There isn’t a better place on earth to learn about Russia
than Moscow, and there is no better way to get around Moscow than on the Moscow
Metro. The Moscow underground railway
system is second only to Tokyo’s twin subway with respect to being the “most
heavily used rapid transit system” in the world.1
Should you take advantage of the Moscow Metro you’ll be
pleasantly surprised and may be overwhelmed by how beautiful the facility
is. The high-ceilinged subway stations
are elaborately ornamented with beautiful works of art, marble floors and
pillars, and grandiose chandeliers. It
is truly one of the few subway systems in the world that could be considered to
be an attraction of its own.
Stalin had ordered the metro’s architects and artists to
plan the metro so that it embodied sveltloe
buduschchee (a radiant future) and svet
(brilliance or radiance). His orders
were obeyed, as the stations are so brightly lit that they are sometimes compared
to the sun.
The Moscow Metro was the Soviet Union’s first subway
system. When it opened in 1935 it had 13
stations and only one 11 kilometer (6.8 mile) long line. Today the system stops at 185 stations on 12
lines and traverses 305.5 kilometers (189.9 miles). The stations open at approximately 5:30 AM.
All of them close at precisely 1:00 AM so that maintenance can be performed. The trains run regularly and the wait is no
longer than 90 seconds between trains in the morning and during the evening rush
hours.
The original subway trains averaged 47 km/h (29 miles per
hour). Their top speed was 80 km/h (50 miles per hour). In comparison, New York’s subways of that era
could go no faster than 72 km/h (45 miles per hour) and averaged 40 km/h (25
miles per hour).
Between the 1970s and the 1990s the fare to ride the Moscow
Metro was 5 kopecks (1/20 of a ruble). Since
1991 the fare has been rising. As of
January 2011 it cost 28 rubles ($.85 USD) for a one-way ride, although
multiple-trip tickets are discounted up to 40%.
Each ticket is good for one trip, no matter the length or
the number of transfers. Once a
passenger has entered the system there aren’t any additional ticket
checks. Therefore, a person could ride
to however many stations he or she would like and can make as many transfers as
they desire.
If accompanied by their parents, children under seven years
of age can travel free. On the other end
of the age spectrum, Muscovite’s Social Cards have been issued by the city
government since August 2004. These free
smart cards are issued to both the elderly and some other Moscow residents. They can be used to gain unlimited free
access to the Moscow Metro and the rest of the city’s public transportation
system.
Although the Moscow Metro is fast, extremely efficient and
beautiful, you should avoid using it during peak hours (from8 AM until 11 AM
and from 5 PM until 8 PM) because people squeeze into the train carriages so
tightly that they don’t leave an inch to spare.
Steve Schulman loves to travel and to write about his
experiences. Often a guest writer on
travel blogs, he also enjoys writing about legal issues, how to learn Russian,
and parenthood.
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