Every passenger wants to buy a train ticket quickly, conveniently and safely for their personal data. We already take for granted the ability to do this in a few clicks. However, behind all this there is a lot of work by Russian Railways IT specialists. How the company is building its metaverse, fighting off cyber-attacks, testing new digital payment options on trains, thinking about using the latest ways to buy a ticket for long-distance trains, speeding up the Internet on trains and why it’s not worried about deleting the application in the AppStore, the deputy told in an interview General Director of Russian Railways Evgeny Charkin. Interviewed by Alexandra Veselova. Nadezhda Frolova participated in the preparation.
– What was the volume of electronic ticket sales in 2023? How much has it grown compared to 2022?
– In 2022, the share of electronic ticket sales was 76%, and in 2023 it was already 78%. On some peak days last year, these values reached 80-82%.
– How did the removal of the Russian Railways application from the AppStore affect electronic sales?
– The overall growth dynamics of electronic sales have definitely not decreased. We are seeing a slight redistribution among the sources of such sales. Let me remind you that we have the opportunity to purchase tickets through the website, mobile application on different platforms and sales through the box office. We have also launched a web application that is also suitable for the IOS platform. Therefore, the removal of the application from the Apple platform did not significantly affect overall electronic sales.
–Russian Railways recently launched pwa application. Are there any plans to add additional features to the new application, such as purchasing tickets for local trains?
– Of course, we are planning a full set of functionality. The commuter train schedule can already be viewed, and we plan to launch online ticket purchasing in one of the next updates. In the future, we want to make a multifunctional mobile super application for our ecosystem – the so-called super app. This will allow us to connect all electronic services: ticket sales, including multimodal tickets for different types of transport, tourism products, services on the train, at stations, services of our partners. In addition, it is planned to personalize offers for each passenger based on the experience of communication with him.
–Will the superapp be one large application or branched into several services, like, for example, State Services?
– This will be a single digital platform, and the user, entering one window, will be able to use all the necessary services, easily navigating the necessary sections.
–The Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation recently talked about a project for paying for travel through geolocation. Are Russian Railways planning to test a similar function?
– This is our common activity with the Ministry of Transport. We work closely together, and I can note very good interaction with colleagues. The geolocation payment technology has already been tested on urban public transport routes, and is now being tested in suburban traffic in the Republic of Tatarstan on the route between Gabdulla Tukay Airport and Kazan railway station. There is a focus group of local residents who regularly use the route. At the moment, more than one and a half thousand trips have already been made. In the future, we are considering the possibility of combining payment technologies in suburban railway and urban ground transport based on a single application. This will make multimodal travel seamless, with the possibility of applying a single tariff.
–How does this technology work? How do you pay on the route?
– The user must have the ProTransport+ application installed, which interacts with BLE devices – these are “anchor beacons”, they are located at the station. Accordingly, the user confirms the start of the trip, while the mobile application “freezes” the cost on the bank card and generates a QR code for further passage and verification along the route. After confirming the end of the trip, when the user leaves a particular station, the actual fare is debited from the card. In this case, an electronic ticket and an electronic receipt are generated. Once this technology is operational, we are confident that it will be in demand and useful. Moreover, I can say that we are actively communicating with the regions and are already seeing the interest of other entities in geolocation payment technology. Naturally, we will integrate this technology into our electronic channels of interaction with customers.
–When are you planning to expand this project to other regions? This year or next year already?
– I think not this year. This is an innovative technology for us. We must provide 100% performance, reliability and convenience for customers.
–What integrations of Russian Railways digital services exist with government systems?
– Yes, integration with the systems of our social departments is an important direction. This allows us to obtain the information necessary to issue preferential tickets and offer discounts. We have already implemented the possibility of online issuance of discount tickets, and now citizens of preferential categories do not need to obtain a physical certificate to purchase a ticket – everything is done in a digital format. That is, now passengers who need a discount ticket can buy it not only through the ticket office, but also online. Also in the Russian Railways Passengers mobile application there is a section for assistance to passengers with limited mobility, where you can apply for support and assistance at stations and stopping points.
–Are there any plans to introduce any new payment systems, including number at checkouts, for example, biometrics?
– We are working on a lot of technical integrations with providers, various payment methods with banks, and so on. In this regard, we work with almost everyone. If it is reliable, safe, convenient, and effective, then we can gradually introduce this payment method.
–Passengers periodically complain about poor mobile communications and internet while traveling. It is clear that the quality of communication depends on the equipment of mobile operators, but what is Russian Railways doing for its part to improve communication?
– You rightly noted that we depend on the availability of infrastructure. It must be understood that from the point of view of mobile operators, installing equipment on most of the railway network is a commercially unprofitable project. The train passed somewhere in the taiga, and that’s it – there were no people, no housing. Where there is a station or populated area, it’s a different matter. Thus, coverage is provided within populated areas and railway stations, but not on the routes between them.
However, we are now actively working with all cellular operators on the issue of providing coverage of railways with communication networks in the LTE standard. And at the same time, we ourselves are not sitting idly by; we are now introducing technology, which in the language of IT specialists is called Radio-Ethernet. This is an alternative way to deliver a radio signal on board a train: the technology provides radio coverage within the railway right-of-way, which guarantees a stable and high-speed connection between a moving train and ground infrastructure. Travelers are provided with uninterrupted Internet access. We have already tested the technology on the Tver-Zavidovo section. The maximum delivery speed is 600 megabits per second per rolling stock. This speed is more than enough for Sapsan passengers to comfortably use familiar Internet services, for example, instant messengers, social networks, and watch videos.
