Russia – a journey through the largest country in the World
A journey on the legendary Trans-Siberian Railroad is one of the last great adventures of our time. Itcovers 9,289 kilometres connecting Moscow with Vladivostok in the Russian Far East. The route goesalong superb landscapes and regions that experience extremely harsh winters with temperatures thatcan drop to minus 62 degrees Celsius. These extreme weather conditions can destroy roads and makethem impassable. No wonder that the railway is Russia‘s most popular mode of transport.
“The railway network is the backbone ofRussia‘s transportation system,” says Dr. AnnaAstapenko, A+S Consult, PTV‘s business partnerin Russia. “It is the only reliable mode of transportthat has always connected all regionsregardless of climate conditions.” In the 1930s,at a time when Germany decided by law tobuild a motorway network, Russia was notinterested in expanding its road network whichwould conflict with the rail network. “Eventhough the Russians pressed further aheadwith the industrial expansion during and afterthe Second World War and made significantprogress, in particular in the construction ofairports and railway networks, they have neverdeveloped an extensive road network,” statesAstapenko. Due to its size – Russia coversan area of 17.1 million square kilometres –the country‘s traffic infrastructure has so farfocussed on covering large distances undersometimes extreme weather conditions. Therefore, travellers still take the train orplane to get from Moscow to St. Petersburg,for example.
Automobile mania is spreading
Things look different in the metropolises:“After Perestroika in 1991, the liberalisationprocess began under the government of BorisJelzin,” explains Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ulrich Brannolte,who holds the Chair of Transportation Planningand Traffic Engineering at the BauhausUniversity in Weimar, Germany and teachesat the Technical University MADI (MoscowAutomobile & Road Institute). “As a result, manyRussians have been able to fulfil their wish fora car.” A car demonstrates the owner‘s socialstatus whereas public transport (PuT) stillleaves much to be desired – so motorisation isgrowing at a rapid pace. According to a studyby the management consulting company Frost & Sullivan, the car ownership rate will grow bynearly 24 per cent between 2010 and 2015.“The modal split, i.e. the allocation of trafficvolume to different transport modes willshift from a share of currently 70% in publictransport and 30% in private transport (PrT)towards PrT,” says Astapenko. However, the road infrastructure is already affected bycapacity restrictions. Everyone who travels bycar must face long journey times. “Therefore,Russia will need a traffic management solutionthat on the one hand allows traffic infrastructureexpansion at regional and supra-regional leveland on the other hand systematically combinesurban transport systems – from undergroundsystems, trams and buses to dial-a-taxiservices,” states Brannolte.
Big cities such as Moscow count on meansof collective transportation that is essentialto safely moving millions of people every day.That is why Russia has a well functioningunderground railway system. However, itsroad infrastructure has been quite neglectedand can therefore no longer cope with therapidly growing motorisation. “Decision-makershave become aware of this issue and try totake preventive action,” says Astapenko. Theappropriate transport planning measures includering motorways, improved public transportservices and optimised conditions for pedestriansand cyclists. “The effects of the westerninfluence and attraction of this lifestyletogether with the new mobility needs canthus be absorbed a lot more effectively than in other BRIC countries,” explains the Russiaspecialist at A+S Consult in Germany.
Growing awareness
In Russia, awareness on transportation planningdid not exist from the start: It has taken almost15 years to raise it. “Transportation planning is adiscipline that is defined by specific regulations,laws and guidelines, including software specifications,”says Brannolte. Promoting this visionwas a major challenge in the 1990s. “Today,the Russian experts are familiar with theterminology and key concepts that we use intransportation planning,” says Brannolte who,in his former role as managing director ofPTV companies, established business contactswith Russian partners in the early 1990s. Onereason for this is the new teaching approach:Russia used to have numerous universitieswith specific fields of study, but which lackedinternational exchange. There were only a fewso-called leading universities that establishedand maintained international contacts. If someonewas interested in transportation planningin Germany, they had to submit their requestto the leading university which contacted theappropriate experts in Germany. Moreover, Transportation Planning, a popular course ofacademic study in Germany, was not offeredas a separate field of study.
