The Moscow Metro is the most popular and, that is why,
the most overcrowded public transport facility of the
city.
The first line of the Moscow Metro was open in 1935,
it covered the distance from Sokolniki to Gorky Park and
included 13 stations. Currently, there are over 150
stations (including transition stations) of the Moscow
Metro. The Metro stations were designed and embellished
by prominent Russian architects, artists and sculptors.
Their great talent and decorative skills created a
peculiar underground network of great artistic value. The
gamut of original materials, which were used to ornament
the stations, is so wide that the Moscow Metro may be
called a unique Museum of
Geology or even a peculiar Museum of Arts.
The fee for one trip by Metro is fixed, i.e. it
doesn't depend on the length of your route. Don't forget
to get a Metro token, when going somewhere by the Metro.
You may buy it in the Metro entrance halls. Then, deposit
it into a slot of an automatic entry gate and get in. If
you have a season ticket, just show it to a
ticket-collector when passing by.
However, a new, more convenient method of payment is
already applied at nearly all Metro stations, it includes
the use of plastic cards instead of tokens. Plastic
cards, as well as tokens, are on sale in the Metro
entrance halls. You may pay for a certain number of trips
by Metro (5, 10 20, etc.) and this number will be
recorded on the card. The only thing you have to do is to
insert the plastic card into the slot of an entry gate,
where the information is read, and get in.
To pay for your ride, buy a magnetic card from the cashier in the metro and insert it into the slot of one of automatic gates. No matter how long you ride or how many transfers you make, you pay no extra fee. If you expect to use the metro for several weeks in a row, you can save some time and money by buying a monthly pass.
Prices for magnetic cards:
1 race - 5 Rbl
2 races - 10 Rbl (valid three calendar days)
5 races - 20 Rbl (valid thirty days from first entry)
10 races - 35 Rbl (valid thirty days from first entry)
20 races - 70 Rbl (valid thirty days from first entry)
60 races - 150 Rbl (valid thirty days from first entry)
Monthly card (maximum 70 races) - 160 Rbl
To help you find your way, there are several multicolored metro maps in every car (each Metro line has its own specific color scheme), and a loud speaker that announces the name of the station at every stop. The doors open and close automatically.
There is a first-aid station and police post at every station. For information you can ask any metro employee - they wear blue uniforms.
There are international telephones in the metro that use magnetic cards, which you can also get at the cashier. The city phones use magnetic cards too.
Check with the Metro outline to map out the route
before going anywhere by Metro, it may only help you to
avoid many train changes and find the shortest way up to
the place you need.
The stations of the Moscow Metro are open since 5:30
a.m. The last train leaves its final route-point at 1:00
a.m., late at night, that's the time, when passengers are
not allowed to make transitions from one line to another.
Many Muscovites go to work and back home by Metro,
that's why you should be aware of the rush hours in the
Moscow Metro on working days. Try to avoid using Metro
during peak hours in the morning, between 7.30 a.m. and
10.30 a.m., and in the evening, from 4.00 p.m. to 7:30
p.m.
However, many stations are always overcrowded. In most
cases, these are the stations located close to railway
and bus terminals, biggest department stores and market
places.
The main rule a person has to follow, when diving into
the depth of the Moscow Metro for the first time, says
that no one is to be afraid of a crowd. However, no one
should trust the crowd completely and follow it
thoughtlessly. If you can't get into the Metro car, don't
try to squeeze into it, but wait till next train comes,
you might get a better chance of finding a vacant place.
If you want to change from one line to another, use
the Metro layout to choose and plan the best and the
shortest route. The task becomes easier, if a station has
only one transfer. As a rule, the Metro guiding boards
indicate the lines and stations and you may always find
the needed one. The exit boards are also very simple and
easy-to read. They display a brief inscription and the
names of nearby streets, department stores or
organisations.
In case a station has two or even more transfers, try
to get calm and don't follow the crowd, in this case you
may miss your direction. Instead, try to find the
information board indicating the needed station. If it
doesn't help, don't get scared and try to ask other
people for help. In most cases, the Muscovites are
friendly enough to show you the way out of the difficult
situation. If not, continue to ask the passers-by and the
fifth one will definitely help you. Moreover, there is a
duty personnel at every station, it's their job to help
you.
Take care of your personal belongings. The crowd
always attracts dishonest people. Please, look after your
bags, handbags, pockets, etc. Don't leave your belongings
in the Metro trains or in any other public transport.
Otherwise, you'll always have a small chance of getting
information about the lost things through calling
222-2085 (Metro) and 923-8753 (overland transport).
You may always find the Metro entrance easily.
Whatever it looks like, it is indicated by big red letter
"M" (illuminated in the evenings and late at
night).
At present, the Moscow Metro cannot provide foreign
guests with the information written in English and a
newcomer may get serious problems trying to work a way
through strange combinations of the Russian letters and
words. However, we'll try to cover all major aspects
awaiting our foreign guests in the capital of Russia.
Remember the meaning of some inscriptions on
information boards and panels used
in Metro:
|
NO ENTRANCE |
|
TRANSFER TO CIRCULAR
LINE |
|
EXIT TO THE STREET |
|
TRANSFER IS CLOSED AT
1 A.M. |
|
BOARDING PLATFORMS TO
STATIONS: |
|
NO BOARDING |
Information boards on station walls show the line
stations and transfers to stations of other lines. There
is a Metro layout in each train car. For convenience each
Metro line has its own color. However, you cannot always
find the line of required color on light-boards of the
Metro stations, which may only indicate the names of
stations without displaying the colors of lines. As far
as the line color makes the whole job of finding the
desired Metro route easier we provide you with the names
of lines in English transcription and the color of each
line.
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