The Moscow railway junction is a single railway complex that has developed and operates on the scale of Moscow and Moscow region. It was formed by the end of the 19th century, following the first St. Petersburg knot in Russia, when St. Petersburg was the capital of the state. Until now, it retains the main volume of passenger and freight traffic. The Moscow junction is the largest railway junction in the CIS and one of the largest in the world. It’s one of the most important parts of the Moscow transport system.
The structure of the Moscow railway junction, which has a radial-ring structure, includes radial directions from nine out of ten stations in Moscow: ten directions of the Moscow railway (Savelovskoye, Yaroslavskoye, Ryazanskoye, Kazanskoye, Gorkovskoye, Kurskoye, Paveletskoye, Kievskoye, Smolenskoye, Rizhskoye) and a section of the Oktyabrskaya railway (Leningradskoye direction – the former Nikolaevskaya railway).
Also distinguished by circles:
- Small Ring of Moscow Railways.
- The Big Ring of Moscow Railways (BMO). Usually, Mosuzel is considered within the BMO.
The total length of tracks within the borders of Moscow (until July 1, 2012) is 190 km. The Moscow hub is 90% electrified with direct current. There are six marshaling yards within Moscow (within the Moscow Ring Road there is one Lyublino-Sortirovochnoye station), 52 freight stations (including marshaling stations), nine passenger and three technical passenger stations, and four multiple-unit depots for suburban trains. On the territory of Moscow, there are 88 stopping points (including passenger stations) for suburban and urban passengers. It has convenient transfers to the Moscow Metro from all stations, as well as from some stations and platforms within Moscow.
There is a high-speed connection with the three main airports in Moscow (aeroexpress).
There are ten railway stations in Moscow:
- Belorussky Rail Terminal
- Kazansky Rail Terminal
- Kiyevsky Rail Terminal
- Kursky Rail Terminal
- Leningradsky Rail Terminal
- Paveletsky Rail Terminal
- Rizhsky Rail Terminal
- Savyolovsky Rail Terminal
- Yaroslavsky Rail Terminal
- Vostochny Railway Terminal
Except for Vostochny Rail Terminal, all rail terminals are located close to the city center, but each handles trains from different parts of Europe and Asia. Moscow is the western terminus of the Trans-Siberian Railway, which traverses nearly 9,300 kilometers (5,800 mi) of Russian territory to Vladivostok on the Pacific coast.
A commuter elektrichka (electric rail) network connects suburbs and satellite cities. Elektrichkas depart from each of these terminals to the nearby (up to 140 kilometers (87 mi)) large railway stations.
