Separating Baku Metro Lines: How Can a Transport Collapse Be Avoided?

The management of the Baku Metro has begun implementing the long-announced project to separate, or more precisely disentangle, the Red and Green lines of the city’s underground railway system.

The measures are intended to reduce train intervals on both lines, separate passenger flows and ease the burden on the “28 May” station, which currently serves as a major interchange hub.

Because of the construction work, train services between the “Nizami” and “28 May” stations will be suspended for a period of 10 to 12 months starting on August 15.

This will inevitably increase pressure on surface public transport. To ease the problem at least partially, the Azerbaijan Land Transport Agency will increase the number of buses operating on 20 regular routes from August 15 and launch six special express bus routes between various metro stations.

The express buses will operate along the following routes:

• M1: “Elmlər Akademiyası” — “28 May”
• M2: “İnşaatçılar” — “Nizami” — “28 May”
• M3: “20 Yanvar” — “Nizami” — “28 May”
• M4: “20 Yanvar” — “Koroğlu”
• M5: “20 Yanvar” — “Gənclik”
• M6: “Elmlər Akademiyası” — “Gənclik”

The unpleasant news for city residents is that travel on the express buses will not be free.

As a result, some passengers will have to pay twice or even three times when travelling in one direction.

Previously, for example, a Baku resident travelling from the “Həzi Aslanov” station to the “Memar Əcəmi” station paid only once. Under the new arrangement, the passenger will first have to travel by metro to the “28 May” station, pay for an express bus to the “Nizami” station and then pay another metro fare to reach the “Memar Əcəmi” station. At the end of the day, the passenger will also have to pay three separate fares on the return journey.

The rationale behind the selected express bus routes has also prompted criticism. The buses will travel along congested streets and avenues, while some of the routes will stretch for many kilometres.

In this context, an alternative system for transporting passengers between metro stations could be submitted for consideration by the relevant government agencies and the public. Such an arrangement could help minimise the additional pressure on the surface transport network.

In particular, passenger services could be organised along the following alternative routes:

• A1: “Elmlər Akademiyası” — “İçərişəhər”
• A2: “Nizami” — “28 May”

These routes could be used by passengers travelling from stations along the “Dərnəgül — Nizami” section towards the city centre, the Bayil district and areas beyond it, as well as by those travelling in the opposite direction.

Additional passenger services could also be organised along the following routes:

• A3: “Azadlıq prospekti” — “Gənclik”
• A4: “Dərnəgül” — “Nəriman Nərimanov”
• A5: “Dərnəgül” — “Ulduz”
• A6: “Dərnəgül” — “Koroğlu”

These routes would reduce time losses for passengers travelling from stations along the “Nizami — Dərnəgül” section towards the Narimanov, Nizami and Khatai districts, including the large residential areas of “Eighth Kilometre” and “Əhmədli”, as well as for those travelling in the opposite direction.

The main advantage of the proposed bus routes is that they would run outside the central part of the city and could be organised along broad arterial roads over relatively short distances. The “Ulduz”, “Nəriman Nərimanov” and “Koroğlu” stations are located between four and ten kilometres from the “Dərnəgül” station. Most importantly, the roads connecting these stations run along major transport arteries with almost no traffic lights.

In addition, a more extensive network of routes would allow passenger flows to be distributed more evenly among different metro stations.

Passengers travelling to the city centre could use routes serving the “Nəriman Nərimanov” station. Those heading towards large residential areas and suburban settlements could be directed to the “Ulduz” and “Koroğlu” stations.

Ideally, travel on the express buses should be free. Officials, however, are concerned that free services would also be used by passengers who had not intended to travel by metro.

A compromise could be found in this situation. In particular, the authorities could introduce integrated weekly and monthly travel tickets or cards offering discounts to regular passengers. For example, a package of 30 journeys could be priced at the cost of 20 to 22 journeys. Special concessions should also be considered for school pupils and university students.

It would have been preferable for the management of the Baku Metro and the city authorities to hold public consultations in advance on possible ways to regulate transport flows while this large-scale project is being implemented.

As often happens, however, citizens have once again been presented with a decision that has already been made. Nevertheless, there is still time to adopt reasonable measures that could prevent a transport collapse. The risk of such a crisis will increase considerably after September 15, when classes begin at schools and universities.

Baku undoubtedly needs large-scale infrastructure projects, but their implementation should not come as an unexpected blow to the city’s residents. Unfortunately, the city authorities have once again presented citizens with a fait accompli without holding prior public consultations. There is still time before the expected September peak to revise the express bus routes, introduce dedicated traffic lanes for them and establish a fair fare system.