Draft Recommendations
of the participants of the International Conference
«Development of Stations in Russia»

April 17, 2008

Participants of the Conference «Development of Stations in Russia» including the representatives of the JSC «Russian Railways» and other leading national and international transport companies, public authorities, major financial and investment institutes, developers, companies working in the sphere of retail and servicing of the population, research and analysis organizations confirm the urgency of the event held in the context of programs for the development of the infrastructure of Russia. Railways remain to be still the main transport "artery" in Russia and many other countries of the world. The station complex as an integral part of the passenger rail transportation process is exactly the one that provides for not only the technological and economic functions but for a number of important social and cultural responsibilities.

Participants of the conference note that:

1. The station economy of the JSC «Russian Railways» represents the unique economic complex which is providing an uninterrupted functioning of the passenger transport infrastructure of the country and is an important part of development of the territories of cities and regions;
2. There are conditions against the background of economic and industrial growth in Russia that are objectively favorable for development and modernization of the station complex that should allow to raise quality and to expand the list of services rendered to the passengers and visitors of stations and to achieve more effective and steady functioning of the station economy as a whole;
3. Transition to the strategic management of the transport branch and in particular on the basis of the «Transport strategy of the Russian Federation for the period until 2020» and the «Strategy of development of the railway transportation in the Russian Federation until 2030» stipulates the reforming of the stations control system that should allow to raise commercial appeal of the station economy and create the necessary prerequisites for more intensive development of the station complex;
4. President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin has singled out the building of new stations and modernization of the active railway stations as the major direction of forming the national innovative system in order to solve the problem of radical increase of efficiency of economy in his address at the expanded session of the State Council «About the Strategy of development of Russia until 2020» on February 8, 2008;
5. Each station should be regarded as an intermodular complex - the nodal centre of the transport communications beginning with motor vehicles and public transport and ending with commuter trains, air, river and sea transport in combination with functions of social and business centre. The maximum traffic in a territory is always exactly at the station and correct organization of the transport junction (hub) considerably influences the quality of the city environment, competitiveness and productivity of the transport infrastructure;
6. The state regards transport as a single object of management with a priority of the organization of interaction of its various kinds (first of all at the transport junctions) to receive the system effect;
7. Conditions of increasing competition between modes of transport require the implementation of a complex of measures connected with improvement of quality and increase of volume of the rendered services and safety of passengers at the stations and during the journey;
8. The most effective instrument of developing the station side territories is town-planning. The principle ones are: Scheme of the territorial planning, General plan of town development, Complex transport scheme, Lay-out projects, Town-planning regulations etc;
9. Close connection of the transit junctions with adjoining territory and site development raises value of the surrounding city area that requires a proved approach to the functional saturation of the particular territory and its rational planning organization as well as to the use intensification;
10. The analysis of the best foreign experience of development of the station complexes, and this is the very terminology that most precisely characterizes the modern station, shows that a station complex is a point of growth of territory of a city and a region (in modern terminology of the “Strategy of social and economic development of Russia until 2020” - zone of advance development).

Participants of the Conference recommend that all the interested parties should unite their efforts to achieve the following goals:

1. To contribute to the reformation of the station economy of the JSC «Russian Railways» according to priorities of the state policy assuming transition to the innovative scenario of development of the national economy at the expense of introduction of the advanced methods and technologies of business management;
2. To take into account the Concept of development of the station complex and to use its guidelines in working out of branch and corporate programs;
3. To continue with the system study and introduction of the best practices of management of station complexes and to support intensive international cooperation in the field of passenger transportations and station service;
4. To provide the status of a major element of the city environment for a station and to secure organic integration of stations into city social and economic space;
5. To continue work with respect to development of the intermodular character of the stations that would allow providing for more effective redistribution of the passenger traffic flow and convenience of passengers;
6. To work out the regulatory environment for development of the transport hubs and social and business centers on a tight schedule and on the basis of the station complexes that unite all types of transport;
7. To work out the list of obligatory requirements (standards) on the basis of the pilot projects that are put forward to reconstruction and modernization of the station complexes, transport hubs, social and business centers;
8. To initiate realization of a pilot project of creation an intermodular  transport hub in 2-3 cities of Russia that would combine a function of a social and business centre and provide  for a complex approach to the development of territory of a specific city;
9. To instruct the Directorate of the Railway Stations (DRS) to carry out the complex analysis of the best world experience of development and management of the station complexes by 01.10.2008 and to publish the «White Book of DRS»;
10. To instruct the Directorate of the Railway Stations to organize the holding of the Round Table for the expert discussion and coordination of the Concept of effective development of stations  with participation of foreign experts not later than June 1, 2008;
11. To initiate inclusion in the «Strategy of social and economic development of the Russian federation until 2008-2020г» of a provision of development of Railway stations including building of new stations and modernization of the active railway stations as the major direction of forming the national innovative system in order to solve the problem of radical increase of efficiency of the national economy.

Dear participants!
Taking into account еру positive responses and favorable reports of efficiency of this communication platform we hereby suggest that the International Conference «Development of Stations in Russia» should be held on a regular basis.