Does rehearsal of Confederations Cup spell transport collapse for Kazan?
Third transport dyke will be closed due to test match of Rubin and CSKA on 17 May
Kazan will stage the final rehearsal of the competition in Kazan one month till the kick-off of the Confederations Cup or, to be more precisely, on 17 May. Three services will be checked at once: FAN ID, last mile, work of the stadium services and security staff. It is not difficult to guess what traffic jams the third dyke that will be closed to the test will lead to on roads in the evening peak hour. But there is good news for football fans. According to organisers, FAN ID will enable to travel between host cities of the competition by train free. Realnoe Vremya tells the details.
Everything like in the Cup
Kazan is waiting for the beginning of the big football festival from 17 June when the best national squads of the world arrive in the city. The winners of six continental championships and the host team of the tournament, that is to say, Russia will play in the Confederations Cup. Kazan as well as other cities like Sochi, Moscow and Saint Petersburg has a chance to host the Cup games.
The city will rehearse a responsible competition – Rubin and CSKA' test match – one month before the competitions on 17 May. Matches at Kazan Arena are regularly held, the grass quality corresponds to all international requirements. So why is the check needed?
''A regular Russian Premier League match is different from a Confederations Cup match or a FIFA match. Approaches are different, systems are different, access control is different, consequently, closures are different,'' Tatarstan Minister of Youth Affairs and Sport Vladimir Leonov explained at a press conference in Tatar-inform information agency.
Everything will similar to the conditions of the Confederations Cup to the max during the match of the Kazan players against CSKA. Four services including fan identification system – the so-called fan's passport – last mile, work of stadium services and access control will be checked at once at Kazan Arena.
With FAN ID to Moscow and Sochi for free if you like!
Safety of matches of the upcoming Confederations Cup is the most important thing attention will be paid to. This is why fan identification system was created to get access the football arena. The service was successfully tested in Sochi. FAN ID is the nucleus of this system. The document looks like a laminated card with spectator's photo and his or her data. It has a special mark that enables to get access to the stadium like e-key besides being the very ticket to a game.
One can watch the match of Rubin and CSKA free. Only FAN ID is needed. People can register on www.rubinfans.ru for this purpose. The site will require a spectator's full name, e-mail and mobile phone number where an 11-digit code will be sent. This code needs to be introduced on www.fan-id.ru in the field ''You got a self-registration code''. Here you will be asked to add personal information and download a photo. Then an SMS will inform the readiness of FAN ID. The document will be available in two directions – 44/8 Baumana and 10 Chetaeva Streets. The first point will start issuing passports from 29 April from 11.00 to 20.00 without a break. The second point on Chetaeva will open on 1 May.
If problems with FAN ID arise in the match, one needs to ask for help in three FAN ID tents that will open at the stadium.
''What are the advantages of FAN ID? People can travel between the Confederations Cup host cities free and get comfortable and safe access to the stadium,'' said deputy director of Department for Informatisation Projects of the Russian Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications Andrey Romankov.
''Have not you made any mistake? If I have a match in Sochi tomorrow, then in Moscow, Kazan, it means I will fly for free?'' journalists did not believe.
''No, I haven't. But you won't fly but go by train. You can book a trip from Sochi to Moscow right now if you have the application number for Confederations Cup match on your FAN ID. There will be special trains. I don't know whether it is an economy class or another class, you need to ask the ministry of transport,'' Andrey Romankov added.
The task of checkers is to test with the maximum work of the system. This is why the government agreed with Rubin to stage a test match free.
''A free ticket to the match will be given when you take your FAN ID in the issuance centre. It is a reverse procedure a bit because everything will be on the contrary in the Cup. But ID is needed to get the ticket for tests,'' Tatarstan Minister of Communications and Information Roman Shaikhutdinov explained.
Will last mile affect traffic jams on 17 May already?
Another no less important question is about the limits of the so-called last mile – the area near the stadium. The roads leading to Kazan Arena on the match day of Rubin and CSKA will be closed from 17.30 to 23.30. According to the organisers, the limit will affect the background transport – cars and trucks. Circulation of public transport won't change.
Fans who will go to the match by car are promised to be given a possibility to leave cars in the parking area of shopping malls that are close to the stadium. If they are not in the restricted area, people will be able to leave their case if there are free parking lots, the functionaries warn. Head of the Tatarstan administration of State Traffic Safety Inspectorate Lenar Gabdrakhmanov told that only accredited transport, mobility impaired people and public transport transporting the teams will be able to cross this closed perimeter.
''We plan to locate eight control points on the borders of the transport perimeter. Workers of private security companies will be there. Traffic police points are planned to work at the crossings to redirect transport flows at the same time,'' Lenar Gabdrakhmanov noted.
Drivers are asked to skirt the mentioned road sections. The same streets will be closed during the Confederations Cup, only restricted traffic will be increased until 22.00.