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USEFUL INFORMATION
 

- OPERATION

The Moscow Metro operates between 06:00 and 01:00 and about 8 million people use the system every day. Frequency of trains is 90 seconds during rush hours and 2-4 minutes during the rest of the day. 10 minutes headway after midnight.

- FARES (2007, in Russian roubles) for the metro only:

Single - 17.00

5 trips within 30 days - 75.00
10 trips within 30 days - 140.00

- All fares subject to change -

 
THE SYSTEM
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Moscow (Moskva), the capital of Russia has a population of more than 9 million in an area of about 1000 km2 (40 km from one side to the other). In 1932 construction of Moscow's metro began as a piece of art with elegant and huge stations. Today the Moscow metro seems to be the busiest in the world, carrying an average of 8-9 million passengers on a normal weekday.

The Moscow metro is 269 km long and has 165 stations. Although there are line numbers on some maps, lines are identified by names referring to the areas they serve. There is also a 20 km long ring line connecting all other lines. The system is almost entirely underground although some lines cross the Moskva River on a bridge. An exception is the Filyovskaya which has a longer surface section between Kievskaya and Molodyozhnaya with 7 above ground stations.

The first line was opened on 15/5/1935 between Sokol'niki and Park Kul'tury, with a branch to Smolenskaya which reached Kievskaya in April 1937. Two more lines were opened before the World War II. In March 1938 the Arbatskaya line was extended to Kurskaya station (now Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya). In 1938 the Gorkovsko-Zamoskvoretskaya line opened between Sokol and Teatral'naya.

After the War construction started on the Kol'tsevaya line which was first designed to run under the Sadovoye Koltso (Garden Ring), a boulevard ring along the limits of 16th century Moscow. From the beginning metro stations were decorated like palaces, Stalin wanted them to be the working class' cathedrals. Later extensions got a more functional design due to lack of funds.

The Moscow Metro has standard Russian gauge, 1524 mm, and third rail power supply. The average distance between stations is 1800 m. Commercial speed is 42 km/h due to these long distances between stations.