The
Strogino Mitino extension also known as the Strogino-Mition Line is one of the largest projects that
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...
is currently embarked upon in the lengthening of the system and to serve the North-western
Moscow DistrictsThe federal city of Moscow, Russia is divided into ten administrative okrugs, which are in turn subdivided into districts . The city does not have a downtown area; the urban core is scattered across the city. Prominent business areas include Tverskoy, Arbat, and Presnensky Districts to the east...
of Strogino and
MitinoMitino is a future station of the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line of the Moscow Metro....
.
Geography of the region
In 1961 the city of Moscow's area was nearly doubled by annexing adjacent territory from the
Moscow OblastMoscow Oblast , or Podmoskovye is a federal subject of Russia . Its area, at 45,900 km², is relatively small comparing to other federal subjects, but it is one of the most densely populated regions in the country and the second most populous federal subject —only surpassed by...
. The new land was to be used to build large housing developments for the rapidly growing city. However the geometry of the new layout, which was punctuated by building the
MKADMKAD is a ring road encircling the City of Moscow.The name is a transliteration of the Russian word МКАД, an acronym for Московская Кольцевая Автомобильная Дорога .The growth of vehicular traffic in and around Moscow in the 1950s made the city planners realize that Russia's largest...
around the city-oblast border meant that future housing district of Strogino was geographically "sandwiched" by the new motorway to the east, the
Serebryannyi BorSerebryannyi Bor is a large forest park in North-west Moscow....
(Silver Pinewood) natural park to the south and the
Moskva River The Moskva River is a river that flows through the Moscow and Smolensk Oblasts in Russia, and is a tributary of the Oka River.-Etymology:Moskva and Moscow are two different renderings of the same Russian word Москва. The city is named after the river. The origin of the name is unknown, although...
to the north, thus making geographically isolated from the rest of Moscow. The territory for the future district of Mitino, which lies beyond the MKAD, was added to Moscow in the 1980s; although it was not surrounded by natural and artificial barriers to the extent Strogino was, it too faced the problem due to its distance from the center city and to the fact that it too was isolated by the Tushino island formed by the
Moscow CanalThe Moscow Canal , named the Moscow-Volga Canal until the year 1947, is a canal that connects the Moskva River with the main transportation artery of European Russia, the Volga River. It is located in Moscow itself and in the Moscow Oblast...
. (See map to picture both descriptions.)
However none of these logistical problems stopped large-scale housing development in both districts. They did though create very large problems in integrating them into Moscow's transport system. The only access to them from central Moscow was via either the MKAD, the Volokolamsk Highway for Mitino or the Strogino Highway which was a secondary road that ran through the dense district of Tushino for Strogino. In both cases the roads would be extensively congested.
The first project - branch
The natural way to solve this problem was to introduce the Moscow Metro, which would be immune to geographical barriers and also provide high speed access to the residents. The first plans to link the new raions were formed back in the 1960s before they were even built let alone settled. The mid-1960s general plan proposed the new
Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya LineThe 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 :...
to have a branch from
PolezhaevskayaPolezhaevskaya is a station on the Metro's Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya Line. Opened on December 30, 1972 as part of the original Krasnopresnenkiy radius and Krasnopresnenskaya Line, the station is unusual in the Metro as its construction features three pathways and two platforms...
which would continue westwards into Khoroshovo, Taman island and ultimately Strogino, and afterwards towards
KrasnogorskKrasnogorsk may refer to one of the following:*Krasnogorsk, Moscow Oblast, a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia*Krasnogorsk, Uzbekistan, a town in Uzbekistan...
(Mitino was still to be annexed into Moscow and the general plan did not have any provisions for housing there)
See map 1,
2.
Despite Polezhevskaya being opened in 1972 with three tracks, it was never to be used for its intended purposes. With more important projects being priority, the headwrecking disagreements in bringing Metro to Strogino prevented from a detailed plan to be announced.
In 1979 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:...
was opened, planning its western radius, keeping true to the radial-diametral layout of Moscow, was not simple. Throughout the 1980s there were proposals to link the line to
Arbatskaya (Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya)Arbatskaya is a station on the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line of the Moscow Metro. Along with Smolenskaya and Kievskaya, it was built in 1953 to replace an older, parallel section of track which has since become part of the Filyovskaya Line...
and thus split the
Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya LineThe 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...
by giving its eastern radius to the Filyovskaya Line (in a way restoring the pre-1953 operation) along with the name. Whilst the 1953 deep stations would pass onto the Kalininskaya Line, which after
KievskayaKiyevskaya , named for the nearby Kiyevsky Rail Terminal, is a station on the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line of the Moscow Metro. Opened in 1953, it is lavishly decorated in the quasi-baroque style that predominated in the early 1950s...
would have several options of which direction the radius would point, one of which was Solntsevo with a branch towards Ochakovo.
