The Moscow metro celebrated its 85th birthday

It is impossible to imagine Moscow without its main transport system - the metro. The first 11.6 km long subway lines, built in 1935, have grown over almost a century, making the life of Muscovites more convenient and comfortable.

The first Moscow metro map

The Moscow metro is one of the attractions of our capital, its calling card, as well as the fastest way to get from one part of the city to another. Today, the metro, organically integrated into the Moscow transport system, has 14 lines. They have 238 stations in all districts of the capital, including the farthest ones, beyond the Moscow Ring Road (MKAD). On an average weekday, about nine million passengers take the subway.

Metro trains travel at an average speed of about 41.61 km/h. This ensures high regularity of train movement with a minimum interval of 90 seconds. In terms of traffic intensity, reliability and traffic volumes, the Moscow Metro consistently ranks first in the world. In all other respects, it is in the top three metropolitan areas in the world.

In addition, these days the Moscow Metro is also a huge team, employing about 60 thousand people. Among them are train drivers, cashiers, and repairmen. Thanks to them, one of the most complex transport systems in the world has opened its doors to residents and guests of the capital at the same hour every day for 85 years.

For the Moscow Metrostroy, May 15, 1935 is also a memorable date - the day of the very first launch of new stations with passengers. It happened exactly at seven in the morning at the Sokolniki station. On that day, thirteen stations were put into operation - Sokolniki, Krasnoselskaya, Komsomolskaya, Krasnye Vorota, Chistye Prudy, Lubyanka, Okhotny Ryad, Lenin Library, Kropotkinskaya, Park Kultury on the Sokolnicheskaya Line and Aleksandrovsky Sad, Arbatskaya and Smolenskaya on the Filevskaya Line.

The opening was preceded by the titanic work of metro builders. In November 1931, the first mine was laid on Rusakovskaya Street and the first meters of the experimental section of the tunnel between Sokolniki and Krasnoselskaya were completed. At that time there were no personnel or equipment. There was only complex geology and great enthusiasm of the pioneers.

In 1933, the first Komsomol volunteer detachments came to construction. In January 1935, the last meter of rails of the first stage of the metro was laid under Teatralny Proezd. The first shield penetration was tested here. By that time, 75 thousand people worked at Metrostroy.

On February 6, two and a half thousand delegates of the VII Congress of Soviets of the USSR assessed the new type of transport during a test run. By the way, chronologically, in order of commissioning, the Moscow Metro was 24th in the world.

The train with passengers left the Sokolniki station