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2023 June 20   20:45

Electric riverboats begin regular passenger service on the Moskva River

Image source: Telegram channel of the Kremlin

Vladimir Putin took part in a ceremony to launch the first regular electric river transport service

During his visit to the North River Terminal on June 20, Vladimir Putin took part in a ceremony to launch the first regular year-round electric river transport service, according to the statement on the official website of the Kremlin.

The first route, which is over 6.5 km long, connects Kievsky Railway Station and the pier on Shelepikhinskaya embankment, a district in Moscow where active construction and development projects are underway. The riverboat service will have a capacity of 15,000–16,000 passengers per day.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported to the President, among other things, on the work done on the ecological rehabilitation of the Moskva River, on the programme for the comprehensive improvement of the capital’s embankments and beach areas, as well as on the renovation of the North River Terminal and a large-scale reconstruction of the South River Terminal.

The North River Terminal is located on the bank of Khimki Reservoir in Moscow. Its comprehensive renovation ran from August 2018 through September 2020. A large-scale project to reconstruct the South River Terminal, located on the left bank of the Nagatinskaya Poima, was launched in 2021 and completed in April 2023. These river terminals will revive the popularity of the Moscow Golden Ring route, which starts at the North River Terminal, continues through Rybinsk, Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Nizhny Novgorod, Ryazan and Kolomna, and ends at the South River Terminal.

A screenshot from a video on the Kremlin's Telegram

The Moscow City Mayor’s office and Passenger Port earlier signed a 15-year agreement for river transportation services in Moscow. The contract provides for the construction of 21 vessels, 23 new-type berths, six charging stations, and two anchorages for boats. The electric vessels are being built at Emperium Shipyard based near St. Petersburg.

Particulars of the passenger boat with electric propulsion:
LOA - about 22 meters; passenger capacity - up to 50 passengers (including places for people with limited mobility). The river boats will be able to transport on two itineraries 15,000 to 16,000 passengers per day. The passenger route launch will improve transport services and provide alternative travel options for about 1.5 million people living in 18 districts of Moscow.

Photos from the Telegram of Moscow Transport Department