Experts demand personnel decisions at ChelyabGET
In Chelyabinsk, problems were recorded with new trams purchased by regional authorities during the large-scale transport reform of recent years. Several dozen cars were sent for repairs due to squeaking, complaints about which began to be received en masse from residents. As a result, the Ministry of Transport of the region reported that the cause of everything was allegedly an identified defect. However, according to the publication’s interlocutors, the problem has become relevant only for the Chelyabinsk region, while similar trams are successfully operated in other regions of the Russian Federation. According to experts, the situation arose due to the fact that new vehicles were brought to an infrastructure unprepared for this. According to the same Ministry of Transport, in Chelyabinsk in the spring of 2024, less than 20% of tram tracks had been repaired. In addition to this, according to experts, the city has a big problem with servicing rolling stock due to the catastrophic shortage of personnel at the ChelyabGET established by the city administration. Industry experts believe that in this situation, the governor of the Chelyabinsk region, Alexey Teksler, needs to focus not only on the purchase of new public transport units, but also to analyze the efficiency of the enterprise that is entrusted with the trams, and probably draw personnel conclusions.
In Chelyabinsk, where in recent years, with the support of Governor Texler, the rolling stock of public transport has been actively updated, problems have arisen with the maintenance of trams that were delivered only 2 years ago.
According to the regional Ministry of Transport, 39 of them have already had to replace bearings, the squeaking of which residents of the region complained about. Several more trams are currently in operation. The department said that the cause of the breakdown was an identified defect, however, according to the publication’s interlocutors familiar with the situation, this outcome was most likely caused by the deplorable condition of the tracks on which the new trams have to travel, as well as the lack of proper maintenance. Speaking about this, experts note that other cities that purchased a batch of trams of the same modification, such as, for example, St. Petersburg, do not have a similar problem.
This warning, however, was not taken seriously by Texler’s subordinates, apparently. Yakov Gurevich received a response to the appeals from the then vice-governor Sergei Shalyathat all-terrain trams are being purchased for Chelyabinsk, which must withstand. “If a car constantly drives on rough roads, its suspension will fall apart. It’s the same here,” the expert disagreed with the arguments.
It should be noted that in April 2024, the Deputy Minister of Road Facilities and Transport of the region Alexander Egorov said that since 2021, 27.4 kilometers of tram tracks in Chelyabinsk have been brought to standard, despite the fact that their total length in the city is about 150 kilometers. It turns out that at that time there were 18.2% of rails in standard condition. For 2024, Deputy Director of the OKSU “Organizer of Transportation of the Chelyabinsk Region” Igor Abramovskikh announced plans to repair another 10.1 kilometers of tracks.
To date, work in many areas is still ongoing or has just begun. For example, in the Metallurgical District and on Kaslinskaya Street in the area of the Thermotechnical Institute, where trams derailed from time to time. Residents have been trying to draw the attention of authorities to this site for many years.
Somewhere, according to him, the tiles have collapsed, and the rails lie unevenly, somewhere the contact jumpers are torn, there are differences, including quite serious ones, at least 2 cm high.
Industry representatives also draw attention to the shortcomings in the maintenance of new trams. “The new trams are low-floor. This is very convenient for passengers, but in order for them to serve for a long time, it is necessary to carefully clear the tracks and remove ice in winter. I think it is unnecessary to remind how the cleaning was carried out last winter. In addition, cars filled with electronics must be properly maintained, and there are not enough specialists for this,” states the agency’s interlocutor.
It should be noted that the customer for the repair of tram tracks in Chelyabinsk in 2024, as in previous years, was Chelyabinsk City Electric Transport LLC, controlled by the city administration. Heads the organization Dmitry Usachev. This enterprise, founded in January 2017 with an authorized capital of 10 thousand rubles, also provides maintenance for electric vehicles. The founders were the Municipal Unitary Enterprise “Traffic Organization Service” (95%) and the Municipal Unitary Enterprise “Service for Improvement” (5%), which ceased to exist in 2020. Subsequently, 5% of the shares were transferred to the Committee for Property Management and Land Relations of Chelyabinsk. According to Kontur.Focus, ChelyabGET LLC ended 2023 with a loss of 15.9 million rubles. The balance at the end of the year amounted to 810.9 million rubles, revenue – 2.6 billion.
Over the past year, ChelyabGET LLC made 320 purchases, where the company acted as a customer, for 1.5 billion rubles. Two large ones – for the overhaul of tram tracks – were carried out in April. In both cases, purchases were made from a single supplier. Companies for which there is no data in Kontur.Focus received contracts at a starting price of 132.13 and 67.13 million rubles. Work contractors were selected in a similar manner in June and July 2024, the value of the contracts was 15.59 and 129.2 million rubles. In addition, there were smaller contracts for track repairs, supply of materials, landscaping, and so on.
From the information posted in the “Vacancies” section on the website of ChelyabGET LLC, it follows that tram depot No. 1 lacks specialists in more than 40 areas, and the situation is approximately the same in depot No. 2. In addition to tram drivers and conductors, the company is looking for vehicle washers, mechanics for the repair of rolling stock and electrical equipment, technicians, welders, specialists involved in track maintenance, and so on.
According to industry experts, an adequate response from the authorities in this situation could be personnel decisions in a structure controlled by the Chelyabinsk authorities.
