Oleg Deripaska's Basic Element would rather see Sochi linked to the airport by a light rail.
Photo: Dmitry Azarov
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Basic Element Prefers Light Railway to Railroad
Basic Element, owner of the Sochi airport, is opposed to Russian Railways’s plan to build a railroad to the airport, saying the project will be too expensive and time-consuming. Oleg Deripaska’s industrial conglomerate is now considering a light rail as an option to take passengers to the city. Analysts say, however, that an elevated railway would be more expensive than an extra railroad branch.
Russian Railways Vice-President Mikhail Akulov said Friday that the company’s project to build a railroad branch from the Sochi airport to the city center had come up with opposition. “The new owner of the Sochi airport [Basic Element] does not consider the project expedient,” he said. The executive referred to the Moscow transit system where two airports are linked with city center by railroad branches and one more airport is to be connected to a central railway station this year.
The project to link Sochi’s center and the airport will take 2.91 km railway and an estimated 6 billion rubles. Russian Railways drafted the project six months ago when Sochi was bidding to host the 2014 Olympic Games.
Basic Element said that they had not as yet reached an agreement with Russian Railways. The company added that they were still considering other options to take passengers from the airport to the city. Among them is a light railway to the city, Olympic facilities and along the coast. Basic Element expressed doubt over the railroad plan. “The railroad will be running though towns and villages where we are going to need to discuss eviction with local residents, which will take a lot of money and time,” the company’s press service told Kommersant.
Experts note, however, that a light railway is a much more expensive project than a railroad branch. Sochi officials need to make a solid forecast of traffic to decide on the system’s efficiency, they say.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of July 16, 2007
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