Public transport reliability and travel times have been significantly improved, for example from the main Moscow international airport to Red Square in the heart of the city it is now less than an hour.
LONDON – Moscow city authorities say that much progress has been made to improving the Russian capital’s once notorious road and rail infrastructure recently that when it comes to transport they are “ready now” to stage the 2018 World Cup.
“The World Cup may still be five years away but in terms of our transport infrastructure we are adequately ready now,” said Marat Husnulin, Deputy Mayor for Urban Development and Construction, “also there are even more changes to come during the next five years such as 400 km of new roads and fly-overs that are to be built.”
“Moscow used to be quite difficult to get around in but massive investment on new roads, bridges and fly-overs, including an entirely new third inner ring road, has changed all that.
“The same is true of the rail and underground network which has already been fully modernised. In the past few years, 13 kilometers of new underground has been built and six new underground stations have opened.
“This has improved the transport situation for 600,000 Muscovites. By the end of this year 14 more kilometers will be built, which will beat the Soviet record that even in the best times never exceeded 13 kilometers per year.
“We plan to improve the transport situation even further in order to make travel comfortable inside the city as well as between Moscow and Moscow region with 20 new underground lines totaling 160 kilometers, making life for millions of residents easier.
“At the same time we will perform a modernization of railway transport. Under this program we plan to build 240 additional kilometers of rail and purchase 2500 of modern carriages, as well as building convenient connection hubs for railways and underground.
“Moscow will be a perfect base for football fans with easy and affordable transport and lots to see and do between matches.
“Moscow won’t be caught out with last minute infrastructure problems, because today we do our best to be well ahead of the game” he said.
Public transport reliability and travel times have been significantly improved, for example from the main Moscow international airport to Red Square in the heart of the city it is now less than an hour.
Photo caption: The Moscow Metro.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
