Moscow Metro

Moscow Metro

Overview
Native name	Моско́вский метрополите́н Moskovsky metropoliten
Owner	Government of Moscow
Locale	Federal city of Moscow and cities of Kotelniki, Krasnogorsk, Lyubertsy, Reutov in the Moscow Oblast Russia
Transit type	Metro
Number of lines	14[1]
Number of stations	206[1] 243 including Moscow Monorail and Moscow Central Circle
Daily ridership	9.716 million (highest, Dec. 2014)[1]
Annual ridership	2.4513 billion (2014)[1]
Chief executive	Viktor Kozlovsky
Website	http://mosmetro.ru/
Operation
Began operation	15 May 1935
Operator(s)	Moskovsky Metropoliten
Headway	Peak hours: 1-2 minutes Off-peak: 4–7 minutes
Technical
System length	346.2 km (215.1 mi)[1] 400.2 km (248.7 mi) including Moscow Central Circle
Track gauge	1,520 mm (4 ft 11 27⁄32 in)
Electrification	825 V DC third rail, 3 kV DC overhead line
Average speed	41.61 km/h (25.86 mph)
System map

The Moscow Metro (Russian: Моско́вский метрополите́н, tr. Moskovsky metropoliten; IPA: [mɐˈskofskʲɪj mʲɪtrəpəlʲɪˈtɛn]) is a rapid transit system serving Moscow, Russia and the neighbouring Moscow Oblast cities of Krasnogorsk, Reutov, Lyubertsy and Kotelniki. Opened in 1935 with one 11-kilometre (6.8 mi) line and 13 stations, it was the first underground railway system in the Soviet Union. As of 2017, the Moscow Metro excluding the Moscow Central Circle and Moscow Monorail has 206 stations and its route length is 339.1 km (210.7 mi),^[1] making it the fifth longest in the world. The system is mostly underground, with the deepest section 84 metres (276 ft) underground at the Park Pobedy station, one of the world's deepest.

Operations

The Moscow Metro, a state-owned enterprise,^[2] is 339.1 km (210.7 mi) long and consists of twelve lines and 203 stations^[3] organized in a spoke-hub distribution paradigm, with the majority of rail lines running radially from the centre of Moscow to the outlying areas. The Koltsevaya Line (route 5) forms a 20-kilometre (12 mi) long ring which enables passenger travel between these spokes, and the Moscow Railway-operated Moscow Central Circle (route 14) forms a 54-kilometre (34 mi) long ring that serves a similar purpose.^[4] Most stations and lines are underground, but some lines have at-grade and elevated sections; the Filyovskaya Line, Butovskaya Line and the Central Circle Line are the three lines that are at grade or mostly at grade. Of the metro's 229, 78 are deep underground, 109 are shallow, and 42 (25 of them on the Central Circle) are at or above ground level. The deep stations comprise 55 triple-vaulted pylon stations, 19 triple-vaulted column stations, and one single-vault station. The shallow stations comprise 72 spanned column stations (a large portion of them following the "centipede" design), 33 single-vaulted stations (Kharkov technology), and three single-spanned stations. In addition, there are 12 ground-level stations, four elevated stations, and one station (Vorobyovy Gory) on a bridge. Two stations have three tracks, and one has double halls. Seven of the stations have side platforms (only one of which is subterranean). In addition, there were two temporary stations within rail yards. One station is reserved for future service (Delovoy Tsentr for the Third Interchange Contour).

The Moscow Metro uses the Russian gauge of 1,520 millimetres (60 in), like other Russian railways, and an underrunning third rail with a supply of 825 V DC. The average distance between stations is 1.7 kilometres (1.1 mi); the shortest (502 metres (1,647 ft) long) section is between Vystavochnaya and Mezhdunarodnaya and the longest (6.627 kilometres (4.118 mi) long) is between Krylatskoye and Strogino. Long distances between stations have the positive effect of a high cruising speed of 41.7 kilometres per hour (25.9 mph).

Moscow Metro starts opening at 05:25 and closes at 01:00.^[5] The precise opening time varies at different stations according to the arrival of the first train, but all stations simultaneously close their entrances at 01:00 am for maintenance, and so do transfer corridors. The minimum interval between trains is 90 seconds during the morning and evening rush hours.^[1]

As of 2013 the system has an average daily ridership of 6.73 million passengers with the peak of 9.28 million.^[1]

Since 1 December 2014 free Wi-Fi was available on all lines of the Moscow Metro. The network was launched by MaximaTelecom.

Lines

Each line is identified by a name, an alphanumeric index (usually consisting of just a number) and a colour.^[6] The colour assigned to each line for display on maps and signs is its colloquial identifier, except for the nondescript greens and blues assigned to the Kakhovskaya, the Zamoskvoretskaya, the Lyublinsko-Dmitrovskaya, and Butovskaya Lines (route 11, 2, 10, and 12). The upcoming station is announced by a male voice on inbound trains to the city center (on the Circle line, the clockwise trains) and by a female voice on outbound trains (counter-clockwise trains on the Circle line).^[6]

The metro has a connection to the Moscow Monorail, a 4.7-kilometre (2.9 mi), six-station monorail line between Timiryazevskaya and VDNKh which opened in January 2008. Prior to the official opening, the monorail had operated in "excursion mode" since 2004.

The colours in the table below correspond with the colours of the lines in the official Moscow Metro map:

Map of Moscow Metro, monorail and Central Circle with future plans (2016).

Trains

Since the beginning, platforms have been at least 155 metres (509 ft) long to accommodate eight-car trains. The only exceptions are on the Filyovskaya Line: Vystavochnaya, Mezhdunarodnaya, Studencheskaya, Kutuzovskaya, Fili, Bagrationovskaya, Filyovsky Park and Pionerskaya, which only allows six-car trains (note that this list includes all ground-level stations on the line, except Kuntsevskaya, which allows normal length trains).

Trains on the Zamoskovretskaya, Kaluzhsko-Rizhskaya, Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya, Kalininskaya, Serpukhovsko-Timiryazevskaya and Lyublinsko-Dmitrovskaya lines have eight cars, on the Sokolnicheskaya line seven cars and on the Koltsevaya and Kakhovskaya lines six cars. The Filyovskaya and Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya lines had six- and seven-car trains as well, but now use four- and five-car trains of another type.

