The new FAS methodology will help the industry develop New approaches to solving a number of problems hampering the development of a suburban railway passenger service were suggested by the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS). The Office developed a new methodology for calculating the cost of fees for leasing, servicing, rolling stock operation, as well as the methodology for determining economically justified tariffs (approved by the FAS Russia Board on November 23, 2017. The need for new methods of calculation has long been in demand, in detail this issue was discussed at a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Arkady Dvorkovich in February this year. Discussing the state of affairs in the field of suburban transportation, the meeting agreed that the former pricing principles are not transparent, cause a lot of questions for the regions, and they can no longer be guided by them. Following the meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister instructed to develop new mechanisms that would help ensure the smooth operation of suburban rail transport. The problem arose at a time when the organization of transportation by electric trains was handed over to specially created suburban passenger companies (PKK), which, however, did not have either their own rolling stock, depots, or repair services. PPK began to rent trains and services for their servicing from Russian Railways, as a result of which the cost of the AIP by approximately three quarters consists of deductions to RZD. Most of the questions regarding the methodologies arose from the regional authorities, since by law they are obliged to compensate for the difference between what passengers pay for a ticket and the account that the region is exposed to by the PEP for its transportation services.

Against this background, there were also certain disagreements with the bodies of tariff regulation.

This led to a number of regions refusing to pay in full. Solve these issues completely failed at the federal level, nor in the trials. It is clear that in those regions where there are relatively few residents, a considerable burden on subsidizing routes falls on regional budgets.

In addition, there were also contradictions between neighbors: if the train goes through the territory of two entities, how to divide the fee for the services of the PEP? The round table provides answers to topical questions. These and many other issues related to suburban railway passenger transportation were raised at a round table that was held at the Analytical Center under the Government of the Russian Federation last week. Proposals to reduce the financial burden on the PPC, which the FAS formed in conjunction with the Railways, sounded adviser to the head of the antimonopoly department Pavel Shpilev. "We together with RZD have done a great job, which is an example of our constructive cooperation," the speaker emphasized.. Shpilevoy noted that according to the new calculation methodology, all RZD services will be separately specified: separately for the rent of the train, separately for its management, for cleaning, for maintenance. However, the price is not for the rolling stock depend on how many PPC intends to exploit.

Note that earlier the cost of rent depended on mileage - the more kilometers the train rolled, the more expensive it was to rent. In addition, the FAS formed "target levels of economically justified expenditures" for 2018. depending on the type of rolling stock: convenient - there is something to repel from and with what to compare. Also clarified the situation and the division of payment for the same composition, connecting the neighboring regions: now each subject will pay only for his part of the way. Who will cover all these "economically justified" costs of carriers, FAS grants to the regional authorities. Scheme two: or everything falls on passengers, and then the cost of tickets will be determined depending on the capacity of passenger traffic - the more people use the service, the cheaper it is.

Or a fixed rate for tickets is established, taking into account the average level of financial security of local residents. At the same time, the resulting difference should be covered from the resources of the regions, as well as through targeted transfers from the federal budget to the budgets of subsidized entities. However, there is as yet no final clarity on issues related to these transfers. At the same time, new methods will ensure transparency of tariffs, help to resolve many contradictions between regions, RZD and PKK, will lead to the introduction of a unified-lowered rate, which will significantly reduce the cost of APS. This will release additional funds for the renewal of rolling stock. I must say that not everyone shares the optimism of the FAS with regard to the fact that the regions are using the released funds received after the revision of contractual relations with RZD, for the purchase of new wagons. In particular, the head of the Center for corporate management of the suburban complex of Russian Railways Aleksey Belyankin recommended that this rule be prescribed in the federal law, otherwise "money will very easily spread across other items of expenditure, rather than new ones". "A similar argument was used when discussing the issue of zeroing VAT, however, the released funds were sent by the regions not to update the train fleet, but to subsidize tariffs for passengers," said Alexei Belyankin.

Vladimir Savchuk, representative of the Institute of Natural Monopolies Problems (IPEM), also focused attention on the issue of depreciation of fixed assets and aging of rolling stock in his speech at the round table. "Old electric trains, worn-out cars are a scourge of the country, especially inland areas. One of the most promising ways out of this situation is the conclusion of long-term contracts between the PEP and the regions. This will attract additional investments in the industry and finance the purchase of new trains, "he told the meeting participants. In addition, the IPEM proposes that the state directs to so-called depressed regions, where suburban passenger transportation is exclusively subsidized, additional funds for renewal of trains. Otherwise it will turn out that old cars are written off for prescription of service, and new are not bought. As Vladimir Savchuk noted, "there are positive examples of long-term agreements between the regions and the PKK". First of all, we are talking about the Central PPK, which signed such agreements with Moscow, Moscow and Ryazan regions.

