Vorobyovy Gory (Moscow Metro)

Vorobyovy Gory

Moscow Metro station
Station statistics
Lines Sokolnicheskaya Line
Connections Bus: 5, 15, 64, 132
Trolleybus: 7, 31, 31к, 28, 79
Depth +10
Levels 1
Platforms 1
Tracks 2
Parking No
Bicycle facilities No
Baggage check No
Other information
Opened December 1, 1959
Closed October 20, 1983
Rebuilt December 14, 2002
Code 016
Owned by Moskovsky Metropoliten
Formerly Leninskye Gory
Services
Preceding station   Moscow Metro   Following station
Sokolnicheskaya Line

Vorobyovy Gory (Russian: Воробьёвы го́ры, lit. Sparrow Hills) is a station on the Sokolnicheskaya Line of the Moscow Metro. Its name originates from a nearby elevated area called the Sparrow Hills.

Built into the lower level of a bridge, it is unique in the city and in the world. At 270 metres in length, the platform is the longest in the system as the station needed to be accessible from both sides of the river. It is also the highest station above ground level at 15 metres, though this is less remarkable since all but a handful of Metro stations are underground. Apart from its dimensions, Vorobyovy Gory is also notable in being the only Metro station with windows.

The bridge, which is known as the Luzhniki Metro Bridge, or simply "Metromost", and spans the Moskva River, was originally built in 1958. The architects for the project were M.P. Bubnov, A.S. Markelov, M.F. Markovsky, A.K. Ryzhkov, and B.I. Tkhor. However, by 1984 the bridge, plagued by corrosion, had fallen into disrepair and was deemed structurally unsound, so Vorobyovy Gory (at the time called Leninskiye Gory) was "temporarily" closed for repairs and trains were rerouted to temporary bridges alongside. Eighteen years later on December 14, 2002, the newly renovated and renamed station was opened to the public once again.