Rolling Stock for Moscow Metro
Car	Delivered	In service
А/Б („A/B“)	1934–39	1935–75
B („V“, earlier C)	1927–30	1946–68
Г („G“)	1939–40, 1946–56	1940–83
Д („D“)	1955–63	1955–95
E/Ем/Еж („E/Em/Ezh“)	1959–79	1962 ff.
81-717/714	1976–2011	1979 ff.
И („I“, 81-715/716)	1974, 80–81, 85	—
81-720/721 „Yauza“	1991–2004	1998 ff.
81-740/741 „Rusich“	2002-13	2003 ff.
81-760/761 „Oka“	2010-16	2012 ff.
81-765/766/767 „Moskva“	2016 ff.	2017 ff.

World War II

The B-type and V-type trains were formerly from Berlin U-Bahn C-class trains from 1945 to 1969, until its complete demise in 1970. They were transported from Berlin U-Bahn because of the Soviet occupation forces. A-type trains were custom-made since the opening.

• 
  B-type trains
• 
  V-type

Modern Times

Currently, they are only using 81-style trains.

Rolling stock on the Koltsevaya line is being replaced with these articulated 81-740/741 «Rusich» four-car trains. The Butovskaya Line was designed by different standards, and has shorter (96-metre (315 ft) long) platforms. It employs articulated 81-740/741 trains, which consist of three cars (although the line can also use traditional four-car trains). At the Moscow Central Circle, «Lastochka» trains are used, consisting of five cars.

• 
  G-type
• 
  D-type
• 
  E-type
• 
  81-717/81-714-type
• 
  81-717.5A/81-714.5A-type
• 
  81-717.6-714.6-type
• 
  81-720/721-type ("Yauza")
• 
  81-740/741-type ("Rusich")
• 
  81-760/761-type ("Oka")
• 
  81-765/766/767-type ("Moscow")
• 
  Intamin P30 train (operates on the Monorail line)
• 
  ES2G Lastochka train (operates on the Moscow Central Circle line)

History

The first plans for a metro system in Moscow date back to the Russian Empire but were postponed by World War I, the October Revolution and the Russian Civil War. In 1923, the Moscow City Council formed the Underground Railway Design Office at the Moscow Board of Urban Railways. It carried out preliminary studies, and by 1928 had developed a project for the first route from Sokolniki to the city centre. At the same time, an offer was made to German company Siemens Bauunion to submit its own project for the same route. In June 1931, the decision to begin construction of the Moscow Metro was made by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. In January 1932 the plan for the first lines was approved, and on 21 March 1933 the Soviet government approved a plan for 10 lines with a total route length of 80 km (50 mi).

The first lines were built using the Moscow general plan designed by Lazar Kaganovich, along with his project managers (notably Ivan M. Kuznetsov and, later, Isaac Y. Segal) in the 1930s-1950s, and the Metro was named after him until 1955 (Metropoliten im. L.M. Kaganovicha).^[7] The Moscow Metro construction engineers consulted with their counterparts from the London Underground, the world's oldest metro system. Partly because of this connection, the design of the Gants Hill tube station in London, which was completed much later, is reminiscent of a Moscow Metro station.^[8][9]

Soviet workers did the labor and the art work, but the main engineering designs, routes, and construction plans were handled by specialists recruited from the London Underground. The Britons called for tunneling instead of the "cut-and-cover" technique, the use of escalators instead of lifts, the routes, and the design of the rolling stock.^[10] The paranoia of the NKVD was evident when the secret police arrested numerous British engineers for espionage because they gained an in-depth knowledge of the city's physical layout. Engineers for the Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Company (Metrovick) were given a show trial and deported in 1933, ending the role of British business in the USSR.^[11]

First four stages of construction

External video

Moscow Metro opening, Soviet Archive Footage

The first line was opened to the public on 15 May 1935 at 07:00 am.^[12] It was 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) long and included 13 stations. The day was celebrated as a technological and ideological victory for socialism (and, by extension, Stalinism). An estimated 285,000 people rode the Metro at its debut, and its design was greeted with pride; street celebrations included parades, plays and concerts. The Bolshoi Theatre presented a choral performance by 2,200 Metro workers; 55,000 colored posters (lauding the Metro as the busiest and fastest in the world) and 25,000 copies of "Songs of the Joyous Metro Conquerors" were distributed.^[13] This publicity barrage, produced by the Soviet government, stressed the superiority of the Moscow Metro over all other metros in capitalist societies and the Metro's role as a prototype for the Soviet future. The Moscow Metro averaged 47 km/h (29 mph) and had a top speed of 80 km/h (50 mph).^[14] In comparison, New York City Subway trains averaged a slower 25 miles per hour (40 km/h) and had a top speed of 45 miles per hour (72 km/h).^[13] While the celebration was an expression of popular joy it was also an effective propaganda display, legitimizing the Metro and declaring it a success.

The initial line connected Sokolniki to Okhotny Ryad then branching to Park Kultury and Smolenskaya.^[15] The latter branch was extended westwards to a new station (Kiyevskaya) in March 1937, the first Metro line crossing the Moskva River over the Smolensky Metro Bridge.

The second stage was completed before the war. In March 1938, the Arbatskaya branch was split and extended to the Kurskaya station (now the dark-blue Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line). In September 1938, the Gorkovskaya Line opened between Sokol and Teatralnaya. Here the architecture was based on that of the most popular stations in existence (Krasniye Vorota, Okhotnyi Ryad and Kropotkinskaya); while following the popular art-deco style, it was merged with socialist themes. The first deep-level column station Mayakovskaya was built at the same time.

Building work on the third stage was delayed (but not interrupted) during World War II, and two Metro sections were put into service; Teatralnaya–Avtozavodskaya (three stations, crossing the Moskva River through a deep tunnel) and Kurskaya–Partizanskaya (four stations) were inaugurated in 1943 and 1944 respectively. War motifs replaced socialist visions in the architectural design of these stations. During the Siege of Moscow in the fall and winter of 1941, Metro stations were used as air-raid shelters; the Council of Ministers moved its offices to the Mayakovskaya platforms, where Stalin made public speeches on several occasions. The Chistiye Prudy station was also walled off, and the headquarters of the Air Defence established there.