The second project - chord
As the first families began to settle the new apartments, Moscow Urban Rapid-Transit planning body - Metrogiprotrans was continuing to debate on not only a Metro to Strogino but about a complete and total change from the classical ring-radial layout of the metro. Owning to the disadvantages of the over-congested centre, initially in 1984 I.Burdakov published an article in
PravdaPravda was a leading newspaper of the Soviet Union and an official organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party between 1912 and 1991....
where he proposed a set of chordial and semi-chordial lines that would bypass the city centre and the
Koltsevaya LineThe Koltsevaya Line , is the ring line of the Moscow Metro. The line was built in 1950-54 encircling the central Moscow, and became crucial to the transfer patterns of passengers....
, or at least have some of the transfers outside the ring, which applies to the latter group and the
Lyublinskaya 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...
was a result of this.
For Strogino and Mitino this meant their Metro chord would be the end of a
Stroginsko-Biryulyovskaya Line also later referred to as the
Mitinsko-Butovskaya Line and it would begin in Mitino, continue south to Strogino and then to Khoroshovo, Fili, along the Moscow ring railroad via Luzhniki before finally coming south via the Serpukhovky and Zamoskvoretsky radii to the district of Biryulyovo before continuing into Butovo.
map
As the chordial line, one of the four was to be the first, due to both Strogino, Mitino and Butovo being settled its construction was priority. In 1988 building commenced on
Park PobedyPark Pobedy , translated as "Victory Park", is a station on the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line of the Metro. At 84 metres underground, it is the deepest station in Moscow. It also contains the longest escalators in Europe, each one is 126 metres long and has 740 steps...
extension of APL which was to be a cross-platform transfer with the new chord, whilst the detail of the path via Strogino-Mitino was also announced, and construction was started in earnest on three stations:
StroginoStrogino is the terminus station of the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line of theMoscow metro. Named after the housing district of Strogino, it was opened on 7 January, 2008 as part of a massive Strogino-Mitino extension, and is currently the westernmost station of the Metro.Originally planned as part of a...
,
VolokolamskayaVolokolamskaya is a future station of the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line of the Moscow Metro. The opening is planned in December 2009....
and
MitinoMitino is a future station of the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line of the Moscow Metro....
along with a new metro-bridge between Strogino and Volokolamskaya and a depot after Mitino.
The 1990s
Despite the grandure of the chordial lines, they were not to be realised. In 1991 the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
collapsed, all state funding with the result of the financial crises was cut to negligible amounts. Construction of the started projects was permanently halted.
Moscow Metro was in crises moment, it could not afford the chordial line with the resources available, but by this moment Strogino and Mitino had become large urban districts. The neighbouring Krasnopresnensky radius, already heavily ladden, became over-congested with the Strogino and Mitino commuters using land traffic to reach Metro via
TushinskayaTushinskaya is a station on the Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya Line of the Moscow Metro. It was designed by I.G. Petukhova and V.P. Kachurinets and opened on December 30, 1975. The station was built to a modified standard design, with gray-blue marble pillars and white marble walls with inlaid zigzag...
, making it one of the busiest stations in the system, and the Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya Line becoming, not one of, but the busiest.
In March 1993, Moscow Metro publishes a revised plan for what's to replace the chord. The existing started section on the Mitino and Strogino should be completed and the hooked on to the
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...
. That's how for the next ten years, all Moscow metro maps drew the three stations. However realistically, with the exception of the new Krylatskoye station (opened in 1989) and the underground Molodyozhnaya (1965), the Filyovskaya Line could not have dealt with the additional passenger load that would beset on it from Strogino and Mitino.
The same plan did however also proposed that 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:...
instead of its intended proposal to break up the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line would now travel via
KropotkinskayaKropotkinskaya is a station on the Sokolnicheskaya Line of the Moscow Metro. One of the better-known Metro stations, it was designed by Alexey Dushkin and Ya.G...
, both Smolenskayas, Moscow City and then onto Khroshovo, and along the original 1970s branch path into Strogino, before travelling on the 1980s path into Mitino.
