The St. Petersburg Metro (until July 1992 – the Leningrad Order of Lenin Metro named after V. I. Lenin) is a high-speed off-street transport system in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region. It was opened on November 15, 1955, making it the second metro by opening date in the USSR after the Moscow one, which opened on May 15, 1935.
It consists of five lines, the operational length of which is 124.8 km. They have 72 stations. There are seven transfer hubs –six two-station and one three-station. 12 stations offer transfers to railway infrastructure facilities like railway stations, stations and platforms. The system includes 83 lobbies, 301 escalators, 30 travelators and more than 700 turnstiles. There are five operational and two repair depots. The metro has a linear train system.
In 2018, it transported 743 million passengers, making it the twenty-fifth most congested place in the world and the fourth most congested place in Europe after the subways of Moscow, Paris and London. In terms of the length of the operated lines, it ranks fortieth in the world and eighth in Europe after the subways of Moscow, London, Madrid, Paris, Berlin, Valencia and Barcelona.
The St. Petersburg metro is the deepest in the world in terms of the average depth of stations. Many stations have original architectural and artistic designs, and eight stations are recognized as objects of the cultural heritage of Russia. A distinctive feature of the St. Petersburg metro from the metros of cities in all other countries of the world is the presence of closed-type stations (without side boarding platforms) but with moving doors.
As of 2022, cellular communication and mobile Internet (GPRS/EDGE/UMTS/HSPA) in the St. Petersburg metro are available almost throughout all the tunnels and stations. Work to improve the quality of communication continues.Now, the Wi-Fi network is deployed on all metro lines.
The world’s deepest subway in terms of average depth: 61 of 72 stations are deep (22-86 meters). Station “Admiralteyskaya” is the deepest station in Russia (approximately 86 meters). The depth of the sections “Nevsky Prospekt” – “Gorkovskaya”, “Chernaya Rechka” – “Pionerskaya” and “Komendantsky Prospekt” – “Old Village” reaches 95-100 meters.
Because the subway was designed under I.V. Stalin, his images were provided at all stations of the first stage. However, almost all such elements were eliminated after N.S. Khrushchev debunked Stalin’s personality cult. The only image of Stalin remained at the Ploshchad Vosstaniya station in the form of a small figure on a bas-relief.
The first subway in the USSR is in two constituent entities of the Russian Federation (the Devyatkino station is in the Leningrad region). Before the launch of the Myakinino Moscow Metro station on the Arbatsko-Pokrovskayaline on December 26, 2009, it was the only such metro in the country.
Interesting facts
Closed-type stations were built for the first time in the world. There are ten of them in the St. Petersburg metro, and the first of them is Victory Park.
For the first time in the world, in 1975, single-vaulted deep-laying stations were built: Ploshchad Muzhestva and Politekhnicheskaya. There are 15 such stations in St. Petersburg and only one in Moscow.
For the first time in the USSR, in 1961, a cross-platform interchange hub (“Technological Institute”) was created.
For the first time in the world, in 1997, a two-tier interchange single-vaulted deep-laid station (“Sportivnaya”) was built.
The St. Petersburg metro station Prospekt Veteranov is the busiest in Russia.
For the construction of station vestibules, some churches were demolished in Soviet times (Znamenskaya, Spas-on-Sennaya, the Church of Cosmas and Damian).
The first subway in Russia, equipped with travelators, is in the tunnel under the Malaya Neva, which is part of the second exit of the station “Sportivnaya”.
One of the first subways in Russia to introduce electronic travel documents with microchips.
Prices
Since the introduction of the Leningrad Metro in 1955, the fare has been 50 kopecks per trip. Tickets or travel documents were used to pay for the fare. The passage was conducted through checkpoints. The staff of each station consisted of up to twenty controllers and cashiers.
Since January 1,2022, the fare has been 65 rubles.
Working hours
On average, the metro in St. Petersburg opens at 05:30, but the opening time varies for each station. The first trains leave at 05:20-06:30 depending on the line, station and day (even, odd).
The metro finishes its work at 00:03-01:00, again, the time varies. The last trains leave at 00:05-00:10.
Station lobbies open 10–20 minutes before the arrival of the first train.
The transition from one line to another ends at 00:15.
Several times a year, metro trains in St. Petersburg run without a night break; that is, from 01:00 to 05:00:
- From December 31 to January 1 – New Year
- From 6 to 7 January – Christmas
- Easter holiday
- May 1 to 2
- May 9 to 10
- Action “Night of Museums”
- May 27 – City Day
- Holiday of graduates “Scarlet Sails” (the last decade of June)
Night Train. During the navigation period from April 30 to November 15 on holidays and weekends (on the night from Friday to Saturday and from Saturday to Sunday) a night shuttle train runs between the stations “Admiralteyskaya” and “Sportivnaya.” The movement is conducted from 01:00 to 03:00 with an interval of 20 minutes. The exception is holidays and city events, during which the St. Petersburg metro operates 24 hours.
Main hubs and most beautiful stations (in alphabetical order)
Alexander Nevsky Square 2 metro station
Ligovsky Prospekt metro station
Ploshchad Vosstaniya metro station