After the war ended in 1945, construction began on the fourth stage of the Metro, which included the Koltsevaya Line, a deep part of the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya line from Ploshchad Revolyutsii to Kievskaya and a surface extension to Pervomaiskaya during the early 1950s. The decoration and design characteristic of the Moscow Metro is considered to have reached its zenith in these stations. The Koltsevaya Line was first planned as a line running under the Garden Ring, a wide avenue encircling the borders of Moscow's city centre. The first part of the line – from Park Kultury to Kurskaya (1950) – follows this avenue. Plans were later changed and the northern part of the ring line runs 1–1.5 kilometres (0.62–0.93 mi) outside the Sadovoye Koltso, thus providing service for seven (out of nine) rail terminals. The next part of the Koltsevaya Line opened in 1952 (Kurskaya–Belorusskaya), and in 1954 the ring line was completed.

Cold War era

The beginning of the Cold War led to the construction of a deep section of the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line. The stations on this line were planned as shelters in the event of nuclear war. After finishing the line in 1953 the upper tracks between Ploshchad Revolyutsii and Kiyevskaya were closed, and later reopened in 1958 as a part of the Filyovskaya Line. In the further development of the Metro the term "stages" was not used any more, although sometimes the stations opened in 1957–1959 are referred to as the "fifth stage".

Other stations, too, were supplied with tight gates and life-sustenance systems to function as nuclear shelters.

During the late 1950s the architectural extravagance of new Metro stations was toned down, and decorations at some stations (such as VDNKh and Alexeyevskaya) were simplified by comparison with the original plans. This was done on the orders of Nikita Khrushchev, who favoured more spartan decoration. A typical layout (which quickly became known as Sorokonozhka–"centipede", from early designs with 40 concrete columns in two rows) was developed for all new stations and the stations were built to look almost identical, differing from each other only in colours of the marble and ceramic tiles. Most stations were built with simpler, less-costly technology; this was not always appropriate, and resulted in utilitarian design. For example, walls with cheap ceramic tiles were susceptible to train vibration and some tiles eventually fell off. It was not always possible to replace the missing tiles with the ones of the same color, which eventually led to variegated parts of the walls. Not until the mid-1970s was the architectural extravagance restored and original designs again popular. However, the newer design of "centipede" stations (with 26 columns, more widely spaced) continued to dominate.

Stalinist ideals

Publicizing the metro

The Moscow Metro was one of the USSR’s most ambitious architectural projects. The metro’s artists and architects worked to design a structure that embodied svet (radiance or brilliance) and svetloe budushchee (a radiant future).^[16] With their reflective marble walls, high ceilings and grand chandeliers, many Moscow Metro stations have been likened to an "artificial underground sun".^[17] This palatial underground environment^[17] reminded riders that their tax rubles had been well spent on svetloe budushchee.

The chief lighting engineer was Abram Damsky, a graduate of the Higher State Art-Technical Institute in Moscow. By 1930 he was a chief designer in Moscow’s Elektrosvet Factory, and during World War II was sent to the Metrostroi (Metro Construction) Factory as head of the lighting shop.^[18] Damsky recognized the importance of efficiency, as well as the potential for light as an expressive form. His team experimented with different materials (most often cast bronze, aluminum, sheet brass, steel, and milk glass) and methods to optimize the technology.^[18] Damsky’s discourse on "Lamps and Architecture 1930–1950" describes in detail the epic chandeliers installed in the Kaluzhskaia (now called the Oktiabrskaia) Station and the Taganskaia Station:

The Kaluzhskaya Station was designed by the architect [Leonid] Poliakov. Poliakov’s decision to base his design on a reinterpretation of Russian classical architecture clearly influenced the concept of the lamps, some of which I planned in collaboration with the architect himself. The shape of the lamps was a torch – the torch of victory, as Poliakov put it... The artistic quality and stylistic unity of all the lamps throughout the station’s interior made them perhaps the most successful element of the architectural composition. All were made of cast aluminum decorated in a black and gold anodized coating, a technique which the Metrostroi factory had only just mastered.

The Taganskaia Metro Station on the Ring Line was designed in...quite another style by the architects K.S. Ryzhkov and A. Medvedev... Their subject matter dealt with images of war and victory...The overall effect was one of ceremony ... In the platform halls the blue ceramic bodies of the chandeliers played a more modest role, but still emphasised the overall expressiveness of the lamp.”^[18]

— Abram Damsky, Lamps and Architecture 1930–1950

The work of Abram Damsky further publicized these ideas hoping people would associate the party with svetloe budushchee.

Industrialization

Stalin's First Five-Year Plan (1928–1932) facilitated rapid industrialization to build a socialist motherland. The plan was ambitious, seeking to reorient an agrarian society towards industrialism. It was Stalin's fanatical energy, large-scale planning, and smart resource distribution that kept up the incredible pace of industrialization. The First Five-Year Plan was instrumental in the completion of the Moscow Metro; without industrialization, the Soviet Union would not have had the raw materials necessary for the project. For example, steel was a main component of many subway stations. Before industrialization, it would have been impossible for the Soviet Union to produce enough steel to incorporate it into the metro's design; in addition, a steel shortage would have limited the size of the subway system and its technological advancement.

The Moscow Metro furthered the construction of a socialist Soviet Union because the project accorded with Stalin's Second Five-Year Plan. The Second Plan focused on urbanization and the development of social services. The Moscow Metro was necessary to cope with the influx of peasants who migrated to the city during the 1930s; Moscow's population grew to 3.6 million in 1933 from 2.16 million in 1928. The Metro also bolstered Moscow's shaky infrastructure and its communal services, which hitherto were nearly nonexistent.^[13]

Mobilization

The Communist Party had the power to mobilize; because the party was a single source of control, it could focus its resources and inspire its people. The most notable example of mobilization in the Soviet Union occurred during World War II. The country also mobilized in order to complete the Moscow Metro with unprecedented speed. One of the main motivation factors of the mobilization was to overtake the West and prove that a socialist metro could surpass capitalist designs. It was especially important to the Soviet Union that socialism succeed industrially, technologically, and artistically in the 1930s, since capitalism was at a low ebb during the Great Depression.

