W
wyliepoon
Guest
Link to article
Moscow Metro shines
After 70 years, the world's busiest subway system is still `beautiful, reliable and affordable' But like the TTC, it is troubled by overcrowding, fare hikes and lack of funds, writes Michael Mainville
Feb. 25, 2006. 01:00 AM
MICHAEL MAINVILLE
SPECIAL TO THE STAR
MOSCOW�Alexander Yershov tries to be polite when asked about his visit to Toronto four years ago for a tour of the city's subway system.
"I left with not a bad impression of the system," says Yershov, the deputy director and chief engineer of Moscow's Metro. "It was clean, nice."
But to compare it to Moscow's famed subway system, he says, is simply out of the question.
"There is nothing like walking into the Metro in the early morning, when the marble is shining and the trains are running like clockwork," he says. "Our Metro is a palace."
Inaugurated at the height of Stalin's dictatorship, the Moscow Metropolitan � originally named the Lenin Metro � has lost little of its shine in the last 70 years. Its marbled interiors gleam. Its palatial halls are lit by rows of brass chandeliers. Tourists flock to see its vivid mosaics depicting Communist workers with their hammers and sickles and its Soviet Realist sculptures.
It is, by far, the busiest subway system in the world, carrying nearly 9 million people per day, or 3.2 billion every year. Tokyo, the world's second busiest, carries about 2 billion per year, while the Toronto subway carries about 430 million.
It's also one of the most efficient, with an average rush-hour wait time of only 90 seconds. Even at 1 a.m., when the system is slowing for its daily five-hour shutdown, passengers rarely have to wait more than three minutes for a train.
And for Toronto public transit users � many of them frustrated by the latest TTC cash fare hike to $2.75 as of April 1 � the cost of single ride on the Metro will come as a shock � just 55 cents. However, the average salary in Moscow is about $600 per month, while the average pension is far lower, about $80 a month.
"I've been to London and Paris and seen their subways, but they don't compare," says Tamara Maximova, a 50-year-old doctor and regular subway rider. "Ours is beautiful, reliable and affordable. There's nothing like it anywhere else in the world."
When it was launched in 1935, the Metro was central to Stalin's vision of transforming Moscow into the modern capital of a leading world power. He described it as "a palace shining with the light of advancing, victorious socialism."
While it is an engineering and architectural marvel, its history is far from unsullied. Most of the subway's first lines and stations were built by armies of purge victims and labour camp inmates, thousands of whom died as they tunnelled deep under Moscow.
With 12 lines, 171 stations and 276 kilometres of track, the Metro reaches to nearly every corner of Moscow and many downtown stations are only a few blocks apart. And with a rolling stock of more 4,300 trains � many of them left over from when the Metro was heavily subsidized by the Soviet state � there are always enough carriages to keep the system operating smoothly.
Yershov is especially proud of the 90-second wait time, pointing out that it is one of the shortest among the world's major subway systems.
"We had some researchers from London who didn't believe us when we sent them our wait-time figures, so they came to Moscow to check for themselves," he says. "They went down into the system during rush hour with stopwatches and sure enough, not a single train took more than 90 seconds."
Fares have been rising but remain among the lowest in the world. The most recent increase was last year, from 10 rubles (40 cents) to 14 rubles (55 cents). Last year also saw the federal government end subsidies that allowed pensioners, veterans, soldiers and some students to use the Metro for free, but after a wave of protests the city of Moscow offered to finance the free rides by issuing special Metro passes.
Yershov said fare increases are always controversial, especially with so many having no choice but to use the subway.
"We don't have the richest population in the world, so we can't set our prices based on pure economics; we need to look at the social aspect, too." He said it wouldn't be fair to compare Moscow fares to Western subway fares because its costs are much lower. The average salary of a Moscow Metro employee, for example, is $700 per month and the system's heating and electricity costs are subsidized by the federal government.
Lack of funds has also stalled much-needed expansions of the system.
"Of course, we know it's overcrowded and that can be unpleasant," Yershov said. "That is why we have to build new Metro stations and lines ... but there's never enough money. The funding we have is only enough to continue providing the service as it is."
Riders grumble that politicians seem to have little interest in funding the subway because they never have to use it and are instead chauffeured around Moscow in black sedans using specially reserved lanes. Last year, the chairman of Russia's upper house of Parliament, Sergei Mironov, took his first trip on the Metro in years and was shocked it was so overcrowded.
"You get pressed up against the wall and people stomp on your feet, not noticing that you're the chairman of the Federation Council," he said, according to the newspaper Izvestia. Mironov vowed to push for more federal funding, but as yet there are no signs of an influx of cash.
Despite the overcrowding, Metro riders during one recent rush hour seemed satisfied with the system.
"It can be tough in the morning, to break through the crowds and get a seat," said Igor Danilin, a 34-year-old electrician. "But it always runs on time and you can easily get to any part of the city."
"It's the only reliable way to travel in Moscow," said 51-year-old mechanic Sergei Galkin. "The traffic has become so bad now that there's no other way to get around. It isn't perfect, and in my opinion it should be cheaper, but it sure beats sitting in a traffic jam for hours."
www.youtube.com/?v=L9IykeNym5I
An amateur music video of a "subway party" in the Moscow Metro. Very funny, but also shows how the Metro really looks like.
