Which Moscow metro stations can boast the most unusual records?

Light “Potapovo”

I will try not to stoop to platitudes – the capital’s metro as a whole is called the most beautiful by all and sundry, and its most beautiful station is usually called “Komsomolskaya”. But this is still biased – for example, I like “Mayakovskaya” better. And in general, when it comes to underground records, it is customary to remember the old Soviet stations – that’s where the palaces are! Meanwhile, modern stations may well compete with them. I went to them.

At the beginning of September, for example, the Potapovo station opened on the Sokolnicheskaya line. Let’s start with the fact that it is ground-based, and even looks like a huge spaceship – soft lines and a plastic shape, no sharp corners. The building seems to rise towards the New Moscow under construction. And if during the day it is light inside the station due to the sun penetrating through the glass walls, then in the evening, on the contrary – brightly lit from the inside and outside, it becomes a kind of beacon and visual dominant of the area.

“Potapovo” also has another important feature – it is the first ground-based heated subway station. To supply warm air, special ventilation equipment was installed on it, and additional insulation of the lobbies and double-glazed windows on the track walls help to minimize heat loss.

In September, a new line appeared in the metro – Troitskaya. There are only four stations on it so far, and each has its own appearance, design and technical details. But what is most discussed on the Internet is the “Peoples’ Friendship University” – the station opened next door to the university of the same name. The most interesting thing, however, lies not in it, but in its underground passage to different exits. It stretches for 50 meters, and along its entire length one of the walls is decorated with a single mosaic – it has already been recognized as the longest among all metro stations in the country. The mosaic is made of thousands of pieces of smalt and colored glass and depicts world architectural landmarks. Here you can see masterpieces from Rio de Janeiro, Cape Town, Delhi, Beijing, Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities.

“To create the mosaic, we used a classic “direct set” of elements,” said the Moscow Department of Transport. “They were glued to the surface of the wall face up. This way the design is clearly visible, and it can always be corrected. The author of the mosaic is Maxim Kozlov. His works have already decorate the Nagatinsky Zaton, Olkhovaya and Belomorskaya metro stations. Passengers even specially come to Nagatinsky Zaton to take pictures against the backdrop of huge fish on the mosaics of this station.

Three minutes on the escalator

One of the most popular records in the subway usually lies in the depth of the station. In Moscow, the deepest is Victory Park; it was opened in 2003, 73 meters below ground level. This record could have been broken by the “Maryina Roshcha” station on the Big Circle Line, which opened last year, but it was literally a meter short – it lies at the 72nd mark. But the longest escalator is on it! It stretches for 130 meters at once, and this is written large on the walls along the steps. You can also find length markers there. The descent and ascent takes almost three minutes – local residents specifically budget for this time when planning their trips.

And this is the escalator at the Maryina Roshcha station on the BKL. It stretches a record 130 meters and takes almost three minutes to travel. Photo: Sergey Mikheev

The smallest station is also relatively young – Pechatniki, opened in 1995. Its depth is a very modest five meters for Moscow. It is also considered one of the last two Moscow “centipede stations”, together with “Vladykino”, opened in 1991. They are called centipedes because of the columns standing directly on the platform – they serve as additional supports.

There are many other unobvious records in the metro. For example, the longest-constructed station is Spartak. It was opened in 2014, but founded back in 1975. The station in this place was not particularly needed at that time – the Tushinsky airfield was located there. When its territory began to be built up, they decided to reactivate the station too – they completed construction and opened it. But formally it turned out to be a record long-term construction of almost 40 years. The station is especially popular during matches at the nearby stadium.

The Spartak station was opened in 2014, but was founded back in 1975. The result was a record long-term construction for almost 40 years. Photo: RIA Novosti

Relatively recently, the longest stretch of 6.6 km appeared in the capital’s metro – between the Krylatskoye and Strogino stations of the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya line. The section with these stations was opened at the beginning of 2008. The train covers the distance between the two platforms in almost eight minutes, while regular sections usually take two to three minutes. Moreover, on this stretch there is also a ghost station “Trinity-Lykovo” – it is so called because it is a technical platform slightly more than one carriage long. Initially, they wanted to build a full-fledged station in its place; it was even depicted as being built on the old schemes in trains. But in the end, the idea was abandoned – it is located near the preserved village of the same name, and there will not be a large passenger flow there. However, the station has exits to the surface – they are necessary in case of an emergency on such a large stretch in order to bring passengers to the top. Residents of houses located next to the exit live with mixed feelings – they have a descent to the metro right under their windows, but they cannot use it.