The person in charge of Metro mobilization was Lazar Kaganovich. A prominent Party member, he assumed control of the project as chief overseer. Kaganovich was nicknamed the "Iron Commissar"; he shared Stalin's fanatical energy, dramatic oratory flare, and ability to keep workers building quickly with threats and punishment.^[13] He was determined to realise the Moscow Metro, regardless of cost. Without Kaganovich's managerial ability, the Moscow Metro might have met the same fate as the Palace of the Soviets: failure.

This was a comprehensive mobilization; the project drew resources and workers from the entire Soviet Union. In his article, archeologist Mike O'Mahoney describes the scope of the Metro mobilization:

A specialist workforce had been drawn from many different regions, including miners from the Ukrainian and Siberian coalfields and construction workers from the iron and steel mills of Magnitogorsk, the Dniepr hydroelectric power station, and the Turkestan-Siberian railway... materials used in the construction of the metro included iron from Siberian Kuznetsk, timber from northern Russia, cement from the Volga region and the norther Caucasus, bitumen from Baku, and marble and granite from quarries in Karelia, the Crimea, the Caucasus, the Urals, and the Soviet Far East^[19]

— Mike O'Mahoney, Archeological Fantasies: Constructing History on the Moscow Metro

Skilled engineers were scarce, and unskilled workers were instrumental to the realization of the metro. The Metrostroi (the organization responsible for the Metro's construction) conducted massive recruitment campaigns. It printed 15,000 copies of Udarnik metrostroia (Metrostroi Shock Worker, its daily newspaper) and 700 other newsletters (some in different languages) to attract unskilled laborers. Kaganovich was closely involved in the recruitment campaign, targeting the Komsomol generation because of its strength and youth.

Patriotic influences

When the Metro opened in 1935 it immediately became the centrepiece of the transportation system. More than that it was a Stalinist device to awe and control the populace, and give them an appreciation of Soviet realist art. It became the prototype for future Soviet large-scale technologies. Kaganovich was in charge; he designed the subway so that citizens would absorb the values and ethos of Stalinist civilization as they rode. The artwork of the 13 original stations became nationally and internationally famous. For example, the Sverdlov Square subway station featured porcelain bas-reliefs depicting the daily life of the Soviet peoples, and the bas-reliefs at the Dynamo Stadium sports complex glorified sports and physical prowess on the powerful new "Homo Sovieticus" (Soviet man).^[20] The metro was touted as the symbol of the new social order—a sort of Communist cathedral of engineering modernity.^[21]

The Metro was iconic also because it showcased Socialist Realism in public art. Socialist Realism was in fact a method, not a style.^[16] This method was influenced by Nikolay Chernyshevsky, Lenin’s favorite 19th-century nihilist, who stated that "art is no use unless it serves politics".^[13] This maxim explains why the stations combined aesthetics, technology and ideology. Any plan which did not incorporate all three areas cohesively was rejected. Without this cohesion, the Metro would not reflect Socialist Realism. If the Metro did not utilize Socialist Realism, it would fail to illustrate Stalinist values and transform Soviet citizens into socialists. Anything less than Socialist Realism’s grand artistic complexity would fail to inspire a long-lasting, nationalistic attachment to Stalin’s new society.^[22]

Moscow Central Circle commuter railway (Line 14)

The proposal of reconstructing the existing Moscow Little Ring Railway into a commuter railway for providing frequent passenger service came to fruition in 2012 by complete modernization of the network and building new stations. The commuter railway began operation in September 2016 and is branded as "Line 14" as part of the metro network. This line increases the overall strength of the metro network and relieves congestion on Koltsevaya Line.

Unlike direct transfer between conventional metro lines, all Line 14 transfer stations with other metro lines require passengers to exit the ticket gate and enter the opposite station, but transportation hubs were built on selected sites for more convenient out-of-station transfer. Transferring between Line 14 and the rest of the metro lines is free if the journey before transfer is done within 90 minutes.^[23]

Logo

The first line of the Moscow Metro was launched in 1935, complete with the first logo, the capital M paired with the text "МЕТРО". There is no accurate information about the author of the logo, so it is often attributed to the architects of the first stations – Samuil Kravets, Ivan Taranov and Nadezhda Bykova. It is noteworthy, however, that even at the opening in 1935, the M letter on the logo had no definite shape.^[24]

Today, with at least ten different variations of the shape in use, Moscow Metro still does not have clear brand or logo guidelines. An attempt was made in October 2013 to launch a nationwide brand image competition, only to be closed several hours after its announcement. A similar contest, held independently later that year by the design crowdsourcing company DesignContest, yielded better results, though none was officially accepted by the Metro officials.^[25][26]

Ticketing

From the 1960s to the 1990s, the cost of a ride was five kopecks (1/20 of a Soviet ruble). The fare has been steadily rising since 1991, hastened by inflation (taking into account the 1998 revaluation of the ruble by a factor of 1,000). Effective February 2017, one ride costs 55 rubles (approx. 1 US dollar). Discounts (up to 33 percent) are available when buying a multiple-trip ticket (starting with twenty-trip cards), and children under age seven can travel free with their parents.

Tickets are available for a fixed number of trips, regardless of distance traveled or number of transfers. Monthly and yearly passes are also available. Fare enforcement takes place at the points of entry. Once a passenger has entered the Metro system, there are no further ticket checks – one can ride to any number of stations and make transfers within the system freely. Transfers to other public-transport systems (such as bus, tram, trolleybus) are not covered by the ticket. Transfer to monorail is free within 90 minutes.

Before 1991, turnstiles accepted coins; however, with the start of hyperinflation plastic tokens of various design were used. Disposable magnetic stripe cards were introduced in 1993 on a trial basis, and used as unlimited monthly tickets between 1996 and 1998. The sale of tokens ended on 1 January 1999, and they stopped being accepted in February 1999; from that time, magnetic cards were used as tickets with a fixed number of trips.

