Moscow Little Ring Railway

The Moscow Little Ring Railway in the western part, close to Moscow City.

The Moscow Little Ring Railway (Russian: Малое кольцо Московской Железной Дороги), or MKZD (Russian: Московская Кольцевая Железная Дорога) is a 54-kilometre (34 mi) long orbital railway that encircles central Moscow, Russia.^[1] Built between 1902 and 1908 for mixed use, the railway is currently only used for cargo traffic, and has twelve operating freight stations as of 2012.^[2] The line is operated by Russian Railways' Moscow subsidiary. Many of the original passenger stations, all built in the typical Russian industrial architecture of the beginning of the 20th century,^[3] will be rehabilitated for passenger use and complemented with new stations.^[4]

History

In 1800, the Kamer-Kollezhsky Val became the outer border of Moscow. In 1879, some areas, including Sokolniki, were appended (annexed) to the city, however, at the time Moscow was encircled by a number of settlements, which formed the agglomeration and had poor transport connections to each other. A number of proposals to build a ring railroad around the center were made in the 1860s and the 1870s. One such project was rejected in 1877 by the Moscow City Duma which cited inefficiency.^[5] However, the transportation problems became more obvious, and in 1898 after Tsar Nicholas II sent a message declaring that it was desirable to built a railroad, a project competition was opened. The project by Pyotr Rashevsky, who proposed to build a ring of the total length of 54.4 kilometres (33.8 mi), won the competition.

The construction started in 1902, and the railway was completed in 1907. The first train run in July 1907. In 1908, the railroad was declared to be completed, and it became part of the Nikolayevskaya Railway, of which the main line run between Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Passenger service was organized. There were four trains per day. The trains first stopped in Nikolayevsky Railway Station, got to the ring at the Presnya Station, and then separated into two, one train running clockwise, and the other one running counterclockwise.^[5]

The Direction of the Nikolayevskaya Railway was located in Saint Petersburg, and thus it was inconvenient for decision making. In 1916, the ring railway was transferred to the Moscow-Kursk Railway. In 1934, it became a separate railroad, and in 1956 it was included to the Moscow Railway.^[5]

Between 1917 and 1960, the Moscow Little Ring Railway served as the border of the city of Moscow. In 1960, the Moscow Ring Road was almost completed, and the city was extended up to the Ring Road.^[6]

2010s passenger service reopen

Construction of Andronovka platform, June 2015

Works intended for 2013-2016 would convert the line for joint passenger and freight use, but in 2012, at a meeting with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in Odintsovo, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin acknowledged that trains on the small ring would not run until 2020.^[7] The required works include:

• Electrification for 3 kV DC system for all tracks with constructions of substations.
• Construction of new passenger stations with pedestrian bridges
• Construction of third track on north half of ring
• Construction of depot for EMU trains at Podmoskovnaya stations
• Construction of second track and stations upgrade on north section of Moscow Big Ring Railway, for re-routing freight traffic.
• Major trackworks, replacement of bridges and overpasses on entire length of Moscow Little Ring Railway.

Freight services will be using electric locomotives, this will allow to refuse mainline diesel locomotives in Moscow. The passenger stations will be located in other places than original 1908 station buildings.

Stations

Vorobyovy Gory Station building.

The following is the list of the original 1908 stations and some other later stations on the line (clockwise from north):^[8]

1. Vladykino (opened 1908);^[9]
2. Rostokino (opened 1908);^[9]
3. Belokamennaya (opened 1908);^[9]
4. Cherkizovo (opened 1908);^[9]
5. Lefortovo (opened 1908);^[9]
6. Andronovka (opened 1908);^[9]
7. Ugreshskaya (opened 1908);^[9]
8. Kozhukhovo (opened 1908);^[9]
9. Kanatchikovo (opened 1908);^[9]
10. Vorobyovy Gory (not in use);
11. Potylikha (halt, not in use);
12. Kutuzovo (not in use);
13. Presnya;
14. Voyennoye Pole (halt, defunct);
15. Serebryany Bor (opened 1908);^[9]
16. Bratsevo (not in use);
17. Likhobory (opened 1908).^[9]

