implementation. The underground system has 2 main lines, the Asian line and the European line. The construction of the European line (M1) began in 1992. The first stage brought the finalization of 8,5 km of track, with 6 stations, which entered service in 2000. The Asian line (M2) is 21,66 km long and works are currently being performed for the finalization of 16 stations. The authorities are currently working on the construction of a tunnel which will enter service in 2012. Other modernisation projects have also begun implementation, including the extension of the European line, in order to reach a total length of 23 km. This project requires investments of over EUR 590 Million. The Municipality of Istanbul has allocated EUR 751 Million for the extension projects. This amount includes the supply of the signalling system, electro-mechanic equipment and civil works. It has been estimated that the fully extended line will enter service 3 years after the contract is awarded.
For Istanbul underground, the contracts for system supply and rolling stock delivery amounted to hundreds of millions of euros. In 2008, Alstom won the tender for the supply of 20 Metropolis metro cars. In 2009, Spanish manufacturer CAF was awarded a contract for the supply of 30 underground trains. The value of this transaction amounted to EUR 139 Million. In October 2009, Thales was selected to supply the train control and signalling system, a contract that had a value of EUR 36 Million. Siemens AG was the sub-contractor for the second and third stage of project implementation for the electro-mechanic works along 1,8 km of track.
In order to invest in underground development and public transport in general, the municipality listed IGDAS (Gas Distribution Company) and IDO (Ferryboat Company). “The amount resulted from this sale, estimated at USD 10 Billion, will be used to extend the underground network by at least 100-150 km”, said, in 2009, mayor of Istanbul Kadir Topbaş.
The authorities in Ankara decided that urban transport, and especially the underground system, have to be modernised and extended in order to provide a fast and efficient transport system and also to facilitate traffic decongestion. At present, the Turkish capital owns one of the most newly built underground systems, which is known for its two components: the underground system itself and light-rail. The light-rail line, called Ankaray, is considered to be part of the city’s underground system. It was built by Siemens during 1992 – 1996 and is 8,7 km long, 8 km of which underground. The authorities plan to extend this line by 22 km more by 2015. The underground network is 14,6 km long (6,5 km underground, 4,5 km overground and the rest of the lines are suspended) and has 12 stations. Three underground lines are currently under construction: Kizilay – Cayyolu – 18 km and 16 stations, Ulus-Kecioren – 7,9 km and 6 stations and TBMM-Dikmen – 4,8 km and 5 stations.
There are many extension projects under development; as for the other projects, the pre-feasibility and feasibility studies have already been elaborated. The rolling stock used on the underground network carries over 40,000 passenger/hour/direction, a transport capacity equivalent to 933,000 individual motor vehicles. Seeing as the population is estimated to increase by 5 – 6,5 million inhabitants during 2015 – 2025, the authorities plan to extend the underground lines. The extension projects require financing of hundreds of millions of euros. The Underground Development Master Plan stipulates that the 66 km extension, which includes both the underground and the light-rail networks, will be finalized by 2015.
Moscow underground is not just a complex technical mechanism with trains, tunnels and stations…
…but is also part of the citizens’ lives, being used every day by millions of people. Moscow underground is one of the oldest underground networks (it was opened in 1935) and is the main means of public transport in Moscow, linking the central area of the capital with the industrial and residential areas. At present, over 56% of the inhabitants use the underground system. Out of over 10 million inhabitants, 7 million use the underground every day and over 9 million during weekdays. According to the latest statistical data elaborated by the underground operator in Moscow, in 2008, 2.572,9 million passengers were carried. The underground system has 12 lines (298,2 km) and 180 stations.
