Yaroslavsky railway station (from 1862 to 1870 – Troitsky, from 1922 to 1955 – Severny) – railway station, the passenger terminal of the Moscow-Passenger-Yaroslavskaya station. It is located in the Krasnoselsky district of Moscow on Komsomolskaya Square.
It also refers to the Moscow Regional Directorate of Railway Stations.
Architect Roman Kuzmin designed the first station building in 1862 to service the Moscow-Sergiyevo railway. It is one of the ten stations in the capital and is considered the largest in traffic volume. By 1870, the line was extended to Yaroslavl. After this, the station was expanded and reconstructed according to the project of Fyodor Shekhtel.
The building of the Yaroslavl railway station is considered one of the outstanding creations of Fyodor Shekhtel. He managed to combine elements of ancient Russian architecture with Art Nouveau decor. The structure acquires a remarkable similarity with the tower due to the combination of different architectural volumes. Thanks to this technique, unique images of the structure are formed from different viewpoints, the single part of which is the left tower. According to the architect’s idea, it and the vestibule became the main vertical axes of the Yaroslavl railway station. Their significance is emphasized by the shape of the roofs: a comb-like roof rises above the vestibule, and a tall tent crowns the tower.
Since Shekhtel partially used the old building during the construction of the new building, the facades retained individual elements of Kuzmin’s creation.
The massive volume of the vestibule is highlighted by a risalit and is designed to personify the “city gates” leading to a spacious vaulted waiting room. Above the entrance, the architect placed the coats of arms of the main cities of the Yaroslavl railway – Moscow, Arkhangelsk and Yaroslavl. This part of the building is decorated with semicircular pylons and a high roof with a valance.
The exterior decoration of the station is associated with the ancient art of the Yaroslavl and Arkhangelsk provinces and the motifs of north Russia. A wide ceramic frieze with a turquoise floral pattern surrounds the station. It was made according to sketches by Shekhtel in the Abramtsevo workshop of Savva Mamontov. Wrought-iron decorations reminiscent of northern ornaments rise above the roof of the lobby.
As of 2022, the station ranks first in passenger traffic in the country. At the same time, the main share of traffic falls on suburban trains – more than 6 million people a month, while only a little more than 500 thousand people use long-distance routes per month.
Suburban electric trains leave Yaroslavsky Station to the following destinations: Alexandrov I, Balakirevo, Bolshevo, Zelyony Bor, Krasnoarmeysk, Monino, Mytishchi, Pushkino, Sergiev Posad, Sofrino, Fryazevo, Fryazino-Passenger, Shchelkovo.
The station serves as the starting point of the Trans-Siberian Railway, the “zero kilometers” of which is located between the third and fourth tracks. The longest (by route) trains leave the station, going from Moscow to Vladivostok.
The Yaroslavl station is also the final destination for many trains of the Northern Railway, connecting Moscow with the cities of the north of the European part of Russia: Arkhangelsk and Vorkuta.
Nearby: Leningradsky railway station, Kazansky railway station.
Metro: Komsomolskaya (ring), Komsomolskaya (radial).
See also Moscow transport system, Moscow railways, Moscow metro.
