Transportation
[edit]
Bus[edit]
A NefAZ bus on Tukay Square
The first bus routes in Kazan came to use in 1925. The bus is the most popular type of public transport in Kazan: in 2016, it carried about 74% of passengers. As of 2017, there are about 62 bus routes in the city, with a total length of more than 1.2 thousand km. The total number of buses operating on city routes is 840. The movement of all buses is monitored using an automated control system based on satellite navigation. Any Internet user can track the movement of buses.
Kazan's bus system was totally renovated in 2007. 62 routes have an aggregate length of 1,981 km (1,231 mi). All 1,444 buses are coloured red. Half of the buses are imported, produced by Golden Dragon, Higer, MAZ, Yutong, and Hyundai. Other buses are mostly Russian made NefAZ.
As of January 2024[update], the fare is 42 rubles in cash or 38 rubles by credit card and by a special transport card. On the routes, conductors are involved and, in addition to paying for cash (with a higher fare), there are general civil (with different tariff plans for replenishment, including time passes and an "electronic wallet"), as well as preferential electronic transport cards.
Tram[edit]
This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
An AKSM-843 tram passing by the Kirovskaya Dike
Kazan's tram system is one of the oldest tram systems in Russia, opened on 20 November 1899. The tram system in Kazan consists of eight operating routes, one of which is a historical excursion route between the railway station and river port. The daily output is 87 trams. Most of the tram lines are laid along the axis of the main streets, most of them on a dedicated track, fenced with side stones. The tram in the city centre was largely removed in the 2000s due to the fight against traffic jams on narrow streets; some routes turned out to be unprofitable after the optimisation of the transport scheme in 2006–2007.
In 2009–2020, the reconstruction of tram tracks on the main highways was carried out, as well as the construction of four new tram lines, which made it possible to launch circular tram routes No. 5/5a with an accelerated mode of movement in 2012-2020 along the sections of the Big Kazan Ring.
All trams are equipped with autoinformators. Announcements are broadcast in three languages (Russian, Tatar, English); for this reason, announcements are played for a very long time (up to one and a half minutes). As of 2024[update], the fare is 42 rubles in cash or 38 rubles for an electronic card. On the routes, conductors are involved and, in addition to paying for cash (with a higher fare), there are general civil (with different tariff plans for replenishment, including time passes and an "electronic wallet"), as well as preferential electronic transport cards.
Trolleybus[edit]
Trolleybus passing by the overpass on Richard Sorge Street
Kazan's trolleybus system is one of the oldest in Russia. Operation opened on 27 November 1948. In recent years, it continues to develop: new lines were launched, built and planned, while some new trolleybus lines replaced the removed tram lines. Two trolleybus depots operate a fleet of over 200 trolleybuses, all of which are green, and serve 10 routes with a total length of 359.9 km (223.63 mi). A major overhaul (CWR) of old trolleybuses was carried out at the Kazan aircraft plant KAPO for the city at the beginning of the 21st century.
As of June 2024[update], the fare is 42 rubles in cash or 38 rubles by electronic transportation card or debit card. On the routes, conductors are involved and, in addition to paying for cash (with a higher fare), there are general civil (with different tariff plans for replenishment, including time passes and an "electronic wallet"), as well as preferential electronic transport cards.
All trolleybuses are monitored by an automated control system based on satellite navigation. Any Internet user can track the movement of trolleybuses.
Metro[edit]
A single-line Kazan Metro (running north to south-east) opened on 27 August 2005. As of February 2024[update], the Kazan Metro had eleven stations and crossed the Kazanka River, with a second metro line being built.
Railways[edit]
Kazan–Passazhirskaya, opened in 1894
Kazan is connected with Moscow, Ulyanovsk, Yoshkar-Ola and Yekaterinburg by train.
