The Moscow metro is one of the most popular types of public transport. The development of the metro today provides the opportunity for millions of residents of the capital and the nearest suburbs to quickly get from one end of the city to the other, even during the hottest time. The Moscow subway actually ensures the smooth operation of the country's main economic, political and financial artery. How is it supposed to further develop the subway?
Moscow Metro
Metro in Moscow is considered to be one of the largest in the world. Today, annual traffic volumes are an impressive figure of about 5 billion people. Every year, this number is only growing, and many citizens have the feeling that the subway is no longer able to cope with the transportation of passengers, this becomes especially noticeable at the so-called peak hours. According to experts, almost 2 million people are experiencing the need for new metro stations; at least 100 kilometers of tracks must be laid to meet their needs.
Tasks of the past
For the first time that the development of the metro is a necessity, not a luxury, they started talking back in 2002. In the Decree of the Moscow Government of May 7, the following ambitious tasks were set for the city:
- Creation of new lines (Lublin, Mitinsky, Solntsevskaya branches).
- Organization of new stations and new tracks for existing lines (Serpukhovskaya, Taganskaya, Zamoskvoretskaya branches).
- Organization of light metro stations in Moscow.
- Organization of additional entrances at the busiest metro stations.
Among other things, the long-term plans included tasks for the reconstruction of existing stations, as well as the rolling stock itself. Today, more than 12 years later, we can summarize the first results and confidently state that the metro, whose development plan was presented in 2002, has expanded and improved significantly.
Development Plan until 2020
However, the Moscow authorities and the metro leadership are not going to stop at the results achieved. Currently, a plan has already been developed to ensure the development of the metro until 2020, relevant information appeared in the press in 2012. All developments were approved by Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, who declared the need to focus all resources on the development of the Moscow subway. Draft metro schemes were published in print and on the Internet, which truly impressed all the inhabitants of the city. The main tasks include:
- Construction of 150 kilometers of new lines.
- Opening of 70 new stations.
- The creation of the second ring of the Moscow subway.
One glance at the map is enough to understand how the Moscow metro will change. The development scheme will provide the opportunity for rapid movement to residents of the most remote corners of the capital. This fact will remove the load from the most problematic highways and help minimize traffic jams in such areas. Extensive construction is underway in the east and south-east of the capital, as well as in the immediate vicinity of Moscow.
In 2015, the Moscow metro will be laid in the city of Lyubertsy. Large-scale projects today require decent financial costs, the city administration allocates up to 100 billion rubles a year for new projects.
Which stations will be open
The last new metro stations opened in Moscow, indicating active work, are Novokosino and Alma-Ata, the latter, by the way, was created under the working name Brateevo, but at the last moment it was renamed. Thanks to such large-scale work in the near future, only 13% of the capital’s population will live in areas not covered by the metro. And this figure is half less than what is currently called. A number of new stations will be opened in the center (Volkhonka, Plyushchikha, Suvorovskaya), as well as on the territory of New Moscow (Rumyantsevo, Troparevo, Solntsevo). A completely new metro line in the west of the city will connect the first and second ring, as well as the Business Center station. In the south of the city, it is planned to carry out work on creating a jumper between the gray and orange branches, in the Butovo area.
Work on the opening of new stations will take place in the north of the capital, the Chelobityevo point, intended for unloading the Mytishchi direction, deserves special attention.
