The
Koltsevaya Line , is the ring line of the
Moscow MetroThe Moscow Metro , which spans almost the entire Russian capital, is the world's second most heavily used rapid-transit system. Opened in 1935, it is well known for the ornate design of many of its stations, which contain outstanding examples of socialist realist art.-Description of the Metro:In...
. The line was built in 1950-54 encircling the central Moscow, and became crucial to the transfer patterns of passengers.
Of all the lines, the ring remains the most famous, mostly due to its notable stations built at the height of
Stalinist ArchitectureStalinist architecture , also referred to as the Stalinist Gothic, or Socialist Classicism, is a term given to architecture of the Soviet Union between 1933, when Boris Iofan's draft for Palace of Soviets was officially approved, and 1955, when Nikita Khruschev condemned "excesses" of the past...
. Each of the twelve stand out in their own right, but some, like
KomsomolskayaThe Komsomolskaya station of the Moscow Metro is the most famous of all those on the Koltsevaya Line and of the whole system, and an icon of Moscow itself, partly due to it being located on Moscow's busiest transport hub, Komsomolskaya Square, which serves three railway terminals: Leningradsky,...
,
NovoslobodskayaNovoslobodskaya is a station on the Koltsevaya Line of the Moscow Metro. Opened on 30 January, 1952 as part of the second stage of the line, it is one of the most famous stations on the system for its unique stained glass decoration....
and Kievskaya represent the whole system.
In the initial plans of the Metro's development there was no provision for the ring line.
The
Koltsevaya Line , is the ring line of the
Moscow MetroThe Moscow Metro , which spans almost the entire Russian capital, is the world's second most heavily used rapid-transit system. Opened in 1935, it is well known for the ornate design of many of its stations, which contain outstanding examples of socialist realist art.-Description of the Metro:In...
. The line was built in 1950-54 encircling the central Moscow, and became crucial to the transfer patterns of passengers.
Of all the lines, the ring remains the most famous, mostly due to its notable stations built at the height of
Stalinist ArchitectureStalinist architecture , also referred to as the Stalinist Gothic, or Socialist Classicism, is a term given to architecture of the Soviet Union between 1933, when Boris Iofan's draft for Palace of Soviets was officially approved, and 1955, when Nikita Khruschev condemned "excesses" of the past...
. Each of the twelve stand out in their own right, but some, like
KomsomolskayaThe Komsomolskaya station of the Moscow Metro is the most famous of all those on the Koltsevaya Line and of the whole system, and an icon of Moscow itself, partly due to it being located on Moscow's busiest transport hub, Komsomolskaya Square, which serves three railway terminals: Leningradsky,...
,
NovoslobodskayaNovoslobodskaya is a station on the Koltsevaya Line of the Moscow Metro. Opened on 30 January, 1952 as part of the second stage of the line, it is one of the most famous stations on the system for its unique stained glass decoration....
and Kievskaya represent the whole system.
History
In the initial plans of the Metro's development there was no provision for the ring line. Instead it was planned for complete "diameters" to cross the city centre and with transfer stations at their intersections. However after the opening of the second stage in 1938 it was clear from the excessive loads on those junctions, that this plan would be insufficient to deal with the growing number of passengers as the system expanded. An
urban legendAn urban legend, urban myth, or urban tale, more properly a "'contemporary legend'" is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories thought to be factual by those circulating them...
suggests that
Joseph StalinJoseph Stalin was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee from 1922 until his death in 1953...
himself suggested the line when he placed a coffee cup on the original development map (with no ring) and then lifting it and leaving a circular stain around the centre of the city and said "It's your main fault, it should be built". It is thought this is the reason for the line's brown colour on all metro maps.
In principle the alignment of the ring was also debated, whether to use the Sadovoye Koltso avenue that encircles the centre or a wider circumference. In the end it was decided to partially align the southern path along the Sadovoye Koltso, and let the northern part deviate to connect most of
MoscowMoscow is the capital and the largest city of Russia. It is also the largest metropolitan area in Europe, and ranks among the largest urban areas in the world. Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the world, a...
's rail terminals. This solved an important logistical problem, because, due to the layout of Russia's railroads, it would be impossible to travel from a region on one side of Moscow to another without having to make a manual transfer from one terminal to another.
Construction began shortly after the end of the war, and the first stage was opened in 1950 from
Park KulturyPark Kultury is a station on the Koltsevaya Line of the Moscow Metro. Although the line is circular and continuous operation, the Park Kultury is seen as the starting point due to it being the original terminus of the line, from its opening on 1 January 1950 to 14 March 1954, when the ring was...
to
KurskayaKurskaya is a Moscow Metro station, located on the Koltsevaya Line. Opened on 1 January, 1950, the station is built to a design of architects G. Zakharkov and Z. Chernysheva under the supervision of famous architect Ivan Zholtovsky who were awarded the Stalin Prize in 1950 for the design...