The plan also in perspective proposed that Park Pobedy of the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line would be completed and the line would then continue to double the Filyovskaya Line, with two stations before docking at
KuntsevskayaKuntsevskaya is a station of the Moscow Metro serving as a cross-platform transfer between the Filyovskaya and the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya lines of the Moscow Metro...
and annexing the underground section of the Filyovskaya Line.
However the financial crises meant that even this much simpler plan would not be realised. Moreover several questions were left hanging including how to actually pass the natural barriers that isolate the Strogino and Mitino from Moscow.
The Breakthrough
In the early 2000s the financial situation has slowly improved and as Moscow's population continued to rise, the change for infrastructure became evident. At the turn of the century, Moscow has announced a new project that would unite few of the older ones. To deal with the increasing car congestion, a new radial highway was required to relieve the city centre. Thus the Krasnopresnensky Prospekt was born, to link the existing Krasnaya Presnya street near the centre with the M9 Baltiya that ends at the
MKADMKAD is a ring road encircling the City of Moscow.The name is a transliteration of the Russian word МКАД, an acronym for Московская Кольцевая Автомобильная Дорога .The growth of vehicular traffic in and around Moscow in the 1950s made the city planners realize that Russia's largest...
. That was easier said than done, as this required first to build a long flyover over the industrial zone separating Presnya district from Khoroshovo, and then again conquering the
Serebryannyi BorSerebryannyi Bor is a large forest park in North-west Moscow....
natural barrier, as well as the
Moskva RiverThe Moskva River is a river that flows through the Moscow and Smolensk Oblasts in Russia, and is a tributary of the Oka River.-Etymology:Moskva and Moscow are two different renderings of the same Russian word Москва. The city is named after the river. The origin of the name is unknown, although...
. In the end it was decided to first travel southwards along a new
Zhivopisny BridgeZhivopisny Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge that spans Moskva River in north-western Moscow, Russia. It is the first cable-stayed bridge in Moscow. Opened on 27 December 2007 as a part of Krasnoprenensky avenue...
to Krylatskoye and then to pass under the Serebryannyi Bor via a tunnel.
This tunnel was the "light in the tunnel" for finally bringing a Metro to Strogino, and it was planned as a combined auto and Metro one. Simultaneously the 1990s plan for the Strogino-Mitino extension was revived.
Park PobedyPark Pobedy , translated as "Victory Park", is a station on the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line of the Metro. At 84 metres underground, it is the deepest station in Moscow. It also contains the longest escalators in Europe, each one is 126 metres long and has 740 steps...
was finished and opened in May 2003.
The new project though similar added several corrections to the 1990s plan. The initial
Park PobedyPark Pobedy , translated as "Victory Park", is a station on the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line of the Metro. At 84 metres underground, it is the deepest station in Moscow. It also contains the longest escalators in Europe, each one is 126 metres long and has 740 steps...
-
KuntsevskayaKuntsevskaya is a station of the Moscow Metro serving as a cross-platform transfer between the Filyovskaya and the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya lines of the Moscow Metro...
called for two stations: Minskaya and
Slavyansky BulvarSlavyansky Bulvar is a station on the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line of the Moscow Metro. Built as part of the stretch that bypasses most of the surface stretch of the Filyovskaya Line, Slavyansky Bulvar serves the residents of southwestern districts situated between the Fruzensky and Filyovsky radii...
, however given that the former's role in serving residents was unimportant as it was located on the western end of the
Victory ParkVictory Park is a master planned development northwest of downtown Dallas, Texas and north of Spur 366 . It is along Interstate 35E, part of the Stemmons Corridor and Uptown....
near the Memorial Mosque it was omitted , and the route was re-traced, causing Slavyansky Bulvar to appear closer to the residential zones of Ochakovo and also allowing a transfer to the
elektrichkaElektrichka is an informal word for elektropoyezd , a Soviet or post-Soviet regional electrical multiple unit passenger train...
of the Railway (Kiev direction).
Also reconsidered was the plan at the junction with
KuntsevskayaKuntsevskaya is a station of the Moscow Metro serving as a cross-platform transfer between the Filyovskaya and the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya lines of the Moscow Metro...
as initially it was proposed to simply cut off the
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...
at
PionerskayaPionerskaya is a surface-level Moscow Metro station on the Filyovskaya Line. It was built in 1961, and was the terminus of the line until 1965. The station sits in a shallow cut, with the platform on the lower level and the street-level vestibule above. A road overpass covers part of the...