–Are you planning to expand this technology? Which route first?
– Yes, first of all, we plan to equip all Sapsan trains on the Moscow-St. Petersburg section with Radio-Ethernet equipment by the end of 2026, and then we will scale the technology on other most popular passenger routes. In addition to the fact that such technology will provide Internet on the train, it will help cellular operators improve cellular communications for passengers. Mini-base stations are installed inside the train, which will provide cellular communications inside the train for any category of devices, be it a push-button telephone or a smartphone.
–In 2022, Russian Railways launched their hotel booking service. How many passengers used this service in 2023?
– Hotel bookings through our travel storefront increased by 86% in 2023. At the start of the project, the range included only 60 thousand hotels, but now there are already more than 318 thousand accommodation facilities in Russia and 12 other countries. In addition to the CIS countries, we have already integrated more than 100 thousand facilities in China and the UAE. Among the popular destinations last year among platform visitors were Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Abkhazia. The platform has various categories of accommodation facilities, including glampings for outdoor recreation with full hotel services and long-term rest rooms at train stations in Russia. As well as sanatoriums and spa complexes – already about 800 objects.
–Russian Railways began to sell on the service and tickets for concerts, shows and theaters. Do you plan to sell tickets to sporting events?
– We are functionally expanding the coverage of the tourist showcase. For us, this portal is not just about booking hotels, we create a wide range of experiences for the client. We started with excursions: now there are more than 2.4 thousand organized tours on display. Since last year, cultural and sporting events have been included, more than 65 thousand events in total. And, what is important, our resource is a very good channel for the development of small and medium-sized businesses in the hospitality industry in Russian regions.
– Are there plans to enable the possibility of ordering tickets for cultural events in other countries?
– We are absolutely open to such proposals. We are ready both organizationally and technically. Of course, for us, the important parameters of events are the quality and reliability of the organizers.
– As part of the “Russia” exhibition, Russian Railways presented their metaverse project. Why does the holding need such a service?
– Our metaverse (and we call it VIAR – Virtual Immersive Adaptive Reality) is a new way of communicating with the audience, primarily with the younger generation. Virtual means of communication are actively developing. There are virtual universes in which users not only play, but also attend concerts, exhibitions, and other cultural events. And we are getting there.
Virtual space will become a good tool for the development of tourism , will give the opportunity to show the audience interesting places and travel on virtual tourist trains.
We must not forget that our task is to provide quality services to all categories of our citizens, including those who, due to circumstances, cannot physically visit the attraction. I'm talking about people with disabilities. The Metaverse will create such an opportunity in the future.
And for employees, for example, in hazardous industries, this will be an opportunity to undergo training without risk to life and health.
– Is it possible to use the metaverse as a digital testing ground for testing hypotheses or some innovations in real life?
– By and large, the metaverse is a digital window into the company’s services. I went to the Vitebsk station, boarded a train, into a virtual compartment, met with other participants in the metaverse, held, for example, a video conference or attended a lecture.
VR solutions in the field of medicine have great potential. Together with our medical unit, we are currently working on creating a technology for neurorehabilitation that will allow people to restore motor functions using virtual reality.
– As for software, when is it planned to complete the adaptation of the Aurora OS for working gadgets in Russian Railways?
– In fact, Aurora is already used in the mobile workplaces of our colleagues from production departments. Among the first were signalmen. Operating personnel of Russian Railways use several thousand devices with the Aurora OS in the form of a mobile workstation for supervising maintenance and repair of telecommunications facilities. The devices of conductors, which are used to control the boarding of passengers on the train, generate internal reporting and other official purposes, also already have this operating system installed. Next year we plan to test Aurora in devices for monitoring passenger boarding on the Lastochka and Sapsan trains of the Russian Railways high-speed transport directorate.
–In 2022, companies faced a large number of cyber attacks, Russian Railways were no exception . How much has the number of attacks increased in 2023?
– If we compare 2023 with 2021, the number of cyber attacks has quadrupled. This year there is also growth: in the first quarter, more than one million attacks on our infrastructure were recorded and neutralized. And this is almost 5% more than in the same period last year. Cyber attacks are changing in terms of vector and sophistication. And we must understand that those who want to cause damage are inventing more and more new ways. Therefore, we have built a layered, multi-stage information security system. We have our own departments that are responsible for information security, and we use the developments of specialized companies.
–Also from 1 January 25, it is prohibited to use foreign software at CII facilities. At what stage is the development of the domestic ERP system currently being carried out by Russian Railways?
– In general, I can say that all the plans that we set for 2023 have been fulfilled from the point of view of import substitution. I am confident that this year we will also achieve all planned targets. Speaking specifically about ERP, we have two vectors: the transfer of the resource management system of Russian Railways to the domestic version and the creation of a national standard for resource management systems for large enterprises, in which we are leaders.
In April, he joined us T1 Holding is one of the largest Russian technology companies. We also closely interact with the 1C company as our technology partner, which is upgrading its platform to meet our requirements.
And now, with the help of the Russian Railways holding, we are actively developing the basic functionality of the system. Several functional blocks have already been launched, and our users have been gradually transferred to them. Full-scale development and piloting should be completed by the end of next year. This will be our significant contribution to achieving the strategic goal of the state – ensuring technological sovereignty.
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