, in 1952 a second segment completed the northern deviation up to
BelorusskayaBelorusskaya is a station on the Moscow Metro's Koltsevaya Line. It is named for the nearby Belorussky Rail Terminal and is sometimes referred to as Belorusskaya-Koltsevaya to distinguish it from the station of the same name on the Zamoskvoretskaya Line. It opened in 1952, serving briefly as the...
and in 1954 the circumference linked up.
The construction of the ring allowed for massive changes in the passenger flow patterns around Moscow, and allowed a systematic development platform for many future lines. A total of seven radial lines began at the ring, four of which later linked up in the centre to become diameters.
Timeline
| Segment | Date opened | Length |
|---|
Park KulturyPark Kultury is a station on the Koltsevaya Line of the Moscow Metro. Although the line is circular and continuous operation, the Park Kultury is seen as the starting point due to it being the original terminus of the line, from its opening on 1 January 1950 to 14 March 1954, when the ring was...
-KurskayaKurskaya is a Moscow Metro station, located on the Koltsevaya Line. Opened on 1 January, 1950, the station is built to a design of architects G. Zakharkov and Z. Chernysheva under the supervision of famous architect Ivan Zholtovsky who were awarded the Stalin Prize in 1950 for the design...
|
January 1, 1950 |
6.5 km |
KurskayaKurskaya is a Moscow Metro station, located on the Koltsevaya Line. Opened on 1 January, 1950, the station is built to a design of architects G. Zakharkov and Z. Chernysheva under the supervision of famous architect Ivan Zholtovsky who were awarded the Stalin Prize in 1950 for the design...
-BelorusskayaBelorusskaya is a station on the Moscow Metro's Koltsevaya Line. It is named for the nearby Belorussky Rail Terminal and is sometimes referred to as Belorusskaya-Koltsevaya to distinguish it from the station of the same name on the Zamoskvoretskaya Line. It opened in 1952, serving briefly as the...
|
January 30, 1952 |
7.0 km |
| Belorusskaya Belorusskaya is a station on the Moscow Metro's Koltsevaya Line. It is named for the nearby Belorussky Rail Terminal and is sometimes referred to as Belorusskaya-Koltsevaya to distinguish it from the station of the same name on the Zamoskvoretskaya Line. It opened in 1952, serving briefly as the...
-Park KulturyPark Kultury is a station on the Koltsevaya Line of the Moscow Metro. Although the line is circular and continuous operation, the Park Kultury is seen as the starting point due to it being the original terminus of the line, from its opening on 1 January 1950 to 14 March 1954, when the ring was...
|
March 14, 1954 |
5.9 km |
| Total: |
12 Stations |
19.4 km |
Name changes
| Station | Previous name(s) | Years |
|---|
Park KulturyPark Kultury is a station on the Koltsevaya Line of the Moscow Metro. Although the line is circular and continuous operation, the Park Kultury is seen as the starting point due to it being the original terminus of the line, from its opening on 1 January 1950 to 14 March 1954, when the ring was...
|
Tsentralnyi Park Kultury i Otdykha Imeni Gorkogo |
1950-1980 |
OktyabrskayaOktyabrskaya is a station on the Koltsevaya Line of the Moscow Metro. Opened on 1 January 1950, Oktyabrskaya was part of the first segment of the fourth stage...
|
Kaluzhskaya |
1950-1960 |
DobryninskayaDobryninskaya is a station on the Koltsevaya Line of the Moscow Metro. Opened on 1 January 1950 it was part of the first segment of the fourth stage of the system. Originally named Serpukhovskaya , after the Serpukhovskaya square....
|
Serpukhovskaya |
1950-1960 |
| Prospekt Mira thumb|200px|left|Bas relief detailProspekt Mira is a station of the Moscow Metro's Koltsevaya Line. Opened on 30 January, 1952 as part of the second stage of the line, it is a pylon design by architects Vladimir Gelfreykh and Mikhail Minkus....
|
Botanicheskiy Sad |
1952-1966 |
Transfers
It should be noted that the Koltsevaya line, unlike other lines of Moscow Metro, does not service any stations that belong to that line exclusively; rather, all its stations are transfer stations, linking to other lines, as shown below:
| # | Transfer to | At |
|---|
| 1 |
Sokolnicheskaya Line The Sokolnicheskaya Line , formerly Kirovsko-Frunzenskaya , is the first line of the Moscow Metro, dating back to 1935 when the system opened. Presently the line has 19 stations with a total of of track...
|
Park KulturyPark Kultury is a station on the Koltsevaya Line of the Moscow Metro. Although the line is circular and continuous operation, the Park Kultury is seen as the starting point due to it being the original terminus of the line, from its opening on 1 January 1950 to 14 March 1954, when the ring was...
