The most unusual Moscow Metro subway stations (PHOTO)
The capital's subway system seems to have been studied inside and out. But, it still manages to surprise and amaze. We highlight the Moscow Metro’s most unusual records.
The longest station
The length of ‘Vorobyovy Gory’ station’s platforms, including the corridors is 284 meters. You can use it, for example, to complete your 10,000 steps a day on your phone. ‘Vorobyovy Gory’ is also the first station in the world to be built on a bridge over a river.
Station with a fountain
A rare case - this station received its name not from a city landmark located in the neighborhood. Italian architects Giampaolo Imbrigi and Andrea Cuatrocchi created the design of ‘Rimskaya’ station. And the waterfall fountain with the brothers Romulus and Remus sitting on a fallen column was designed by sculptor Leonid Berlin. Passengers who find themselves at the station for the first time experience complicated feelings: going down the escalator, they see an "antique" corner.
The longest construction project
‘Spartak’ station was founded in 1975, however opened only 39 years later - in 2014. In the late 1960s, when they wanted to build a residential area at the ‘Tushino Airfield’, such a station would have been in great demand. But, the project remained on paper and the future subway stop was mothballed. It was only remembered in the 2000s, when the new home stadium for the Spartak FC soccer club was built nearby.
The most curved station
Less than a dozen stations of the capital's metro subway are not straight, but curved. The station with the most "curve" is considered to be ‘Alexandrovsky Sad’, whose platform bends for 750 meters. All because, initially, it was not going to be built and they started designing it when it was necessary to divide the subway line into two independent ones. Thus, a transfer station for the ‘Biblioteka imeni Lenina’ station was created, to which the platforms were added.
Most names
The ‘Okhotny Ryad’ station changed its name four times. It opened in 1935 and, twenty years later, it was renamed for the first time - to ‘Kaganovicha’. From 1957 to 1961, the station operated under its first name, until, in 1961, it became ‘Prospect Marx’. And, only in 1990, city authorities returned its historical name.
The deepest station
To get down to the platform of the ‘Park Pobedy’ station, which is located at a depth of 73 meters, you need to go on a real journey. After all, the escalators there are not small, either - their length is 126.8 meters and the height of ascent is 63.4 meters. Moreover, you will first have to go down the small escalators with a height of 3.6 meters. But, the ‘Pechatniki’ station, you can say, almost never went underground. It is located at a depth of only five meters. All because there used to be a swamp in this place. To prevent groundwater from flooding the station, it was made shallow.
Most tracks
In the ‘Nizhegorodskaya’ station’s common hall, the only five-aisle station in Russia, there are four tracks at once! Two are used for ‘Nekrasovskaya’ line trains, while the other two for the ‘Great Ring Line’ trains. It is also the widest single-level station in the country - about 56 meters.
A station with a museum
The Moscow Metro has stations with cafes, exhibition spaces and even a museum. Of course, it is dedicated to the capital's subway system. On the second tier of the ‘Vystavochnaya’ station lobby, you can see various items, archive documents and photos related to the construction of the subway.
The narrowest station
At the ‘Volgogradsky Prospekt’ station, even in the very late hours of the morning, it feels like rush hour. The width between its columns is only four meters, so people literally walk shoulder to shoulder.
The longest distances
From ‘Strogino’ to ‘Krylatskoe’, it takes a full seven minutes to travel - the stations are separated by 6.625 km. But, the smallest distance - between ‘Vystavochnaya’ and ‘Mezhdunarodnaya’ - is just 498 meters. Before you can even refresh your news feed, you are already there!
Semi-underground station
‘Michurinsky Prospekt’ station on the ‘Solntsevskaya’ line is the first station of this type in the capital. Most of it is above ground. Interestingly, from the platform, you can see great city views - one of the walls is made of glass.