The Center actively invests in the renewal of rolling stock and infrastructure The Moscow transport hub as a whole accounts for more than 60% of all traffic in Russia. The relations of the Center with the Moscow authorities, established by the agreement, contribute to an increase in the mobility of the population, the comfort of service, a decrease in the congestion of the highways of the Moscow region. The CPTC is the only suburban company that systematically updates the rolling stock fleet, directing almost all the profits to these purposes. Only in 2017, 26 new electric trains were put into operation, in 2018 the CPCC plans to purchase 26 electric trains, while 22 will be decommissioned. In total, in the next three years, it is planned to purchase 103 modern trains, which will significantly improve the quality of passenger service. Within 15 years, the Center will replace 70% of the fleet of rolling stock with new electric trains.

In addition, the CPTC, together with the Moscow government and RZD, participates in active work to optimize transport traffic during peak hours. In recent years, more than 200 pairs of commuter trains have been added, which provide almost 500 thousand. passenger places. As a result, the intervals between the electric trains became more convenient, which led to an increase in passenger traffic throughout the system and a decrease in traffic.

Recently, President Vladimir Putin approved the implementation of an extremely important project - the Moscow Central Diameters (IDC), which provides for the introduction of up to 17 cross-cutting routes, as well as the additional purchase of the CPRC only in 2017-2018. 50 modern electric trains in addition to the rolling stock program already in place. According to the estimates of the Moscow Department of Transportation, the diameters will allow to reduce the time of the trip by half or two times in many directions, unload Moscow's automobile rings (MKAD, TTK, Garden Ring) by 3-5%, the adjacent metro lines by 10%, central railway stations - by 20-25%, and in general the metropolitan transport infrastructure - by 12%.

Regional PPK will receive a new impetus for development As noted at the round table, many suburban companies, unlike the CTC, still do not have sufficient funds for investments in rolling stock renewal and infrastructure. To change the situation, advisor to the Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation Yuri Yelizariev noted, the government adopted a symbolic and extremely principled decision:.

in the next 15 years for companies will continue to recover the VAT, and the amount of state support for the suburban passenger complex will be 45 billion rubles a year ". Now the PPK, investors, regional authorities have a base, based on which, we can develop the industry further.

For this, first of all, it is necessary to update the infrastructure and the train fleet.

Another priority area, according to Yuri Elizariev, is the work on the implementation by regions of Comprehensive Transport Service Plans (CPTO). The approval of the regional authorities by the CTO is, first of all, useful for the regions themselves, since these plans allow them to have a clear picture of the transport services of the population. The regions also have the opportunity to obtain additional profits and tax revenues by integrating rail and bus routes.

Vasily Shipilov, Deputy Director of the Department for State Tariff Regulation, Infrastructure Reforms and Energy Efficiency of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia, drew attention to "the need to establish the stability of regulatory conditions for the functioning of the industry, as well as the formalization of rolling stock requirements to create uniform standards". In particular, it is a question of revising the requirements for the term of rolling stock operation: if the time is less, wagons and locomotives will have to be renewed more often. Consequently, the trains will be more in line with safety and comfort requirements.

Electric trains are important for the economy of the country and the regions. Everyone agrees that suburban passenger rail transport must be developed. Electric trains are a fast and eco-friendly mode of transportation, an opportunity for millions of people to go to work every day, get paid, and therefore pay taxes, buy goods and services. Alexei Safronov, representative of the Analytical Center under the Government of the Russian Federation, said that according to a technique that estimates the monetary effects of the operation of a suburban railway complex in agglomerations, the benefits of electric trains are many times greater than those subsidies that regional authorities spend on supporting commuter transport. For example, in the Moscow region, residents of Odintsovo district alone, committing pendulous trips to work in the capital, bring to the budget additional taxes amounting to 2.5 billion rubles a year. By the way, this amount is half of all subsidies that go to support suburban railways throughout the Moscow region. And this is only from one district.

I must say that in Moscow and the Moscow region this is well understood. In the plans of the capital's leadership, as said Deputy Mayor of Moscow Maxim Lixutov - a significant increase in the role of electric trains and their integration into the city infrastructure, especially taking into account the fact that the development of land-based railway lines is 12-20 times cheaper than metro lines. At the same time, the integration of rail passenger transport into the life of the city is necessary, since the development of convenient suburban communication also gives an important social effect: it reduces unemployment, strengthens family ties, increases the cultural level of the population, ensures the accessibility of education.

Expert of the Institute of Transport Economics and Transport Policy of the Higher School of Economics Ruslan Lisnevsky, emphasizing the importance of electric trains for the social and economic development of the country and the regions, singles out "direct and multiplicative effects from the development of passenger rail transport". Direct effects include, in particular: passenger traffic growth, increase in people's incomes, passenger service quality, reducing the burden on other modes of transport, and multiplicative ones - increasing the mobility of the population, improving its living conditions, attracting investments, saving and creating new jobs. In other words, the development of rail passenger transport should be considered together with the development of other areas of the economy and social sphere. In general, as demonstrated by the discussion at the level of experts and representatives of relevant departments, there is a constructive and, most importantly, fruitful dialogue between the PPK, RZD, regional and federal authorities.

All participants understand that a lot of work has been done, significant progress has been made, but much remains to be done, and here the overall consolidated and involved position is important, since the solution of the problems of the development of suburban communication is beyond the force of transporters alone. Based on the results of the round table, the Analytical Center will prepare a report with recommendations for the most effective development of this industry, which.