On 1 September 1998, the Moscow Metro became the first metro system in Europe to fully implement contactless smart cards, known as Transport Cards. The card has an unlimited number of trips and may be programmed for 30, 90 or 365 days. The first purchase includes a one-time cost of 50 rubles, and its active lifetime is projected as 3½ years; defective cards are exchanged at no cost. Unlimited cards are also available for students at reduced price (as of 2017, 365 rubles—or about $US6—for a calendar month of unlimited usage) for a one-time cost of 70 rubles. Transport Cards impose a delay for each consecutive use; i.e. the card can not be used for seven minutes after the user has passed through the turnstile.

In January 2007, Moscow Metro began replacing magnetic cards with contactless disposable tickets based on NXP's MIFARE Ultralight technology. Ultralight tickets are available for a fixed number of trips in 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 60-trip denominations (valid for 5 or 90 days from the day of purchase) and as a monthly ticket, only valid for a selected calendar month and limited to 70 trips. The sale of magnetic cards stopped 16 January 2008 and magnetic cards stopped being accepted in late 2008, making the Moscow metro the world's first major public-transport system to run exclusively on a contact-less automatic fare-collection system.^[27]

In August 2004, the city government launched the Muscovite's Social Card program. Social Cards are free smart cards issued for the elderly and other groups of citizens officially registered as residents of Moscow or the Moscow region; they offer discounts in shops and pharmacies, and double as credit cards issued by the Bank of Moscow. Social Cards can be used for unlimited free access to the city's public-transport system, including the Moscow Metro; while they do not feature the time delay, they include a photograph and are non-transferable.

Since 2006, several banks have issued credit cards which double as Ultralight cards and are accepted at turnstiles. The fare is passed to the bank and the payment is withdrawn from the owner's bank account at the end of the calendar month, using a discount rate based on the number of trips that month (for up to 70 trips, the cost of each trip is prorated from current Ultralight rates; each additional trip costs 24.14 rubles).^[28] Partner banks include the Bank of Moscow, CitiBank, Rosbank, Alfa-Bank and Avangard Bank.^[29]

On 2 April 2013 Moscow Transport Department introduced a smart card based transport electronic wallet called Troika. There are also three more smart cards has been launched - Ediniy card, a universal card for all city-owned public transport operated by Mosgortrans and Moscow Metro, 90 minutes card, an unlimited "90-minute" card and TAT card for surface public transport operated by Mosgortrans.^[30]

In 2013, as a way to promote both the "Olympic Games in Sochi and active lifestyles, Moscow Metro installed a vending machine that gives commuters a free ticket in exchange for doing 30 squats."^[31]

From the first quarter of 2015 ticket windows at stations started to accept bank cards for fare payment. Passengers were also able to start using contactless payment systems, such as PayPass technology on MasterCard and Maestro Visa PayWave on Visa cards, at fare gates to enter the system.^[32]

Fare gates at stations started in September 2015 to accept payment using mobile ticketing, a system which the Metro calls Mobile Ticket (Мобильный билет). Customers wishing to use this method of payment must exchange their existing SIM card for one that supports Near Field Communication technology. Applicable fares are the same as on the Troika card.

Customers are able to use Mobile Ticket on Moscow's surface transport.^[33]

The Moscow Metro originally announced plans to launch the mobile ticketing service with Mobile TeleSystems(MTS) in 2010.^[34]

Fares

Ticket rates effective September 2016 ^[28]

Trip limit	Cost	Cost per trip	Discount	Valid for
Fixed-rate Ultralight ticket (for each pass in metro or ground transport in zone "A" and "B"). You can use a multipass ticket for a group in the metro (touch once for each passenger), in ground transport smart cards for only one person.
1 (sells all ATM only)	55.00	55.00	0.0%	5 days
2 (sells some ATM only)	110.00	55.00	0.0%	5 days
20	650.00	32.50	35.0%	90 days
40	1300.00	32.50	35.0%	90 days
60	1750.00	29.17	47.7%	90 days
1 (Troika electronic wallet)	35.00	35.00	36.0%	–
90 minutes Unlimited transfers in trams, trolleybuses and buses in zone "A" and up to only pass in metro within each 90 min (if you enter twice the next pass will be opened and the clock are reset). In the bus you can see (at first time 15 *pass* remaining valid to 1 July 2013, at following 90 minutes left, 89, 88... - 01), in the metro only 15 *pass* and transfer indicator is lit above if this is not the first in 90 min. If the time runs out you can complete the ride, the ticket is still valid until you leave the transport or the bus arrives at the terminus point of route (or last stop in ballon loop).
1 (sells any ticket office)	60.00	60.00 or less	33.3%+	1 day purchased in metro, open date in bus
2	120.00	60.00 or less	33.3%+	5 days
60	2400.00	35.00 or less	6.6%+	90 days
1 (Troika electronic wallet)	49.00	49.00	18.0%+	–
Transport Card (Metro and bus)
unlimited, 20 min delay (except to/from S-Bahn)	210.00	–		24 hours from the first pass
unlimited, 20 min delay (except to/from S-Bahn)	400.00	–		3 days * 24 h
unlimited, 20 min delay (except to/from S-Bahn)	800.00	–		7 days * 24 h
unlimited, 7 min delay (only in Troika)	2000.00	–		30 days
unlimited, 7 min delay (only in Troika)	5000.00	–		90 days
unlimited, 7 min delay (only in Troika)	18,200.00	–		365 days
Transport Card (for pupils and students)
unlimited, 7 min delay	350.00	–	---	calendar month

+Effective discount for 90 minute ticket: (single cost in 90 min fare)/(single cost in bus fare+ metro fare) if number of passes is equal on the three compared tickets (1,2,5,11,20,40 or 60). The value is greater if you need more than two passes within each 90mins.

Note: The real discount is higher because validity period is doubled (90 days is enough to pass even twice only in the week days).

There is no difference between types of transport for fare collection, the difference apply for carrier.

Note: in main fare zone is the territory: (in some area 2 fare systems have track overlap, these areas are not written above).