“In the early 2000s, when we started to introduceand promote transportation planning andalso PTV software, neither demand nor experts actually existed. Therefore, we primarily focusedon a close cooperation with the universities andpublic bodies in Russia,” reflects Astapenko onthe past. In doing so, future experts learned howto plan traffic and transportation using the toolsof the PTV Vision software suite. “Nowadays,there is almost no major city in Russia that is notusing PTV Vision - and the demand is rising,”says Astapenko. “We succeeded in showing ourcustomers how to use the software so that theycan now offer consulting services in this field.”.
At the same time German know-how is inhigh demand, for example, for major planningprojects, such as the over 1,000-km long highway(M4) between Moscow and Don, whereGerman engineers are going to plan and buildseveral route sections according to Germanstandards and guidelines. The Russians wantto learn from the German engineers and use amodel forecast that is based on a transportationmodel complying with international standards.“So in Russia, the transportation planningprocedures have been adapted,” assessesBrannolte the current development. However,so far it has been difficult to receive extensivedata required for planning: in Russia, conductingsurveys is still in its infancy. There is some goodquality data on employment and the basicliving standards, however, data on leisurebehaviour is still missing.
Politics effect business
Even for German experts it is a major challengeto assist Russia in tackling their infrastructureissues. Who has experience in managing urbanmobility of a metropolitan area with more than20 million people? And, as everywhere in theworld, Russian metropolises are constantly growingwhich leads to urbanisation accompaniedby an increase in population density. At thesame time, the population rate is shrinking.“The country‘s population may decrease by 20million people within the next 40 years,” saysProf. Dr. Rainer Lindner, Managing Director ofthe Committee on Eastern European EconomicRelations. The consequences of this demographicphenomenon remind us of the development inGermany. “Parts of the country where resourceextraction is not an important economic factorwill have to cope with depopulation whereasMoscow will be a magnet,” explains theeconomic expert. The capital city accounts foralmost a quarter of the Russian gross domesticproduct (GDP).
In total, the country has recorded economicgrowth of four per cent in 2011. High oil andgas prices help Russia to give a boost to itseconomic activity. However, it has not yettapped its full potential: “Russia remains fartoo dependent on energy and raw materialexports,” says Lindner. “Russia‘s economyreflects a mixed picture.” But how has thecountry changed? What have been the drivingforces? In particular in the 1990s, Russia wentthrough difficult times reaching its peak duringthe economic and monetary crisis. The developmentof the commodity markets helped thecountry to stabilize its economy and to developpositively. “The government under VladimirPutin initiated a number of effective reformsthat led to higher government revenues andshaped a more stabilized society,” commentsLindner. However, Putin then put a strongfocus on state-controlled corporations whichprevented free competition in the country andthe development of innovative medium-sizedenterprises. Collapsing raw material pricestriggered a serious crisis in 2008 and, as aresult, Russia‘s GDP slumped by almost 8 percent in the following year. This crisis uncoveredall development shortcomings. The need formodernisation has therefore become the guidingprinciple of President Dmitry Medvedev.
New plans throughout the country
Steering away from the archaic raw materialeconomy towards a new modern economicpolicy – this is the message which PresidentMedvedev wants to sent out. With Skolkovo,the Russian “Silicon Valley”, a new city is beingbuilt at Moscow‘s doorstep which is scheduledfor completion by 2015. It is planned to createfive clusters focusing on interdisciplinaryresearch projects and new technologies to bemarketed globally. Key research areas includeenergy efficiency, nuclear technology andbiomedical research as well as information andcommunication technologies. Around 25,000people are expected to work and live in thenew high-tech city. Therefore, there is a needfor intelligent transport infrastructure concepts.
The same applies to Sochi which will be hostingthe 2014 Winter Olympics. Currently, railwayroutes, roads, traffic control systems and amodern airport are being built to provideaccess to the sports event. Sochi airport isdesigned to provide the best resource fortravellers going to Sochi both during and afterthe Olympic Winter Games. And who knows– travellers might continue their trip toexperience the most exciting adventure oftheir lives – a journey with the Trans-SiberianRailway from Moscow to Vladivostok.
