OREANDA-NEWS. November 29, 2012. Hearings on the development of Russia’s railway stations have been held in the Public Chamber with representatives of the State Duma, academics and NGOs in attendance. Sergey Abramov, head of the Directorate of Railway Stations, led the Russian Railways’ delegation to the hearings, reported the press-centre of RZD.

The participants in the hearings agreed that one of the main issues in the successful development of railway stations at Russian Railways was that of attracting investment, both from the infrastructure owner, and from the private sector and federal, regional and municipal authorities.

"This year, we have attracted investment amounting to 5 billion roubles from non-budgetary sources," said Sergey Abramov when addressing the hearings, adding that "next year we will attract 10 to 30 billion."

In particular, Russian Railways is implementing a network approach to attract major operators from various segments of the consumer market for station infrastructure.

As a result, stations will become leisure centres not just for passengers, but for everyone, while at the same time remaining comfortable and safe for travellers.

After reconstruction and upgrading, stations will boast shopping malls, restaurants, children’s play rooms and even cinema networks. Kazan railway station in Moscow will be the first station to launch its own cinema, which is scheduled for next year – work is now being completed to determine the project’s investor. Opening cinemas at 40 more stations, including in Adler, Kineshma, Smolensk, Stavropol and Ulyanovsk etc., is currently under consideration.

In addition, by the end of 2012, broadband wi-fi Internet access will become available at 50 stations in all of Russia’s federal districts, up from the current number of 30. Coverage currently extends to the area around the stations but will be constantly expanded to meet user needs.