• Routes in MKAD borders (include all trolleybusses routes inside MKAD and all trams),
• Butovo
• Solntzevo-Novoperedelkino
• Zelenograd (in addition, not include 3 dight routes/7/18).

NOT included routes 17), greater than 870 with exceptions (873, 880, 882, 891, 895, 930, 958, 961, 962, 964, 965 and described below).

The zone include rapid bus routes 850, 90x series and single routes that go outside the zone.

On route number 400 are valid fixed rate tickets only. If you don't have it, the fare on this route is 50 rur.

Mosgortrans buses 117, 288, 304, 398, 420, 433 de facto are in the zone, routes (outside MKAD) other than it are not even they have the same route.

3xx, 4xx, 5xx series has many overlaps

There is more than one route; 1-32,199,368,609,904, etc (from 2016 too many) and the only one runs by Mosgortrans.

Single-trip fares, 1935–2013

Effective date	Price	Remarks
1935-05-15	50 kopecks
1935-08-01	40 kopecks	with season ticket — 35 kopecks
1935-10-01	30 kopecks	with season ticket — 25 kopecks
1942-05-31	40 kopecks
1948-08-16	50 kopecks	Not taking into account 10X denomination of 1947. In fact, the fare increased 10 times.
1961-01-01	5 kopecks	revaluation
1991-04-02	15 kopecks
1992-03-01	50 kopecks
1992-06-24	1 ruble
1992-12-01	3 rubles
1993-02-16	6 rubles
1993-06-25	10 rubles
1993-10-15	30 rubles
1994-01-01	50 rubles
1994-03-18	100 rubles
1994-06-23	150 rubles
1994-09-21	250 rubles
1994-12-20	400 rubles
1995-03-20	600 rubles
1995-07-21	800 rubles
1995-09-20	1000 rubles
1995-12-21	1500 rubles
1997-06-11	2000 rubles
1998-01-01	2 rubles	revaluation due to post-Soviet period inflation.
1998-09-01	3 rubles
1999-01-01	4 rubles
2000-07-15	5 rubles
2002-10-01	7 rubles
2004-04-01	10 rubles
2005-01-01	13 rubles	Monorail fare is 50 rubles (25 rubles discount fare), no other tickets are valid on monorail
2006-01-01	15 rubles
2007-01-01	17 rubles
2008-01-01	19 rubles	Monorail fare is equal to the metro fare (reduced to 19 rubles), and only special monthly tickets also available and valid on this line
2009-01-01	22 rubles
2010-01-01	26 rubles
2011-01-01	28 rubles	Russian Railways fare in Moscow fare principies are separated and the fare did not increased (26 rubles) unlike the earlier years.
2013-01-01	28 rubles	minor change: Monorail fare included in all metro fares, first transfer in 90 minutes does not charge
2013-04-02	30 rubles	Single journey fare increased. Most other kinds of fares are lowered. New: 90 minute fare.
2014-01-01	30-40 rubles	Single and double fare increased. 5-60 pass fare, and all 90 minute fare are stayed. Russian railway fare in Moscow increased to 28 rubles.
2016-01-01	32-50 rubles	All ticket fares increased. Single fare increased to 50 ruble or 32 ruble(by Troyka e-wallet). All unlimited fare are stayed.[35]
2017-01-01	35-55 rubles	All ticket fares increased. Single fare increased to 55 ruble or 35 ruble(by Troyka e-wallet). All unlimited fare are stayed.

Expansions

Since the turn of the 21st century several projects have been completed, and more are underway. The first was the Annino-Butovo extension, which extended the Serpukhovsko-Timiryazevskaya Line from Prazhskaya to Ulitsa Akademika Yangelya in 2000, Annino in 2001 and Bulvar Dmitriya Donskogo in 2002. Its continuation, an elevated Butovskaya Line, was inaugurated in 2003. Vorobyovy Gory station, which initially opened in 1959 and was forced to close in 1983 after the concrete used to build the bridge was found to be defective, was rebuilt and reopened after many years in 2002. Another recent project included building a branch off the Filyovskaya Line to the Moscow International Business Center. This included Vystavochnaya (opened in 2005) and Mezhdunarodnaya (opened in 2006).

The Strogino–Mitino extension began with Park Pobedy in 2003. Its first stations (an expanded Kuntsevskaya and Strogino) opened in January 2008, and Slavyansky Bulvar followed in September. Myakinino, Volokolamskaya and Mitino opened in December 2009. Myakinino station was built by a state-private financial partnership, unique in Moscow Metro history.^[36] A new terminus, Pyatnitskoye Shosse, was completed in December 2012.

After many years of construction, the long-awaited Lyublinskaya Line extension was inaugurated with Trubnaya in August 2007 and Sretensky Bulvar in December of that year. In June 2010, it was extended northward with the Dostoyevskaya and Maryina Roscha stations. In December 2011, Lyublinskaya Line was expanded south by three stations and connected to the Zamoskvoretskaya Line, with the Alma-Atinskaya station opened on the latter in December 2012. Kalininskaya Line was extended past the Moscow Ring Road in August 2012 with Novokosino station.

In 2011 the works on the Third Interchange Contour that is set to take the pressure off the Koltsevaya Line^[37] have started. Eventually the new line will attain a shape of the second ring with connections to all lines (except Koltsevaya and Butovskaya).^[38]

In 2013 the Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya Line was extended after several delays to the south-eastern districts of Moscow outside the Ring Road with the opening of Zhulebino and Lermontovsky Prospekt stations. Originally scheduled for 2013, a new segment of Kalininskaya Line between Park Pobedy and Delovoy Tsentr (separate from the main part) was opened in January 2014, while the underground extension of Butovskaya Line northwards to offer a transfer to the Kaluzhsko-Rizhskaya Line was completed in February. Spartak, a station on Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya Line that remained unfinished for forty years, was opened in August 2014. The first stage of the southern extension of the Sokolnicheskaya Line, the Troparyovo station, opened in December 2014.

