OREANDA-NEWS. During the period of the XXII Winter Olympic Games from 7 to 23 February 2014, suburban commuter trains operated by Russian Railways transported about 3,518,000 passengers on Olympic routes in the Sochi region.

The volume of passenger traffic during the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games was directly related to the number of competitions and events being held in the mountain and coastal clusters.

On average, Russian Railways transported about 207,000 passengers on commuter trains every day. The greatest number of passengers transported by suburban trains during the entire period of the Olympic Winter Games was on 18 February, which saw 311,625 people travelling.

From 24 January to 23 February 2014, a supplementary timetable with a maximum number of additional suburban trains was in operation on the Black Sea coast for participants and guests of the Sochi-2014 Olympic Winter Games.

The passengers were carried on 38 Lastochka commuter electric trains and 8 ED4M deluxe electric trains.

In accordance with the timetable, suburban trains made 413 daily runs. In addition, passenger flows on the “Olympic” routes in Sochi were also constantly monitored and additional electric trains laid on as necessary.

From 24 February 2014, Russian Railways changed the commuter train timetable on the Black Sea coast. The new special train timetable will remain in force until 19 March and the end of the 2014 XI Paralympic Winter Games.

Commuter trains will run every day as follows to provide services for participants, fans and guests at the Sochi-2014 Paralympic Winter Games:

between Adler - Sochi Airport: commuter trains will make 36 runs every day. On 24 February and during the period from 6 to 19 March 2014 a further 12 runs have been laid on along this route;

between Sochi - Krasnaya Polyana: trains will make 75 runs;

between Sochi - Olympic Park: 81 runs; between Olympic Park - Krasnaya Polyana: 14 runs.

The commuter train timetable during the Paralympic Games provides for longer stops at all stations and stopping points to allow people with disabilities and limited mobility more time for boarding and disembarking.

A full timetable of suburban commuter trains can be found on the official website of Russian Railways in the section “Passengers”.

In accordance with a decision of the Russian Government, from 7 March to 16 March 2014, for the duration of the Paralympic Games, Russian Railways will also be introducing an “Open Door” policy of servicing passengers on suburban commuter trains in the Sochi region. The same policy was in force at the time of the Olympic Games.

The “Open Door” principle provides for the turnstile lines at entrances and exits to be “open” without the need for passengers to obtain tickets, i.e. all passengers will be able to travel free of charge.