The main railway station Kazan–Passazhirskaya is located in the city centre and includes a main building (built in 1896), a commuter trains terminal, a ticket office building and some other technical buildings. The station serves 36 intercity trains, and more than eight million passengers per annum. A second terminus, Kazan-2, is situated in the northern part of the city. Kazan also has 19 platforms for commuter trains. Within the city are 24 railway stations and stopping platforms.[citation needed]
Public transit[edit]
Payment is received in cash, by dedicated travel cards and by banking cards. One ride fee is 36 rubles in cash or by banking card and 35 rubles by travel card. There are various plans for different types of travel which reduce single ride fees. There are no zoning tariffs within the city.[citation needed]
Cycling[edit]
On 1 July 2013, the Veli'k bicycle sharing system was launched in Kazan. In total, the system includes seven self-service bicycle docking stations, and a total fleet of 100 bikes. The service is open to anyone from 16 years of age. There are three types of subscription – monthly, weekly and daily. During the season from late spring to mid-autumn, residents and guests of Kazan typically use the service more than 15,000 times. In 2015, the first cycle routes on separate bike lanes were opened in the city centre; further expansion is planned throughout the city.[citation needed]
Waterways[edit]
Kazanskiy Rechnoy Port
The Bolaq Canal
Kazan's river port is one of the largest on the Volga River, thanks to the system of canals from which Kazan is sometimes called the "port of five seas". The main building of the river station was built together with the new river port by the early 1960s and renovated in 2005. The station serves both passengers of intercity cruise ships and commuter boats (including high-speed fleet) – to the Kamsky Ustye, Tetyush, Bolgar, Pechishch, Sviyazhsk and Sadovaya. The daily passenger traffic in the summer period is up to 6,000 people per day. In winter, pneumocushion boats are used, it goes from Kazan to Verkhny Uslon.
Highways[edit]
There are federal highway connections to Moscow and Ufa (E-22), Orenburg (R-239), Ulyanovsk (R-241) and Igra (R-242). There are also the R-175 federal highway and "Northern Europe – Western China" (in construction) route near the city.[citation needed]
There are five bridges across the Kazanka (Qazansu) river in the city, and one bridge connecting Kazan with the opposite bank of the Volga.
Intercity buses[edit]
There are two bus stations in Kazan—Central and Southern. Bus routes connect Kazan with all districts of Tatarstan, Samara, Ufa, Tolyatti, Orenburg, Ulyanovsk, Cheboksary, Sterlitamak, Buzuluk, and Aktobe.[citation needed]
Kazan International Airport[edit]
Kazan International Airport
Kazan International Airport is located 26 km (16 mi) from the city centre. It is a hub for UVT Aero and Kazan Air Enterprise and hosts eleven air companies. The airport is connected with the city by bus route #97 and by a suburban train line. There is also the Kazan Borisoglebskoye airfield, home to Kazan Aircraft Production Association, a major aircraft factory, famous in the past as "Aircraft Plant 22" ("22nd Zavod").[citation needed]
Adjacent to it lies a huge aircraft engines plant ("16th Zavod"). It produces versions of Tupolev 204 and 214 aircraft. In the past an Ilyushin-62, four-engine Russian mainliner, Tupolev-160 "Black Jack" supersonic strategic bomber and Tu-22M tactical bomber were also produced here. Both these plants and adjacent workers' housing make a whole city district known as Aviastroitelny ("Aircraft Builders").[citation needed]
Barabız (historic)[edit]
Barabuses in Kazan
A barabus (rendering of Tatar barabız "we are going" + English bus) was a winter public transport in the 19th to early 20th centuries, probably the first public transport in Kazan after cabs. They were operated by private carriers who were poor Tatar commoners from surrounding villages. A typical barabus was a sledge sheeted with sacking. Barabus was a transport of paupers competing with cabs, horse railways and later tramways. Until the 1930s, when trams were installed in the suburbs and any private enterprise was prohibited, barabuses were the only transport to connect quarters of poor mill-hands with other parts of the city.
