Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport has announced a week-long suspension of the underground shuttle train connecting the airport's various terminals. During this period (October 15-21), backup bus services will be provided, according to a Travel.ru correspondent.
The underground shuttle's capacity, already limited, will be reduced by half between 9:00 AM Monday, October 15, and 6:00 AM Sunday, October 21. During this time, only one of two trains will operate, allowing for only about 500 passengers per hour in each direction in the public area (the nominal capacity of three public area cars is 81 passengers per trip). Intervals between departures will be approximately 8-9 minutes. The shuttle is required for approximately half of the passengers using the new Sheremetyevo-1 (B) Terminal, which now serves the majority of Aeroflot's domestic flights.
Additionally, bus services will be scheduled every half hour from 7:00 AM to 9:30 PM, and every hour or two hours at other times. The schedule is published on the airport's website. Buses board on the south side of the airport at the ground level of the Sheremetyevo-2 shuttle station, and disembark on the south side near Terminal E. On the north side, boarding and disembarking are at the new Sheremetyevo-1 (B) Terminal. Travel time, assuming normal traffic conditions, is approximately 20 minutes northbound and 10-15 minutes southbound.
The airport has promised to increase the number of bus routes if necessary. However, passengers should take their own precautions and allow an additional 20-30 minutes for transfers between terminals: the underground shuttle may be overcrowded, and the bus service will still operate every half hour. Similar precautions should be taken by passengers traveling from the city to the new Sheremetyevo-1 (B) Terminal by Aeroexpress (or other transport via the southern terminals). In addition to this temporary bus route, transfers are also available by regular buses and minibuses, but these may also take 20-40 minutes depending on the time of day (transfers by public transport are not available at night).
The airport explained the restrictions as "maintenance work." It's possible they're related to the underground shuttle train breakdown that occurred on Sunday, September 30, when hundreds of passengers were late for their flights. Communication between the terminals was lost for approximately three hours. During one of the trips, both trains, carrying passengers to the north and south terminals respectively, stopped inside the tunnel. According to social media reports, passengers remained inside the trains for nearly an hour, after which rescuers reached them and opened the cars, and the passengers were escorted out through the tunnel on foot. Meanwhile, a crowd of passengers, apparently uninformed about the tunnel problems, was still waiting on the platform.
The airport attributed the incident to a "software failure in the automated train control system." For several hours afterward, there was no service through the tunnel. Announcements throughout the terminals advised passengers to use public transportation, and the airport subsequently organized a bus transfer. Many of the stranded passengers, as well as others left without transfers, ultimately missed their flights. These were primarily Aeroflot passengers—both those departing from Moscow and taking the underground train to the new Shermetyevo-1 (B) terminal, and those traveling in transit, arriving at one terminal and expecting to depart from another. Aeroflot initially denied at least some of these passengers transfers to their onward flights, dismissing the incident as a routine delay.
Following the ensuing scandal involving airport staff, Aeroflot agreed to reinstate the tickets and rebooked the affected passengers on other flights. However, the incident highlighted Sheremetyevo's lack of a proven process for promptly resolving issues with the underground train—both in terms of organizing alternative services and notifying airlines and passengers about such incidents.
On any given day, Sheremetyevo passengers are advised not to put off their underground shuttle ride until the last minute—especially since its capacity is relatively small and queues are possible during peak hours—especially as more and more flights are transferred to Sheremetyevo-1 (B).
Source: travel.ru