, KomsomolskayaThe Komsomolskaya station of the Moscow Metro is the most famous of all those on the Koltsevaya Line and of the whole system, and an icon of Moscow itself, partly due to it being located on Moscow's busiest transport hub, Komsomolskaya Square, which serves three railway terminals: Leningradsky,...
|
| 2 |
Zamoskvoretskaya Line The Zamoskvoretskaya Line , formerly Gorkovsko-Zamoskvoretskaya , is a line of the Moscow Metro. Opened in 1938, chronologically it became the third line. There are twenty stations on the Zamoskvoretskaya line, and it spans , roughly crossing Moscow in a north-south direction. A normal trip along...
|
PaveletskayaPaveletskaya is a station on the Koltsevaya Line of the Moscow Metro. Opened on 1 January, 1950 as part of the first segment of the fourth stage, the station is a pylon-trivault built in the style of the late 1940/early 1950s Stalinist Architecture to a design by architects Nikolay Kolli and...
, BelorusskayaBelorusskaya is a station on the Moscow Metro's Koltsevaya Line. It is named for the nearby Belorussky Rail Terminal and is sometimes referred to as Belorusskaya-Koltsevaya to distinguish it from the station of the same name on the Zamoskvoretskaya Line. It opened in 1952, serving briefly as the...
|
| 3 |
Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line The Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line is a line of the Moscow Metro. Chronologically the second to open, now it connects the major Izmaylovo District on the east of Moscow, and the Strogino District on the west, with the city centre...
|
KurskayaKurskaya is a Moscow Metro station, located on the Koltsevaya Line. Opened on 1 January, 1950, the station is built to a design of architects G. Zakharkov and Z. Chernysheva under the supervision of famous architect Ivan Zholtovsky who were awarded the Stalin Prize in 1950 for the design...
, Kiyevskaya |
| 4 |
Filyovskaya LineFilyovskaya Line , a line of the Moscow Metro. Chronologically the sixth to open, it connects the major eastern districts of Dorogomilovo and Fili along with the Moscow City with the city centre...
|
Kiyevskaya |
| 6 |
Kaluzhsko-Rizhskaya LineKaluzhsko-Rizhskaya Line is a line of the Moscow Metro, that originally existed as two separate radial lines, Rizhskaya and Kaluzhskaya opened in 1958 and 1962, respectively. Only in 1971 were they united into a single line as the central section connecting the stations Oktyabrskaya to Prospekt...
|
OktyabrskayaOktyabrskaya is a station on the Koltsevaya Line of the Moscow Metro. Opened on 1 January 1950, Oktyabrskaya was part of the first segment of the fourth stage...
, Prospekt Mirathumb|200px|left|Bas relief detailProspekt Mira is a station of the Moscow Metro's Koltsevaya Line. Opened on 30 January, 1952 as part of the second stage of the line, it is a pylon design by architects Vladimir Gelfreykh and Mikhail Minkus....
|
| 7 |
Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya Line The Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya is the busiest line of the Moscow Metro. Built in 1966-1975 it cuts Moscow on a northwest-southeast axis and contains 19 stations.- History :...
|
Taganskayathumb|left|200px|Close-up of majolica panelTaganskaya is a station on the Koltsevaya Line of the Moscow Metro. Opened on 1 January 1950 it was part of the first segment of the fourth stage of the system...
, KrasnopresnenskayaKrasnopresnenskaya is a station on the Koltsevaya Line of the Moscow Metro. It was designed by V.S. Yegerev, M.P. Konstantinov, Felix A. Novikov, and I.A. Pokrovsky and opened on March 14, 1954. The station has red granite pylons with white marble cornices and 14 bas-reliefs by N.A. Shcherbakov,...
|
| 8 |
Kalininskaya Line The Kalininskaya Line is a line of the Moscow Metro. It was opened as the eastwards Perovo radius lines in 1979 and presently has 7 stations.-History:...
|
Taganskayathumb|left|200px|Close-up of majolica panelTaganskaya is a station on the Koltsevaya Line of the Moscow Metro. Opened on 1 January 1950 it was part of the first segment of the fourth stage of the system...
|
| 9 |
Serpukhovsko-Timiryazevskaya Line Serpukhovsko-Timiryazevskaya Line is a line of the Moscow Metro. Originally opened in 1983 it was extended throughout the 1980s and early 90s and again in the early 2000s. It is the world's second longest Metro line; its current length is 41.5 km...
|
DobryninskayaDobryninskaya is a station on the Koltsevaya Line of the Moscow Metro. Opened on 1 January 1950 it was part of the first segment of the fourth stage of the system. Originally named Serpukhovskaya , after the Serpukhovskaya square....