Current plans

The Moscow Metro is undergoing a major expansion, current plan call for almost 150 kilometres (93 mi) of new lines to be opened between 2012–2020. There were 15 tunnel boring machines working in Moscow as of April 2013 with 24 planned by the end of 2013.^[39][40]

The Moscow Metro has a set of expansion plans which are due to be achieved by 2020. Major projects include:

• Lyublinsko-Dmitrovskaya Line: The construction is now underway of the line's fifth stage, that will add six stations and 9.5 km (5.9 mi) of track bringing the northern terminus to Beskudnikovsky District. The extension will involve building of a new train yard in Likhobory. Afterwards, the line may continue northwards, likely into the Severny District beyond the MKAD and potentially into the adjacent city of Dolgoprudny after 2025.
• Zhulebino extension: A third station of the Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya Line outside the Moscow Ring Road, Kotelniki, is scheduled for 2014.
• Light Metro lines: Originally developed as a way of reducing costs by building an elevated Metro line to distant regions of Moscow, the only one of these (the Butovskaya Line) has been the subject of criticism. The project of Solntsevskaya Light Metro Line was cancelled in favour of the underground Solntsevskaya Metro Line (see below). The line 12 southwards extension is planned to include three stations (also 5 km (3.1 mi) in length) and new depot. All the listed light-metro work has been removed from Moscow Metro's expansion programme until 2015.
• Solntsevskaya Line: Following cancellation of the second "Light Metro" line, an old project was revived to bring the Metro to the Solntsevo District outside Moscow. Initially foreseen as part of a major Solntsevo-Mytischinskaya chordial line, it was revised as a continuation of Kalininskaya Line, starting from the second set of tracks at Park Pobedy and having the line curve out along Michurin Avenue with three stations: Minskaya, Lomonosovsky Prospekt and Ramenki. This is planned for 2015, and would be the first stage of the line; the second stage would reach Solntsevo. The Kalininskaya Line is planned for extension from Tretyakovskaya to Ostozhenka, Kadashevskaya and Smolenskaya (where it will unite nearby stations into one transfer unit) and continue westwards towards Delovoy Tsentr.
• Ghost stations: Moscow Metro does not have ghost stations in the conventional sense; of the three stations that were closed, two — Pervomayskaya (1954–61) and Kaluzhskaya (1964–74) — were temporary; one (Leninskiye Gory) was built on a bridge closed due to faulty construction; it was rebuilt and opened in 2002 as Vorobyovy Gory. Several planned stations were omitted; some were later completed, but some exist only on paper. The best-known was Spartak, which was left unfinished in 1975 due to low ridership potential and only opened in 2014. Other stations which may open are Maroseyka on the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line, which will offer a transfer to Kitay-gorod; Yakimanka on the Kaluzhsko-Rizhskaya Line (transfer to Polyanka); and Suvorovskaya on the Koltsevaya Line, which was to be built with Dostoyevskaya but has since been postponed.

According to plans by the Moscow city government and Russia's Transport Ministry (announced in September 2008), by 2015 79 kilometres (49 mi) of new lines, 43 new underground stations and 7 metro depots should be added to the system.

Future proposals

Plans exist for the following projects:

• Chordal Lines: Projects for these appeared in the mid-1980s; they called for conventional radial lines but instead of passing through the city centre within the Koltsevaya Line, they would bypass them on the outside.^[48] After four of these are completed, they will be used to form the new Second Ring service (see below). Construction began only on the Mitino-Butovskaya Line during the early 1980s. In the wake of the 1990s crises these projects were abandoned, replaced by more cost-effective means (including the Light Metro lines) and using existent segments. However (despite the Mitino-Butovo chord replacement), the Solntsevsky radius of the Solntsevo-Mytishchinskaya line has been regenerated in its original path. It is unknown whether it would cross all the northern radii before travelling to the adjacent city of Mytishchi along the Yaroslav Highway, since there is now a fast connection to Mytishchi via the Sputnik rail link from the Yaroslavsky Rail Terminal and a new plan to build a line from Delovoy Tsentr to Savyolovskaya would effectively duplicate the path. The fates of the Balashikha-Troparevskaya (southwest bypass) and the Khimsko-Lyuberetskaya (northeast bypass) chordal lines are unknown.
• Second (large) Ring: This well-known plan for a second ring line dates back to the 1960s.
  • The original 1960s project called for a ring of 3–6 stations on the radius; several provisions for the future line were built (including transfer space at Bratislavskaya), the Kakhovskaya Line and the Cherkizovskaya–Ulitsa Podbelskogo section of the Sokolnicheskaya Line (allowing it to expand westwards into Izmaylovo).^[49]
  • During the 1980s chordal line proposals the ring was to be formed out of the space enclosed by it, with a circular service operating at off-peak hours.^[50]
  • In 2006 Moscow Metro announced plans for a second transfer contour, which would build a line from Delovoy Tsentr to Savyolovskaya on a large diameter; this would in the future become enclosed into a ring, one to three stations along the radius.

However, this project is questionable and the second ring is as distant today as it looked 40 years ago.

Metro 2

It has been alleged that a second and deeper metro system code-named "D-6",^[51] designed for emergency evacuation of key city personnel in case of nuclear attack during the Cold War, exists under military jurisdiction. It is believed that it consists of a single track connecting the Kremlin, chief HQ (General Staff–Genshtab), Lubyanka (FSB Headquarters), the Ministry of Defence and several other secret installations. There are alleged to be entrances to the system from several civilian buildings, such as the Russian State Library, Moscow State University (MSU) and at least two stations of the regular Metro. It is speculated that these would allow for the evacuation of a small number of randomly chosen civilians, in addition to most of the elite military personnel. A suspected junction between the secret system and the regular Metro is supposedly behind the Sportivnaya station on the Sokolnicheskaya Line. The final section of this system was supposedly completed in 1997.^[52]