Despite the fact that it’s one of the largest underground systems in the world, the development strategy involves the construction of new lines, as well as rolling stock modernisation and rehabilitation. In one year, Moscow opened several stations along the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya underground line and plans to extend the line by another 3 stations. In 2008, the authorities began the construction works on a 2,2 km long tunnel at Myakinino station, and it was finalized in 2009. The authorities in Moscow plan to extend Lines 4 and 9 and also build an underground link with Line 2. The costs were estimated at USD 40-50 Million/km, with financing from public-private partnerships (covering 8-10% of the total amount). The most recent underground development proposal concerns the construction of a second underground ring around Moscow. “The project for the construction of a new underground line should be implemented with extreme urgency in order to reduce overcrowding on the existing lines. If we develop direct links between the suburbs, we will manage to reduce the number of passengers travelling in and around the city, reaching closer and closer to the centre of the capital”, said Dmitry Gayev, president of the underground company. After the project was approved by the authorities, the project was supposed to be implemented in 2008. The initial phase would include the construction of 12 km of track and 8 stations. The new underground route will surround the entire metropolitan area. The authorities plan to implement the second stage of construction on the Liublinsko-Dmitrovskaya line (the last section of the extension should be finalized by 2014), as well as the south section of the line. They also plan to reconstruct the stations and the ticket selling offices, where escalators will be installed. In December 2009, Moscow opened 3 underground stations along the Artbatsko-Pokrovskaya line (extended by 6 km). A future extension will be implemented on this line and put into service in 2012. Other projects for increasing the capacity of the existing network involve the extension of the Kalininskaya line to Kozhukhovo district (in the east). In order to significantly improve transport, a new underground system will be built in the next 10 years, which consists in the construction of a set of junctions and a suburban underground line to Kozhukhovo, Nekrasovka (south-east) and Liubertsy, another region in Moscow. When this new line will enter service, it will carry approximately 1,5 million passengers/day.
According to the development strategy, several extension projects will be developed in collaboration with the Railways Company, in order to increase the transport capacity by 12%. The authorities in Moscow decided that the number 1 priority in terms of underground development is the construction of a circular line. The future lines should go beyond the road belt of the city and reach the large residential areas and airports. The largest international airports on the river Moskva are Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, Bykovo, Ostafievo and Vnukovo.
Saint Petersburg underground was opened in 1955. At present, it has 5 lines, with a total length of 112.5 km, and 63 stations. The underground system in Saint Petersburg, the second largest city in Russia, is the deepest system in the world. The deepest station is Admiralteyskaya, 105m below ground level. Saint Petersburg underground carries 3 million passengers/day and holds the 13th position as the most crowded underground system in the world. The underground development strategy stipulates that the project for the construction of a new underground ring along the extension of Pravoberezhnaya line, towards the north-west, underneath the Gulf of Finland, will be finalized by 2025. New bi-radial lines will be built in the centre of the city. According to present plans, the length of the underground network will be doubled by 2025. Although the extension projects have bee frozen for more than a decade because of the financial instability, they have now been resumed and they represent the main objective of the authorities in terms of urban transport. The official website of the Saint Petersburg underground company announces that, during 2008 – 2020, they plan to build 41 new stations, 5 new depots and 71 km of stations. At the same time, the company has elaborated several short and medium-term projects for the modernisation of underground stations, including the installation of escalators. The modernisation process also includes the construction of “park & ride” facilities. The budget allocated by the Saint Petersburg underground company for 2010 has been estimated at over EUR 250 Million. “This amount will go only to constructions. Last year, we had over EUR 400 Million allocated for constructions and we hope to finalize all the development projects elaborated. Underground development is very important for the city, seeing as traffic is increasing. The only solution for traffic decongestion is to build new lines. At present, the existing network is too small to handle the traffic”, said, during an interview for the Russian press, Vladimir Garyugin, general manager of the underground company.
The large cities in Eurasia are trying to compete with the European cities in the underground transport sector by making massive investments in the construction of new lines, the acquisition of high-performance rolling stock and other necessary equipment. All the Master Plans developed by Eurasian capitals stipulate underground extensions for a more efficient transport, in order to reduce traffic congestion and pollution.
The financial institutions allocate large amounts of money for project implementation, assistance and for the elaboration of new viable projects. Investments are part of the sustainable development programmes and the European banks stress this fact by allocating large amounts of money.
by Pamela Luică
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