list of platforms that are being built in 2015

1. Koptevo 55°50′24″N 37°31′15″E / 55.840003°N 37.5208°E / 55.840003; 37.5208
2. Nikolaevskaya 55°50′50″N 37°33′04″E / 55.84716°N 37.551087°E / 55.84716; 37.551087
3. Gostinichnaya 55°50′56″N 37°34′17″E / 55.848936°N 37.571252°E / 55.848936; 37.571252
4. Vladykino 55°50′51″N 37°35′33″E / 55.847437°N 37.592527°E / 55.847437; 37.592527
5. Botanicheskaya 55°50′44″N 37°38′22″E / 55.84566°N 37.639321°E / 55.84566; 37.639321
6. Yaroslavskaya (construction is not started in summer of 2015, exact platform location unknown)
7. Belokamennaya (construction is not started in summer of 2015, exact platform location unknown)
8. Otkrytaya 55°49′03″N 37°44′13″E / 55.8174°N 37.737039°E / 55.8174; 37.737039
9. Cherkizovo 55°48′14″N 37°44′46″E / 55.803871°N 37.746127°E / 55.803871; 37.746127
10. Izmailovo 55°47′22″N 37°44′36″E / 55.789475°N 37.743294°E / 55.789475; 37.743294
11. Sokolinaya gora 55°46′17″N 37°44′43″E / 55.77145°N 37.745236°E / 55.77145; 37.745236
12. Lefortovo 55°45′33″N 37°44′46″E / 55.759055°N 37.746186°E / 55.759055; 37.746186
13. Andronovka 55°44′52″N 37°44′20″E / 55.747698°N 37.738858°E / 55.747698; 37.738858
14. Ryazanskaya 55°43′56″N 37°43′42″E / 55.732212°N 37.728344°E / 55.732212; 37.728344
15. Novokhohlovskaya (construction is not started in summer of 2015, exact platform location unknown)
16. Volgogradskaya 55°43′07″N 37°41′53″E / 55.718569°N 37.698056°E / 55.718569; 37.698056
17. Dubrovka 55°42′45″N 37°40′40″E / 55.712598°N 37.677671°E / 55.712598; 37.677671
18. Avtozavodskaya 55°42′23″N 37°39′47″E / 55.706303°N 37.663091°E / 55.706303; 37.663091
19. ZIL 55°41′53″N 37°38′51″E / 55.697917°N 37.647588°E / 55.697917; 37.647588
20. Varshavskaya 55°41′25″N 37°37′10″E / 55.690232°N 37.619478°E / 55.690232; 37.619478
21. Sevastopolskaya (construction is not started in summer of 2015, exact platform location unknown)
22. Prospekt Gagarina 55°42′27″N 37°35′09″E / 55.707512°N 37.585908°E / 55.707512; 37.585908
23. Luzniki 55°43′14″N 37°33′40″E / 55.720666°N 37.561145°E / 55.720666; 37.561145
24. Kutuzovo 55°44′27″N 37°32′01″E / 55.740711°N 37.533562°E / 55.740711; 37.533562
25. City 55°44′55″N 37°31′55″E / 55.74848°N 37.531807°E / 55.74848; 37.531807
26. Shelepikha (construction is not started in summer of 2015, exact platform location unknown)
27. Horoshevo 55°46′39″N 37°30′25″E / 55.777363°N 37.507077°E / 55.777363; 37.507077
28. Novopechanaya 55°47′18″N 37°30′16″E / 55.788425°N 37.504401°E / 55.788425; 37.504401
29. name unknown 55°47′57″N 37°29′56″E / 55.799038°N 37.498859°E / 55.799038; 37.498859
30. Volokolamskaya 55°48′49″N 37°29′14″E / 55.813557°N 37.487159°E / 55.813557; 37.487159
31. Brattsevo 55°49′34″N 37°29′48″E / 55.825985°N 37.496536°E / 55.825985; 37.496536

Perspectives

Diagram of Moscow Metro future plans and Little Ring Railway passenger service

The Little Ring Railway currently serves industrial enterprises located outside the center of Moscow. Many of these went bankrupt as the result of the economic crisis of the 1990s, or else were or are planned to be relocated outside of Moscow. Instead, there are plans to reopen passenger traffic, which would bypass the congested city center. There are thirteen Moscow Metro stations located close to the Little Ring Railway, as well as eight passenger railway stations. In 2008, the plans were signed by the Moscow authorities and the Russian Railways. It was originally planned that passenger service should have been opened in 2010 at the stretch between Presnya and Kanatchikovo stations,^[1] however, it was postponed for a later date. According to current plans, by 2016, the whole ring should be made available for passenger service.^[10]

References

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