Komsomolskaya station photo from 2000
Moscow Metro shines
After 70 years, the world's busiest subway system is still `beautiful, reliable and affordable' But like the TTC, it is troubled by overcrowding, fare hikes and lack of funds, writes Michael Mainville
Feb. 25, 2006. 01:00 AM
MICHAEL MAINVILLE
SPECIAL TO THE STAR
MOSCOW�Alexander Yershov tries to be polite when asked about his visit to Toronto four years ago for a tour of the city's subway system.
"I left with not a bad impression of the system," says Yershov, the deputy director and chief engineer of Moscow's Metro. "It was clean, nice."
But to compare it to Moscow's famed subway system, he says, is simply out of the question.
"There is nothing like walking into the Metro in the early morning, when the marble is shining and the trains are running like clockwork," he says. "Our Metro is a palace."
Inaugurated at the height of Stalin's dictatorship, the Moscow Metropolitan � originally named the Lenin Metro � has lost little of its shine in the last 70 years. Its marbled interiors gleam. Its palatial halls are lit by rows of brass chandeliers. Tourists flock to see its vivid mosaics depicting Communist workers with their hammers and sickles and its Soviet Realist sculptures.
It is, by far, the busiest subway system in the world, carrying nearly 9 million people per day, or 3.2 billion every year. Tokyo, the world's second busiest, carries about 2 billion per year, while the Toronto subway carries about 430 million.
It's also one of the most efficient, with an average rush-hour wait time of only 90 seconds. Even at 1 a.m., when the system is slowing for its daily five-hour shutdown, passengers rarely have to wait more than three minutes for a train.
And for Toronto public transit users � many of them frustrated by the latest TTC cash fare hike to $2.75 as of April 1 � the cost of single ride on the Metro will come as a shock � just 55 cents. However, the average salary in Moscow is about $600 per month, while the average pension is far lower, about $80 a month.
"I've been to London and Paris and seen their subways, but they don't compare," says Tamara Maximova, a 50-year-old doctor and regular subway rider. "Ours is beautiful, reliable and affordable. There's nothing like it anywhere else in the world."
When it was launched in 1935, the Metro was central to Stalin's vision of transforming Moscow into the modern capital of a leading world power. He described it as "a palace shining with the light of advancing, victorious socialism."
While it is an engineering and architectural marvel, its history is far from unsullied. Most of the subway's first lines and stations were built by armies of purge victims and labour camp inmates, thousands of whom died as they tunnelled deep under Moscow.
With 12 lines, 171 stations and 276 kilometres of track, the Metro reaches to nearly every corner of Moscow and many downtown stations are only a few blocks apart. And with a rolling stock of more 4,300 trains � many of them left over from when the Metro was heavily subsidized by the Soviet state � there are always enough carriages to keep the system operating smoothly.
Yershov is especially proud of the 90-second wait time, pointing out that it is one of the shortest among the world's major subway systems.
"We had some researchers from London who didn't believe us when we sent them our wait-time figures, so they came to Moscow to check for themselves," he says. "They went down into the system during rush hour with stopwatches and sure enough, not a single train took more than 90 seconds."
Fares have been rising but remain among the lowest in the world. The most recent increase was last year, from 10 rubles (40 cents) to 14 rubles (55 cents). Last year also saw the federal government end subsidies that allowed pensioners, veterans, soldiers and some students to use the Metro for free, but after a wave of protests the city of Moscow offered to finance the free rides by issuing special Metro passes.
Yershov said fare increases are always controversial, especially with so many having no choice but to use the subway.
"We don't have the richest population in the world, so we can't set our prices based on pure economics; we need to look at the social aspect, too." He said it wouldn't be fair to compare Moscow fares to Western subway fares because its costs are much lower. The average salary of a Moscow Metro employee, for example, is $700 per month and the system's heating and electricity costs are subsidized by the federal government.
Lack of funds has also stalled much-needed expansions of the system.
"Of course, we know it's overcrowded and that can be unpleasant," Yershov said. "That is why we have to build new Metro stations and lines ... but there's never enough money. The funding we have is only enough to continue providing the service as it is."
Riders grumble that politicians seem to have little interest in funding the subway because they never have to use it and are instead chauffeured around Moscow in black sedans using specially reserved lanes. Last year, the chairman of Russia's upper house of Parliament, Sergei Mironov, took his first trip on the Metro in years and was shocked it was so overcrowded.
"You get pressed up against the wall and people stomp on your feet, not noticing that you're the chairman of the Federation Council," he said, according to the newspaper Izvestia. Mironov vowed to push for more federal funding, but as yet there are no signs of an influx of cash.
Despite the overcrowding, Metro riders during one recent rush hour seemed satisfied with the system.
"It can be tough in the morning, to break through the crowds and get a seat," said Igor Danilin, a 34-year-old electrician. "But it always runs on time and you can easily get to any part of the city."
"It's the only reliable way to travel in Moscow," said 51-year-old mechanic Sergei Galkin. "The traffic has become so bad now that there's no other way to get around. It isn't perfect, and in my opinion it should be cheaper, but it sure beats sitting in a traffic jam for hours."
www.youtube.com/?v=L9IykeNym5I
An amateur music video of a "subway party" in the Moscow Metro. Very funny, but also shows how the Metro really looks like.
Komsomolskaya station photo from 2000