There have been over 40 mio trips made on Vityaz-Moskva new-generation trams since the beginning of the year, the website of the Mayor of Moscow reports. There are 375 such trams now running along 25 routes in the northeast, east, southeast, southwest, south and centre of the city. The Bauman and Oktyabrskoye depots have only got new carriages to date, and they are also being delivered to the Rusakov Depot.
“Such eco-friendly above-ground public transport is absolutely the way of the future. That’s why Moscow is investing in e-buses and state-of-the-art trams. By the end of the year, another 15 Vityaz-Moskvas will hit the tracks, and by 2023 only the best trams will be running in the city,” Maxim Liksutov, deputy Moscow Mayor and head of the Department of Transport and Road Infrastructure Development, said.
The first Vityaz-Moskvas with air conditioning, satellite navigation, CCTV, free Wi-Fi and USB chargers starting being used in 2017. The trams are noiseless and run smoothly, which makes travelling aboard them more comfortable. For those living near tram tracks, life has also improved. The modern carriages can take up to 260 passengers, which is higher than any other surface means of public transport. They always run on time. Passengers use such trams about 215K times daily.
The inside layout has been gradually improved, the number of seats increased to 64, a second platform was established for bicycles and prams, and the driver’s cabin and control panel were upgraded.
Moscow residents have praised how the Vityaz-Moskvas run. Over 206K users took part in the New Moscow Trams vote; 48.92% had already travelled aboard the new trams, with 92.69% noting that they liked Vityaz trams. Another 3.68% believed there were still ways to make them even more passenger-friendly.