Statistics

Ridership statistics
Passengers (2014)	2,451,300,000[1]
Passengers (2009)	2,392,200,000 passengers[53]
— privileged category	912,600,000 passengers
—— pupils and students	239,000,000 passengers
Maximum daily ridership	8,952,000 passengers
Revenue from fares (2005)	15.9974 billion rubles
Average passenger trip	13 kilometres (8.1 mi)
Line statistics
Total lines length	333.3 kilometres (207.1 mi)
Number of lines	12
Longest line	Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line (43.5 kilometres (27.0 mi))
Shortest line	Kakhovskaya Line (3.3 kilometres (2.1 mi))
Longest section	Strogino–Krylatskoye (6.7 kilometres (4.2 mi))
Shortest section	Vystavochnaya–Mezhdunarodnaya (502 metres (1,647 ft))
Station statistics
Number of stations	200
— transfer stations	68
— transfer points	29
— surface/elevated	16
Deepest station	Park Pobedy (84 metres (276 ft))
Shallowest underground station	Pechatniki
Station with the longest platform	Vorobyovy Gory (Metro) (282 metres (925 ft))
Number of stations with a single entrance	73
Infrastructure statistics
Number of turnstiles with automatic control on entrances	2,374
Number of stations with escalators	125
Number of escalators	631
— including Monorail stations	18
Longest escalator	126 metres (413 ft) (Park Pobedy)
Total number of ventilation shafts	393
Number of local ventilation systems in use	4,965
Number of medical assistance points (2005)	46
Total length of all escalators	65.4 kilometres (40.6 mi)
Rolling stock statistics
Number of train maintenance depots	16
Total number of train runs per day	9,915
Average speed:
— commercial	41.71 kilometres per hour (25.92 mph)
— technical (2005)	48.85 kilometres per hour (30.35 mph)
Total number of cars (average per day)	4,428
Cars in service (average per day)	3,397
Annual run of all cars	722,100,000 kilometres (448,700,000 mi)
Average daily run of a car	556.2 kilometres (345.6 mi)
Average passengers per car	53 people
Timetable fulfillment	99.96%
Minimum average interval	90 sec
Staff statistics
Total number of employees	34,792 people
— males	18,291 people
— females	16,448 people

Notable incidents

1977 bombing

On 8 January 1977, a bomb was reported to have killed 7 and seriously injured 33. It went off in a crowded train between Izmaylovskaya and Pervomayskaya stations.^[54][55] Three Armenians were later arrested, charged and executed in connection with the incident.^[56]

1981 station fires

In June 1981, seven bodies were seen being removed from the Oktyabrskaya station during a fire there. A fire was also reported at Prospekt Mira station about that time.^[57]

1982 escalator accident

A fatal accident occurred on 17 February 1982 due to an escalator collapse at the Aviamotornaya station on the Kalininskaya Line. 8 people were killed and 30 injured due to a pileup caused by faulty emergency brakes.^[58]

2000 bombings

On 8 August 2000, a strong blast in a Metro underpass at Pushkinskaya metro station in the center of Moscow claimed the lives of 12, with 150 injured. A homemade bomb equivalent to 800 grams of TNT had been left in a bag near a kiosk.^[59][60]

2004 bombings

On 6 February 2004, an explosion wrecked a train between the Avtozavodskaya and Paveletskaya stations on the Zamoskvoretskaya Line, killing 41 and wounding over 100.^[61] Chechen terrorists were blamed. A later investigation concluded that a Karachay-Cherkessian resident (an Islamic militant) had carried out a suicide bombing. The same group organized another attack on 31 August 2004, killing 10 and injuring more than 50 others.

2005 Moscow blackout

On 25 May 2005, a citywide blackout halted operation on some lines. The following lines, however, continued operations: Sokolnicheskaya, Zamoskvoretskaya from Avtozavodskaya to Rechnoy Vokzal, Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya, Filyovskaya, Koltsevaya, Kaluzhsko-Rizhskaya from Bitsevskiy Park to Oktyabrskaya-Radialnaya and from Prospekt Mira-Radialnaya to Medvedkovo, Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya, Kalininskaya, Serpukhovsko-Timiryazevskaya from Serpukhovskaya to Altufyevo and Lyublinskaya from Chkalovskaya to Dubrovka.^[62] There was no service on the Kakhovskaya and Butovskaya lines. The blackout severely affected the Zamoskvoretskaya and Serpukhovsko-Timiryazevskaya lines, where initially all service was disrupted because of trains halted in tunnels in the southern part of city (most affected by the blackout). Later, limited service resumed and passengers stranded in tunnels were evacuated. Some lines were only slightly impacted by the blackout, which mainly affected southern Moscow; the north, east and western parts of the city experienced little or no disruption.^[62]

2006 billboard incident

On 19 March 2006 a construction pile from an unauthorized billboard installation was driven through a tunnel roof, hitting a train between the Sokol and Voikovskaya stations on the Zamoskvoretskaya Line. No injuries were reported.^[63]

2010 bombing

On 29 March 2010, two bombs exploded on the Sokolnicheskaya Line, killing 40 and injuring 102 others. The first bomb went off at the Lubyanka station on the Sokolnicheskaya Line at 7:56, during the morning rush hour.^[64] At least 26 were killed in the first explosion, of which 14 were in the rail car where it took place. A second explosion occurred at the Park Kultury station at 8:38, roughly forty minutes after the first one.^[64] Fourteen people were killed in that blast. The Caucasus Emirate later claimed responsibility for the bombings.

2014 derailment

On 15 July 2014, a train derailed between Park Pobedy and Slavyansky Bulvar on the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line, killing at least twenty-one people and injuring dozens more.^[65]

In popular culture

The Moscow Metro is the central location and namesake for the Metro series, where during a nuclear war, Moscow's inhabitants are driven down into the Moscow Metro, which has been designed as a fallout shelter, with the various stations being turned into makeshift settlements.

In 2012 was an art film-catastrophe about the Moscow underground.^[66]

See also

• List of Moscow metro stations
• Expansion timeline of the Moscow Metro
• List of metro systems
• Moscow Metro ridership statistics (in Russian)
• Metro dogs
• Trams in Moscow
• Metro 2033

Moscow’s Five Subway Attractions

References

Further reading

• Winchester, Clarence, ed. (1936), "Moscow's underground", Railway Wonders of the World, pp. 894–899  illustrated contemporary description of the Moscow underground

External links

Route map: Google

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Moscow Metro (category)

• Official website
• Way system map of the Moscow Metro
• Moscow Metro 2 – The Dark Legend of Moscow
• List of famous Moscow Metro stations
• Geographically precise Moscow Metro map (in Russian)