Transport and infrastructure aspect of urban environment transformation in millionaire cities of Russia (on the example of railway transport in Perm)

Abstract

One important field of modern complex research is the study of urban area transformation processes under the significant influence of changes in transport infrastructure, including railway infrastructure. Using the comparative method and the method of integral scoring, the authors of the article have evaluated how well suburban railway transport is developed in 14 millionaire cities of Russia. A special focus is on Volgograd, Krasnoyarsk, Samara and Kazan, which are all similar to Perm in terms of territorial and planning characteristics. One trend in organizing urban traffic is to develop off-street and high-speed transport (including railways), which is particularly important to Perm as the city is stretched along the Kama River. In the article we reveal that Perm has a high potential for increasing the role of railway transport in urban traffic organization. However, that potential is not fully reached because of the unsystematic approach to managing suburban railways at the regional and municipal levels; this has negative budgetary, financial, spatial and temporal consequences. The authors state that the project to eliminate the railway line from the station “Perm II” to the railway stop “Motovilikha” initiated by the regional authorities has negative consequences. It worsens the integral indicator characterizing the level of suburban railway transport development in the center of Perm Region and makes commuting longer and less comfortable for passengers. Also, it makes public transport in Perm less effective in terms of the city budget. The project will force people to use private cars and will make the city transport system less rational. Although the authorities state that the railway line hinders the integration of the Kama river embankment into the urban space, the authors of the article have not found sufficient evidence in support of that argument.