The Taganrog Municipality, in southwestern Russia, and Sinara GTR Taganrog signed a concession agreement for the modernisation and construction city’s tram network and the delivery of the vehicle fleet.
“Signing the concession agreement is an essential event for Taganrog. City tram lines have been first built in 1932. It is important for us not only to preserve this type of public transport but also to make it modern and comfortable for our residents and guests,” Andrey Lisitsky, the Head of Taganrog City Administration said.
Sinara GTR Taganrog (Sinara City Transport Solutions Taganrog), a subsidiary of Sinara Transport Machines and Regional Concession Companies LLC, is a Russian company is involved in the urban transport projects, including through public-private partnerships (PPP) and concessions.
The project covers the modernisation of the existing tram infrastructure, as well as the construction of new lines, and the supply of new trams.
The total funding required amounts to RUB 11.84 billion (USD 161 million), of which RUB 2.58 billion (USD 35 million) will be provided by the city. The remaining investment of RUB 6.86 billion (USD 93.3 million) will be covered by Sinara GTR Taganrog through credit funds from the State Development Corporation VEB, while RUB 2 billion (USD 27.2 million) will be allotted from company’s own funds.
Under the agreement, the STM subsidiary will build 45 km of new tram tracks and will acquire 60 single-section fully low-floor trams manufactured specially for Taganrog. The new trams will feature modern technology including an automatic announcement device, a ticket selling machine, a display panel, media complexes, video surveillance systems, and charging slots for electronic gadgets.
The vehicles will also be equipped with alerting and orienting systems for people with reduced mobility.
As a concessionaire, Sinara GTR Taganrog will overhaul the tram depot, the traction substations, and the operation control centre. In addition, according to the terms of the contract, the company will build 80 modern stop shelters equipped with electronic information boards and video surveillance systems.
“Taganrog is the first city in Russia to sign a concession agreement for the comprehensive modernisation of the whole tram infrastructure, not some part of it. As a result of this large-scale project, Taganrog will receive a fully updated tram park and related modern infrastructure, which will last for many years. We also hope that Taganrog will serve as a positive example to other Russian cities, where the issue of public transport monetarization is also relevant,and stimulate them to use the concession agreement mechanism for those purposes,” Evgeny Vasiliev, the representative of Sinara GTR Taganrog said.
The project will be carried out in two phases. Under the first phase, which will be implemented by the end of this year, 10 modern trams will be delivered to the city, three traction substations will be reconstructed and the operations control centre in R. Luxemburg Street will be repaired. Sinara GTR Taganrog will also build the tram track from Red Kotelshchik factory to the ring in Dobrolyubovskiy.
The second final stage of the project is scheduled for September 2022 when all the construction work will be completed, and the city’s renovated tram fleet will be put into operation.
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