, NovoslobodskayaNovoslobodskaya is a station on the Koltsevaya Line of the Moscow Metro. Opened on 30 January, 1952 as part of the second stage of the line, it is one of the most famous stations on the system for its unique stained glass decoration....
|
| 10 |
Lyublinskaya Line Lyublinskaya Line is the newest line of the Moscow Metro. First opened in 1995 as a semi-chordial radius it is at present in process of being extended through the centre and northwards. In the future it is expected to be renamed as the Lyblinsko-Dmitrovskaya Line once its northern section opens...
|
KurskayaKurskaya is a Moscow Metro station, located on the Koltsevaya Line. Opened on 1 January, 1950, the station is built to a design of architects G. Zakharkov and Z. Chernysheva under the supervision of famous architect Ivan Zholtovsky who were awarded the Stalin Prize in 1950 for the design...
|
Rolling stock
The line is serviced by the Krasnaya Presnya depot (No.4) and was the first one to adopt the 81-717/714 model trains in 1978. Presently 34 six-carriage trains are assigned to it.
Recent developments and future plans
Today the line is one of busiest, and the ever-rising passenger flows during rush hours are noticeably felt as most of the stations are over half a century old. In 1998 a second entrance was opened at Belorusskaya and there are plans to equip Park Kultury and Komsomolskaya with similar ones.
Many restoration works are carried out to improve the old line, recently
NovoslobodskayaNovoslobodskaya is a station on the Koltsevaya Line of the Moscow Metro. Opened on 30 January, 1952 as part of the second stage of the line, it is one of the most famous stations on the system for its unique stained glass decoration....
had major restoration work carried out, including replacement of lighting and retouching on the stained glass masterpieces by
Pavel KorinPavel Dmitriyevich Korin was a Russian painter and art restorer. He is famous for his preparational work for the unimplemented painting Farewell to Rus.-Biography:...
. The vestibule of
Taganskayathumb|left|200px|Close-up of majolica panelTaganskaya is a station on the Koltsevaya Line of the Moscow Metro. Opened on 1 January 1950 it was part of the first segment of the fourth stage of the system...
was closed in 2005 to replace old escalators and upgrade with new turnstiles and also cosmetically renovate it, this was re-opened in 2006, and shortly afterwards
DobryninskayaDobryninskaya is a station on the Koltsevaya Line of the Moscow Metro. Opened on 1 January 1950 it was part of the first segment of the fourth stage of the system. Originally named Serpukhovskaya , after the Serpukhovskaya square....
followed suit for a similar upgrade.
Despite the fact that when opened, there were six stations left for future transfer provisions, this turned out to be too small for the growing system. Two stations are planned to be opened on the Koltsevaya Line to provide transfer points to two future radii. The first one, Suvorovskaya (also referred to as Ploshchad Suvorova) located between
Prospekt Mirathumb|200px|left|Bas relief detailProspekt Mira is a station of the Moscow Metro's Koltsevaya Line. Opened on 30 January, 1952 as part of the second stage of the line, it is a pylon design by architects Vladimir Gelfreykh and Mikhail Minkus....
and Novoslobodskaya will provide a transfer to
Dostoyevskaya«Dostoyevskaya» is a future station of Lyublinskaya Line of Moscow Metro. It is planned to open in May 2010 The station is being constructed since 1990-s and has been frozen for a long time. The construction process resumed only in 2007....
of the
Lyublinsko-Dmitrovskaya LineLyublinskaya Line is the newest line of the Moscow Metro. First opened in 1995 as a semi-chordial radius it is at present in process of being extended through the centre and northwards. In the future it is expected to be renamed as the Lyblinsko-Dmitrovskaya Line once its northern section opens...
. However, though construction has begun on Suvorovskaya it is currently frozen for financial reasons and the station will not be complete in time for the opening of the Dmitrovsky radius in 2008/2009.
The other planned station, presently dubbed Rossiyskaya, is to be built between
KrasnopresnenskayaKrasnopresnenskaya is a station on the Koltsevaya Line of the Moscow Metro. It was designed by V.S. Yegerev, M.P. Konstantinov, Felix A. Novikov, and I.A. Pokrovsky and opened on March 14, 1954. The station has red granite pylons with white marble cornices and 14 bas-reliefs by N.A. Shcherbakov,...
and
KievskayaKiyevskaya is a station on the Koltsevaya Line of the Moscow Metro. It is named for the nearby Kiyevsky Rail Terminal. The design for the station was chosen in an open competition held in Ukraine; the entry submitted by the team of E.I. Katonin, V.K. Skugarev, and G.E. Golubev placed first in a...
to become a transfer point to the
Kalininskaya LineThe Kalininskaya Line is a line of the Moscow Metro. It was opened as the eastwards Perovo radius lines in 1979 and presently has 7 stations.-History:...
when eventually begins its westward extension. However construction is not expected to begin until 2015 at least and this means an opening of no earlier than 2020.