22.11.2024 | Aluminium Association

Moscow held Transport Week, an international forum and exhibition 'Transport of Russia', a pivotal event of the year in the transport sector, shaping the development direction of the entire industry. The event, supported by the Government of the Russian Federation, gathered over 10,000 attendees, including representatives from federal and regional authorities, more than 970 leading experts from companies and organisations in the transport sector, as well as representatives from business associations and scientific organisations.

The Transport Week agenda featured a plenary session, industry sessions, expert discussions, thematic tables, closed sessions, the 11th National Award for Achievements in Transport and Transport Infrastructure 'Formula of Movement' and an award ceremony for those who led in the implementation of the national project 'Safe and Quality Roads' by the year's end. Speakers and participants: Mikhail Mishustin, Prime Minister of the Russian Federation; Marat Khusnullin, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation; Roman Starovoit, Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation; Oleg Belozerov, General Director and Chairman of the Executive Committee of Russian Railways; Vyacheslav Petushenko, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the State Company 'Russian Highways'; governors of constituent entities of the Russian Federation; Heads of state corporations and companies.

At the plenary session, the main topics of discussion were the possibilities and solutions for developing high-speed traffic in Russia. Talks also covered the to improve the safety and accessibility of transport services, as well as implementing new national projects and continuing to develop technological sovereignty in the transport industry. Mikhail Mishustin, the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, highlighted the ongoing progress in the transport sector despite the persistent pressure from sanctions. In turn, the Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation Roman Starovoit presented two new national projects 'Infrastructure for Life' and 'Efficient Transport System', aimed at building an efficient transport system and developing the economy.

During the 'Efficient Transport System: Key E' plenary discussion, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Marat Khusnullin summed up the results of the 'Safe and Quality Roads' national project, under which more than 150 thousand km of roads were built and reconstructed. One of the infrastructure enhancement projects under this national initiative is the first pedestrian crossing constructed from aluminium alloys in the Central Federal District. In Tula, a bridge was constructed and opened in 2020 near the Tula Suvorov School and the Patriot-Tula military and patriotic leisure Park. The bridge crossing is 40 meters long and 3 meters wide. 'Owing to the unique properties of aluminium, especially its light weight, the ready-to-assemble bridge structures were transported to Tula by a road train consisting of four auto platforms, which considerably lessened the strain on the road surface,' the press service of the Tula region government remarked at the time.

The global trend towards the 'aluminisation' of transport and infrastructure is also spreading to Russia. Aluminium is one of the most promising materials for use in the transportation industry due to its unique properties: high durability, lightweight, corrosion resistance. Currently, it is the preferred option for executing projects in aviation, automotive, railway transport and their infrastructure, such as metro systems and more.

Transport accounts for 11% of all aluminium consumed in our country (excluding aluminium consumption in the construction of transport infrastructure facilities). The growing use of aluminium in transport spans across all contemporary solutions: trams, metro trains, high-speed rail trains ('Lastochka', 'Ivolga', 'Sapsan') and electric buses are manufactured with aluminium-based materials. The manufacturing of modern trams is shifting from aluminium interiors to complete aluminium bodies. This enables savings, particularly by decreasing the load on the tracks, thereby reducing the expenditure on their maintenance. Aluminium is widely used in railcar building. Employing aluminium solutions in train design considerably decreases the weight of the railcars and enables the attainment of the required speed metrics. In addition, the service life of aluminium trains is more than 50 years, and their operation does not require special care.

'Thanks to the active cooperation of companies within the Association, significant national, federal and regional projects are being implemented in Russia in the fields of construction, transport infrastructure, mechanical engineering and and new high-tech end products are emerging. A new challenge is the creation of rolling stock for high-speed highways,' said Irina Kazovskaya.

The 'Transport of Russia' Forum and Exhibition is the main business event of the transport industry. The event is taking place from November 19 to 21 in Moscow's Gostiny Dvor with the support of the Russian Government. The forum presented new developments and research in transport, current challenges facing the industry, as well as ways to solve them.