The President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and the Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin have launched on august 17, 2023 the MCD-3, a new Moscow cross-city line, part of the Moscow Central Diameter network..
The MCD-3 is a new 85 km long railway line that connects the districts of the north-west and south-east of Moscow. Currently, there are already 38 stations in operation, and three more stations, Mitkovo, Malino, and Rizhskaya, will start the operation later. The MCD-3 passes through 24 districts of Moscow and 4 districts of the Moscow region, providing additional access to the ground metro for approximately 3.5 million residents.
“I would like to congratulate Moscow on the implementation of another powerful project, which, of course, is in great demand for Muscovites and everyone who comes to the city, works in the city on a daily basis or lives in the nearest suburbs,” Vladimir Putin said at the inauguration ceremony.
The construction of the MCD-3 involved creating an entirely new cross-city route to connect previously unconnected directions of the railway. The most challenging part of the project was the construction of the Mitkovskaya section near Elektrozavodskaya metro station on Line 3. Previously, passengers had to create their own routes to Kazansky and Leningradsky railway stations and then transfer to the metro or make a change at the first transfer station when traveling from the south-east to the north-west.
To connect different railway directions, a new connecting line called Mitkovo was built, which includes a 400-meter-long tunnel and several large facilities and infrastructure. The project also includes the modern urban railway station Zelenograd-Kryukovo, which meets the standards of the Moscow Transport. Additionally, a station for trains of the high-speed highway St. Petersburg-Moscow will be opened in the future.
The new line is operated by 30 modern trains of which 11 Ivolga trains and 19 EP2D type trains. On traditional suburban routes to Leningradsky and Kazansky railway stations, passengers will be served by 33 Lastochka trains, 18 EP2D trains, and 41 ED4M trains.
By 2024, the older generation ED4M trains will be replaced by modern models on the routes to the railway stations. This means that next year, all long-distance suburban routes will be served by an entirely renewed fleet. On the diametral route, 100% new trains are already in operation.
Passengers can also take advantage of 21 metro interchange options, including the Big Circle Line (BCL), the Moscow Central Circle (MCC), and other diameters. The new Moscow cross-city line is expected to relieve up to 15% of traffic on these three metro lines and reduce harmful emissions into the atmosphere by up to 36 thousand tonnes per year.
MCD-3 will provide a two-fold increase in the number of passenger seats, from 0.9 to 1.9 million per day and a 1.5 times increase in train frequency, with intervals as short as 5.5 minutes during rush hours.
Further plans for the development of passenger transport in Moscow and the Central Transport Hub include the implementation of MCD-5 connection, the modernisation of passenger transport between Moscow and largest cities and the construction of high-speed rail connections. The entire MCD rail system is expected to be completed in 2025.
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