, however under local pressure, Moscow Metro reconsidered this and instead opted for a
cross-platformIn computing, cross-platform is a term used to refer to computer software or computing methods and concepts that are implemented and inter-operate on multiple computer platforms...
transfer.
Also revised was the actual line to Strogino, which now due to the bend caused by the combined tunnel would emerge directly south of the district and facing north would be perpendicular to the station pit of the early 1990s construction site. The resulting contour to join up with the started sections called for a new station Troitse-Lykovo, as the region now planned a new housing massif in the revised general plan.
The original project for Strogino, which was to be a two-storied station was abandoned in favour of a single-vault with a provision to build a neighbour when and if 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:...
finally reaches Strogino. The path onto Mitino also introduced a new station -
MyakininoMyakinino is a future station of the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line of the Moscow Metro.The opening in planned in December 2009, and the station is expected to become the first one outside Moscow city limits, being located in the town of Krasnogorsk...
, which is to become the first station on the territory of the
Moscow OblastMoscow Oblast , or Podmoskovye is a federal subject of Russia . Its area, at 45,900 km², is relatively small comparing to other federal subjects, but it is one of the most densely populated regions in the country and the second most populous federal subject —only surpassed by...
, and right next to the province's administration office, and governor's residence. After the crossing of the river Moskva on the Metro-bridge, the project for Volokolamskaya was also revised, and part of it included a new combined transfer point to a relocated station on the Riga-direction railway - Trikotozhnaya. Finally the Mitino path also introduced a new station next to the future depot - Rozhdestveno.
Thus in all the total length of the new extension was approximately 20 kilometres (4.9 for Park Pobedy-Kuntsevskaya and the remaining for Krylatskoye-Rozhdestveno).
Stations
- Park Pobedy
Park Pobedy , translated as "Victory Park", is a station on the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line of the Metro. At 84 metres underground, it is the deepest station in Moscow. It also contains the longest escalators in Europe, each one is 126 metres long and has 740 steps...
- Opened 5 March 2003
- Slavyansky Bulvar
Slavyansky Bulvar is a station on the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line of the Moscow Metro. Built as part of the stretch that bypasses most of the surface stretch of the Filyovskaya Line, Slavyansky Bulvar serves the residents of southwestern districts situated between the Fruzensky and Filyovsky radii...
- Opened 7 September, 2008
- Kuntsevskaya
Kuntsevskaya is a station of the Moscow Metro serving as a cross-platform transfer between the Filyovskaya and the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya lines of the Moscow Metro...
- Opened 7 January, 2008
- Molodyozhnaya — Annexed from Filyovskaya Line
Filyovskaya 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...
7 January, 2008
- Krylatskoye — Annexed from Filyovskaya Line
Filyovskaya 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...
7 January, 2008
- Troitse-Lykovo
Troitse-Lykovo is a future station of the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line of the Moscow Metro. Supposed to be located along an existing segment of the line opened on January 7, 2008, the station itself is scheduled to be opened, according to various sources, between 2012 and 2015. An emergency exit will...
- Provisional station, will not open until 2015.
- Strogino
Strogino is the terminus station of the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line of theMoscow metro. Named after the housing district of Strogino, it was opened on 7 January, 2008 as part of a massive Strogino-Mitino extension, and is currently the westernmost station of the Metro.Originally planned as part of a...
- Opened 7 January, 2008
- Myakinino
Myakinino is a future station of the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line of the Moscow Metro.The opening in planned in December 2009, and the station is expected to become the first one outside Moscow city limits, being located in the town of Krasnogorsk...
— Under construction, expected to open 2009.
- Volokolamskaya
Volokolamskaya is a future station of the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line of the Moscow Metro. The opening is planned in December 2009....
— Under construction, expected to open 2009.
- Mitino
Mitino is a future station of the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line of the Moscow Metro....
— Under construction, expected to open 2009.
- Rozhdestveno
Rozhdestveno is a future station of the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line of the Moscow Metro.The expected opening date is in 2012....
— Construction yet to begin, expected to open circa 2011.
Other Objects
Directly related to the project:
- Krasnopresnensky Prospekt tunnel opened 27 December 2007
- Myakininsky Metro-bridge — Under construction, expected to open 2009
- Mitino Depot — Construction yet to begin, expected to open circa 2011.