New Generation Trams to Operate on Tverskaya Zastava Square
New six-door, three-section, low-floor trams featuring video cameras and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems will start running to Tverskaya Zastava Square after its renovation. The tram line will be extended from Lesnaya Street to Belorussky Railway Station with passenger stops and a tram turnaround on the square. A 50-metre long bus turnaround for buses headed to Tverskaya Zastava Square will be built as well.
Currently, Tverskaya Zastava Square lacks trees, shrubs or leisure areas. After the renovation, it will receive a public garden, benches and navigation markers that will help incoming tourists find their way around central Moscow. The city is to start renovating the square this spring.
Trams Come Back
The tram line on Lesnaya Street was closed in 2008. Tram service resumed in 2012, but the line did not reach Belorussky Railway Station. The new extension to Tverskaya Zastava Square will be 1.2 kilometres long.
Two current tram routes will be extended after the new tram turnaround starts operating. Tram No. 7, now turning onto Sushchovsky Val Street and reaching Novoslobodskaya metro station, will eventually reach Belorussky Railway Station via Palikha and Lesnaya Streets. Tram No. 19, now stopping at Novoslbodskaya metro station, will also reach Belorussky Railway Station via the same streets.
New Vityaz-M six-door trams will be used on the same routes. Extra doors and an enlarged entrance section will allow passengers to embark and disembark more quickly. Each Vityaz-M tram will also be equipped with satellite navigation, video surveillance cameras and new HVAC systems in the passenger compartment and the tram operator’s cabin.
“We expect this convenient route and capacious No. 7 trams to carry 10,000-15,000 more people daily,” the Mosgortrans (Moscow City Transit Authority) press service said.
Bus and trolleybus stops will be relocated closer to Belorussky Railway Station and Belorusskaya metro station, for more convenient interchanges. Once extended, the new routes will allow passengers to save up to 15 minutes when travelling to Railways University, the Durov Animal Theatre and Olimpiisky Sport Complex.
Wide Pavements (Sidewalks) and New Designated Transit Lane for Buses
A new 50-metre wide bus lane will be built between the 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya and 1st Brestskaya Streets, the press service of the Centre for Road Traffic Organisation said. It will act as a turnaround for buses and semi-express buses arriving at Belorusskaya metro station from Lenigradsky Prospekt.
The pavements (sidewalks) near exits from the Belorusskaya metro stations on the Circle and Zamoskvoretskaya lines will become almost five metres wider, with the street being reduced from 14.7 to ten metres. But three vehicle lanes will be retained for entering Tverskaya Zastava Square from an underpass beneath Tverskoi overpass and to Gruzinsky Val Street.
Outbound vehicle traffic will circle the public square clockwise from 1st Brestskaya Street to access Lenigradsky Prospekt and Butyrsky Val Street.
Convenient Navigation and Parking
There are plans to install 12 navigation markers for tourists with maps in Russian and English.
The square will receive a new system of synchronised pedestrian crossings and traffic lights for people and vehicles. Navigation markers will be installed near metro and railway station exits, as well as near bus, trolleybus and tram stops.
The city will remove the chaotic car parks used on the square since the mid-2000s. A new parking area for private cars, taxicabs and tourist buses will be built.
Tverskaya Zastava Square is being renovated under the My Street programme, whose results are posted on the mos.ru special project. The continuing programme covers over 80 streets.
