Thread: Unusual Moscow metro train and metro stations elsewhere.

I hate St. Petersburg Metro because of that.

Wow what interesting facts in this thread!
I have a fascination for everything that's under ground, including metros...
Interesting facts from Rockzmom and others! Rockzmom, why is that station so deep near you?

Have you seen any protypes of the new metro trains for Moscow? I wonder if they are going to go for very futuristic models?

Rockzmom's comment about the deepest subway on the Western Hemisphere reminded me that I have actually been to the deepest one in the Eastern hemisphere: In 1989 I was in Pyongyang, North Korea... (My father worked in Japan and was sent to negotiate something with the Korean government. My brother and I had to go too because there was nobody else to look after us -we were visiting him on summer holiday.) So the two of us spent a couple of days in Pyongyang with a Korean guide while my father was working. Pyongyang has a very unusual metro!

The guide said it was the deepest in the world. The escalator was ENDLESS.... For some reason it was not permitted to walk in the escalator, so it felt like it took 10 minutes or so to ride. When you get down to the bottom there are some large murals of Kim Il Song, at least on the stations that we saw. The stations were actually a lot better looking than any other metro that I had seen at the time. It felt like a very strange underground "church". Throughout the metro system they were playing marches on the loudspeaker system. Instead of advertisements inside of the metro trains they had pictures of the president. It seems things have gone steadily worse there since 1989 and I wonder if they still run that funky metro. What a strange country that was, but they actually had some incredibly fancy public facilities. My fathers negotiations failed and North Koreans basically told my dad to leave immediately and banned him from the country!

Stockholm Metro
Not elegant & refined like in Russia, but instead the ground rock has been painted in different colours on each station. Some older stations are just tiled, but they have exhibitions instead, about an important topic or just any art.

My station when I grew up had a horrible mural depicting the aftermath of a nuclear war! It was enough to turn anybody into a pacifist for life. I couldn't find any picture of that mural though. Another station where I lived had a permanent exhibition about giant insects!

Very impressive! I like Stokgolm metro!

Originally Posted by Basil77

I had a trip in Moscow metro today, and the train appeared rather unusual. I rarely go by metro and was slightly surprized. I'v made several shots with my cellphone:

I live near Strogino metro station (Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya line) and I see this fantastic train almost every time when I come to the station at 8.18 a.m. If sombody want you can come by this time and get on it!

Frankly speaking I don't like this train because there are no enough places to sit down so you have to stand 40 minutes

Originally Posted by pollymundo

Frankly speaking I don't like this train because there are no enough places to sit down so you have to stand 40 minutes

1) Yeah, "modernised" trains with LESS seating.... That's actually not an improvement... Improvement is if you can sit down. London is doing the same thing, even on the commuter trains. ARRRGH! I'd rather be in an old train and be able to sit down than stand for half an hour...

Their other "success" was when they introduced new electric trains that needed more electricity to run than what was available on the entire suburban railway net.... genius! Plus, the modern trains kept having "electronic malfunctions" and people wanted the old (non-electrical) trains back, where you open the doors yourself instead of pressing a button... etc. Even the electronic flushing on the loos failed!!!

But how can that "special" metro train have a picture wall on one side and seemingly no doors? Do all the stations have the platform on the same side? Anyway, I think it's a nice initiative to put art in the metro trains.

Using Moscow metro was one of the most stressful moments of my life, seriously. it's like, you don't even know where you're going, you just follow the crowd, 'cause there's no time to think about what you're supposed to do, plus the doors keep shutting with just half of a person inside! I myself would have been crushed if it wasn't for my friend who just held the door until the rest of me managed to jump in, scary thing.

But the stations do look spectacular, I felt as if I was actually in a museum rather than a metro station. Absolutely amazing.

But how can that "special" metro train have a picture wall on one side and seemingly no doors? Do all the stations have the platform on the same side? Anyway, I think it's a nice initiative to put art in the metro trains.[/quote]

Every carriage is long and has doors on the both sides and each platform requiars the different doors to be opened.
I think it's ok to have such art train but not in the morning

Originally Posted by kamka

Using Moscow metro was one of the most stressful moments of my life, seriously. it's like, you don't even know where you're going, you just follow the crowd, 'cause there's no time to think about what you're supposed to do, plus the doors keep shutting with just half of a person inside! I myself would have been crushed if it wasn't for my friend who just held the door until the rest of me managed to jump in, scary thing. ...

Oh, it's very common situation in rush hour! It's really a challenge to get in/out the train. Too many people!!!!

Originally Posted by Johanna

But how can that "special" metro train have a picture wall on one side and seemingly no doors?

No, only some windows (and seats) were replaced with pictures.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5wOCPIDO0M

Originally Posted by Johanna

Do all the stations have the platform on the same side?

Yes, metro stations were projected so, that only left doors are used. And there are only few stations, which do not obey this rule.


By the way, there is another tematic train in Moscow Metro (old design) -- "Читающая Москва".






All photos: http://www.metromost.com/alb/051.htm

Very interesting!
I have a geeky fascination for metro systems, can't explain it....
The Russian metros are surely among the most interesting.
Are there any other cities that have a metro in Russia?

Originally Posted by Johanna

Are there any other cities that have a metro in Russia?

Wiki says it's Нижний Новгород, Новосибирск, Самара, Екатеринбург and Казань. I knew only about Нижний Новгород and Новосибирск. I'd like to visit all these metros and compare them with those of Moscow and StP...

http://www.urbanrail.net/eu/euromet.htm

Originally Posted by Оля

Originally Posted by Johanna

Are there any other cities that have a metro in Russia?

Wiki says it's Нижний Новгород, Новосибирск, Самара, Екатеринбург and Казань. I knew only about Нижний Новгород and Новосибирск. I'd like to visit all these metros and compare them with those of Moscow and StP...

You forgot about Ufa. There is also a metro system under construction now in Omsk (they plan to open it in 2010) and a light metro line in Volgograd.

Originally Posted by Basil77

You forgot about Ufa.

Not me, but Wiki.

А в Волгограде есть скоростной подземный трамвай.

Originally Posted by Ramil

А в Волгограде есть скоростной подземный трамвай.

а у вас есть фото? просто в Бостоне тоже есть подземный трамвай - хотелось бы посмотреть и сравнить

Originally Posted by YUKO

Originally Posted by Ramil

А в Волгограде есть скоростной подземный трамвай.

а у вас есть фото? просто в Бостоне тоже есть подземный трамвай - хотелось бы посмотреть и сравнить

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volgograd_Metrotram

Nice to hear that new metros are being built in other Russian cities.

From the map above -- I wonder if the ones in Minsk and Kiev are grand like the Russian ones! I have head that Minsk or Kiev are very stylish looking cities from an architectural perspective.

I think the map above has a rather lose interpretation of what constitutes a metro. The one in Copenhagen is brand new and mostly overground (s-bahn). I think it's only one line - it's more like a train.

EDIT:I think that map is mistaken. Lausanne is not a big town at all! I've been there many times and I have never seen any metro. The town is just hills. There is a funky kind of funiculaire tram, that's all. Likewise - Frankfurt simply hasn't got a metro - I was there only a few months ago and there is no metro!

Metro in Kiev