Moscow Metro
The Moscow Metro is a metro system serving the Russian capital of Moscow as well as the neighbouring cities of Krasnogorsk, Reutov, Lyubertsy and Kotelniki in Moscow Oblast. Opened in 1935 with one 11-kilometre (6.8 mi) line and 13 stations, it was the first underground railway system in the Soviet Union.
| Moscow Metro | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Overview | |||
| Native name | Московский метрополитен | ||
| Owner | Government of Moscow | ||
| Area served | Moscow | ||
| Locale | Federal city of Moscow and cities of Kotelniki, Krasnogorsk, Lyubertsy, Reutov in Moscow Oblast, Russia | ||
| Transit type | Rapid transit | ||
| Number of lines | 19 (including the Moscow Monorail and the Moscow Central Circle) | ||
| Number of stations | 263 300 (including 6 stations of the Moscow Monorail and 31 stations of the Moscow Central Circle) | ||
| Daily ridership | (average) 7.5 million (highest, 26 Dec 2014) 9.715 million | ||
| Annual ridership | 2.5 billion (2018) | ||
| Chief executive | Viktor Kozlovsky | ||
| Website | mosmetro | ||
| Operation | |||
| Began operation | 15 May 1935 | ||
| Operator(s) | Moskovsky Metropoliten | ||
| Headway | Peak hours: 1.3 - 1.7 mins Off-peak: 2.5 - 10 minutes | ||
| Technical | |||
| System length | 460.5 km (286.1 mi) 519.2 km (322.6 mi) including Moscow Monorail and Moscow Central Circle | ||
| Track gauge | 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in) | ||
| Electrification | 825 Volt DC third rail, 3 kV DC overhead line | ||
| Average speed | 39.54 km/h (24.57 mph) | ||
| Top speed | 80 km/h (50 mph) | ||
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As of 2023, the Moscow Metro, excluding the Moscow Central Circle, the Moscow Central Diameters and the Moscow Monorail, had 263 stations (300 with Moscow Central Circle and the Monorail) and its route length was 460.5 km (286.1 mi) (without Moscow Central Circle and the Monorail), making it the 10th-longest in the world and the longest outside China. It is the third metro system in the world (after Madrid and Beijing), which has two ring lines. The system is mostly underground, with the deepest section 84 metres (276 ft) underground at the Park Pobedy station, one of the world's deepest underground stations. It is the busiest metro system in Europe, the busiest in the world outside Asia, and is considered a tourist attraction in itself.
The Moscow Metro is a world leader in the frequency of train traffic—intervals during peak hours do not exceed 90 seconds.