Oh, not nice tram-pam-pam: tram problems of Governor Kuyvashev

The Forum-Group company presented another idea to the Governor of the Sverdlovsk Region, Yevgeny Kuyvashev. On the new tram ring, they want to make stops, a square with hundreds of trees and bushes, as well as bike paths. The project of the transport line has been discussed since 2017.

The correspondent of The Moscow Post in the Sverdlovsk region understood the situation.

transport sickness

Gortrans Yekaterinburg has the same problems every year. As a rule, this is a lack of profit, a lack of personnel, a power outage for debts. In 2020, the company suffered a loss of 546 million rubles.

Photo: rusprofile.ru

In the summer and autumn of 2021, EMUP “Gortrans” found itself at the center of scandals several times. First, the suppliers left the Yekaterinburg trolleybuses without electricity due to a debt exceeding 130 million rubles, followed by a lack of conductors in the municipal enterprise. Then the power engineers again promised to de-energize public transport, but later changed their minds.

It was noted that the city has exhausted the potential for the development of the road network. At the same time, every second resident has a personal car, which is why the city is in traffic jams. The only solution is to transfer residents to public transport. At the same time, in Yekaterinburg there are more than 200 trolleybuses with 100% wear and over 300 heavily worn tram cars.

Indeed, “a shoemaker without boots”: after all, in Yekaterinburg there is a tram plant “Uraltransmash”. The city last bought trams from him in 2018. Then the money for five units of public transport was allocated from the regional budget. In 2019, Vice Mayor Alexei Bubnov said that there was no money in the budget to upgrade the tram fleet.

Idea fix

Problems with public transport were gaining momentum and required solutions. Then in 2017 they started talking about building a new line from the existing tram infrastructure to the new buildings of Solnechny.

The authors of the project suggested laying a branch line from the existing loop to Okruzhnaya along 2nd Novosibirskaya and Luchistaya streets and constructing a reversal ring at the intersection of Championsov and Luchistaya streets. At that time, the deadline for the implementation of the project was called 2030. However, for a long time nothing moved from a dead center.

This despite the fact that it was planned to allocate more than six billion rubles for the construction of a branch, as well as a number of social facilities in 2022-2023.

After long expectations, the project of a tram ring with a mini-park in the Solnechny district of Yekaterinburg was presented to the governor of the Sverdlovsk region, Evgeny Kuyvashev. A certain JSC “Forum Group” is engaged in it.

The company was founded in 2007 and during this time it has only three government contracts, but their amount was 75 million rubles. Interestingly, almost the entire amount was allocated by the Capital Construction Department of the city of Yekaterinburg.

Photo: rusprofile.ru

The company’s revenue for 2021 miraculously amounted to 4 billion rubles. But the most interesting thing is that until January 1, 2022, the co-owners of the JSC are the Cypriot Mertensia overseas limited and Daria Ponomareva. Now there is simply no information about the founders. Is someone sweeping their tails?

One way or another, the project will be. It is planned to be large-scale: 2 stops, 10 types of tiles, 200 trees. Most of all, the emphasis is on the mini-park.

For the construction of transport and social infrastructure in the Solnechny and Akademichesky districts, on behalf of Evgeny Kuivashev, the Sverdlovsk Region attracted 1.5 billion rubles for 2022. from the federal budget, about another 500 million rubles. separated from the regional The funds are rather big, but it is not clear when the residents of the city will see the result.

The plans include the completion of the first stage of the tram line by the beginning of 2024, but it’s too early to say what will come of it – perhaps nothing but another “cut”.

Fight for trams

The city authorities also plan to upgrade the rolling stock, change fares, and create a single traffic control center. The mayor’s office planned to transfer public electric transport to a concession.

As Kommersant wrote, the Sinara-Transport Machines company previously reported about a possible participation in the concession for the renewal of the tram fleet in Yekaterinburg, it is part of the Sinara group of Dmitry Pumpyansky and Movista Regions LLC, which is affiliated with Transmashholding.

If Sinara comes forward, then the residents of Yekaterinburg can definitely forget about trams. The company has already let down not only the Moscow Metro, but also Roskosmos.

But the second company is clearly “dark”. In 2021, Verkhnepyshminsky Tram, a subsidiary of Movista Regions LLC, entered into a concession to build a tram line from Yekaterinburg to Verkhnyaya Pyshma for 1.9 billion rubles. Since then, nothing has been heard about the implementation of the project.

In addition, the Uraltransmash plant is also aiming for the park, which announced its readiness to renew the city’s trams, including within the framework of concession agreements.

As for the governor of the Sverdlovsk region Kuyvashev, Dmitry Pumpyansky, the owner of the Sinara Group of Companies, as well as other influential businessmen – Oleg Deripaska, Viktor Vekselberg, Iskander Makhmudov, are named among his possible associates.

Photo: Vladimir Martyanov / oblgazeta.ru

In this scenario, it will be interesting to see what will come out of this competitive struggle and who will get a “warm place” with an eye to the future.

The road construction market is rightfully considered one of the most corrupt in the Sverdlovsk region, scandals occur on it regularly. If this project also fails, Kuyvashev will have a hard time: the limit of trust has its limits.