“In 2012, we expect to launch e-Tickets on suburban commuter trains, and in 2013 the service will become available everywhere. We aim to dismantle the check system without affecting fee collection”, said Head of Suburban Corporate Management at Russian Railways Maksim Schneider at a briefing on Tuesday.

He says that the pilot project will be tested in the capital. The goal is to make unified train passes available through various technologies - card, mobile account, mobile phone screen.

Two major issues arise: the technical side – there are 3 thousand turnstiles in Russia, equipped with different ticket check systems (mostly slot scanners or card validators). This calls for unified re-design. On the management side there is route tracking technology. “Metro and buses just charge a 26 rouble fee, whereas commuter trains charge 16,5 to 300 roubles. You also have to check in at the start of the journey and check out at the final destination”, said Schneider.

“We are also beginning to consider a ‘smart pass’ – one card, easy to use. We want the passenger to have this universal card to access the train directly through the turnstiles, bypassing the ticket office. Where there is no turnstile in place, the passenger could touch the card on a reader to check in at the station and have the real transit fee deducted”, explained the Russian Railways representative.

The company is ready for technical renovation, according to Schneider. Russian Railways will handle both the turnstiles and the infrastructure part of the project, while suburban companies will distribute the validators and cards.

The idea is to simplify the recharging of the e-Ticket. “If you need to recharge your balance, you can do it at home, load up some cash and off you go. You could alternatively make a deposit and forget about pocket cash (we are currently working on bank-client software)”, said Schneider.

The Russian Railways representative also noted that suburban transit could feature bonus and loyalty programs, just like long-distance transit. “Strategically, we want suburban companies to have it. There are technologies in place, and we will see them implemented next year”, said Schneider.

He also said that in 2012 commuter trains could be equipped with free wi-fi. “In the past 2 months I have travelled through two-thirds of the country, visiting local branches and ordering this to be done. Let them work on it”, said the manager. The wi-fi service will be worth RUB 2mn for all of Russia, which will not affect the transit fees.

Project Group №6