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Wednesday 25 Mar 2015

Network Rail and Abellio make early announcement about Alliance Managing Director for Scotland

In building on the recent announcement of the Day One leadership team for ScotRail, Network Rail and Abellio are delighted to announce the appointment of Phil Verster as managing director for the planned Abellio ScotRail/Network Rail Alliance in Scotland. 

Prior to joining Network Rail in 2012, Phil was deputy chief executive officer at Irish Rail and before that engineering director at a London-based train operating company.  

Phil will work closely with Abellio’s mobilisation and transition team, the ScotRail leadership team and Network Rail to plan and organise the alliance transition arrangements, as well as facilitating an orderly and effective hand over from Steve Montgomery who has agreed to lead the new ScotRail franchise during the initial period of operations. Steve’s leadership will ensure continuity in service quality for customers.  We would like to take this opportunity to recognise Steve’s tremendous contribution to ScotRail and wish him every success in the future.

The formation of a new alliance for Scotland’s rail services offers major opportunities which require careful planning to deliver. The quick release of Phil Verster by Network Rail to work alongside Steve Montgomery and the Day One ScotRail team is a clear indication of the determination of both companies to set in place the formal alliance structure at the earliest opportunity.

Phil is currently route managing director of Network Rail's second largest route London North East (which includes the East Coast Main Line between London and Scotland) where he has led the implementation of continuous improvement, to drive cost benefits on the East Coast route. That, and his record in safety improvement, made him the ideal candidate for the role.

Announcing the appointment, Phil Hufton, managing director of network operations for Network Rail, said: “Phil brings a wealth of valuable experience to what will be one of the highest profile roles in the industry.  He has achieved great results during his time on the East Coast mainline and I look forward to him bringing that same positive approach to leading the railway in Scotland.”

Dominic Booth, managing director of Abellio UK, said: “We are delighted to be able to announce the appointment of Phil so early in the transition process, and so soon after announcing the Day One team for ScotRail. We are confident that Phil brings the requisite skills and experience to drive transformational change in order to deliver against our ambitious plans for the improvement of rail travel in Scotland.”

Phil Verster, who will report into Dominic Booth and Phil Hufton and will take up his appointment shortly, added:  “I am delighted to have been offered the opportunity to play this key role in Scotland's railway. The alliance between Abellio ScotRail and Network Rail gives us a unique opportunity to establish new ways of working and to improve what we deliver for the travelling public and our communities. This is a very exciting time for the railway in Scotland and my approach is all about listening to our communities and focusing on what is important to our customers.”

Further senior level appointments will be announced in due course.

Notes to Editors

Network Rail and Abellio are working towards an alliance which aims to bring greater efficiencies and passenger benefits to the railway in Scotland. While remaining separate companies the alliance will enable both organisations to work to common aims and objectives lead by a single managing director and senior management team.

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Abellio Corporate Travel Smartcard London Zone Extensions

• Thread starter mrfilbert
• Start date 12 Oct 2022
• 12 Oct 2022

Hi all, I've recently received a ACT smartcard with a Zones 1-3 annual travelcard loaded on it. Previously, Abellio used to issue these tickets on Oyster cards. This made it easy to do the occasional longer journey, beyond Zone 3, by simply getting the Gold Card discount activated and having PAYG credit on the card. I cannot for the life of me work out how I would travel beyond Zone 3 now. LUL ticket machines offer Zone Extensions, but these seem to be in the form of day travelcards. I have not been able to find the option to buy a single journey from the boundary of Zone 3 to the outer zones. Does anyone have any knowledge or experience of what I'm supposed to do here? For example, how would I make a single journey from Wood Green to Heathrow on the Piccadilly Line? Cheers, Filbert  

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Veteran Member

Unfortunately, if you have been issued your Travelcard on a non-Oyster medium, extending your journey is inconvenient and/or unnecessarily expensive. For Underground journeys, you can either buy a 'cash' fare at your origin (at a significant cost), or touch in at the last station covered by your Travelcard. Of course, as almost all Underground stations are barriered and very few have standalone readers, this will likely necessitate exiting the barriers with your Travelcard and then re-entering with contactless/Oyster - which will mean having to catch the next (or following) train. Probably not terrible if you're on a high frequency deep Tube line, but more of an issue if you're heading to Chesham or Amersham for instance. For National Rail journeys (which includes London Overground and Elizabeth Line* services), it's a little bit easier, as you can buy Boundary Zone X tickets for most journeys. In most cases this will cost more than using contactless/Oyster, but the premium isn't as large as that on paper Underground fares - and it avoids the need to step back a train (or two) at the last station covered by your Travelcard. Overall though, unless you're getting a substantial benefit by getting your Travelcard through ACT (e.g. an interest-free season ticket loan), I'd try to look at getting your Travelcard on Oyster instead. It's just so much simpler, albeit there are some downsides (e.g. the fact your Travelcard gets blocked if you go into negative credit). *Except in the Core, where TfL, in their infinite wisdom, pretend it's an Underground line and therefore only sell zonal Underground fares - although "National Rail" tickets are valid in a number of cases.  

Watershed said: Unfortunately, if you have been issued your Travelcard on a non-Oyster medium, extending your journey is inconvenient and/or unnecessarily expensive. For Underground journeys, you can either buy a 'cash' fare at your origin (at a significant cost), or touch in at the last station covered by your Travelcard. Of course, as almost all Underground stations are barriered and very few have standalone readers, this will likely necessitate exiting the barriers with your Travelcard and then re-entering with contactless/Oyster - which will mean having to catch the next (or following) train. Probably not terrible if you're on a high frequency deep Tube line, but more of an issue if you're heading to Chesham or Amersham for instance. For National Rail journeys (which includes London Overground and Elizabeth Line* services), it's a little bit easier, as you can buy Boundary Zone X tickets for most journeys. In most cases this will cost more than using contactless/Oyster, but the premium isn't as large as that on paper Underground fares - and it avoids the need to step back a train (or two) at the last station covered by your Travelcard. Overall though, unless you're getting a substantial benefit by getting your Travelcard through ACT (e.g. an interest-free season ticket loan), I'd try to look at getting your Travelcard on Oyster instead. It's just so much simpler, albeit there are some downsides (e.g. the fact your Travelcard gets blocked if you go into negative credit). *Except in the Core, where TfL, in their infinite wisdom, pretend it's an Underground line and therefore only sell zonal Underground fares - although "National Rail" tickets are valid in a number of cases. Click to expand...

mrfilbert said: That's very helpful, thank you. I'm rail staff so I get a 75% discount on my season ticket + an interest-free loan for the remainder through ACT. It sucks that things are so much more complicated & costly than they were when ACT issued Oyster cards, but still obviously worth doing for the substantial discount. At least I know now that the answer is either to touch out and touch in with a contactless card or pay through the nose for a paper extension ticket. Click to expand...

• 14 Oct 2022

philthetube

Established member.

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Abellio UK becomes Transport UK Group as buy-out concludes

By Rail Business UK 2023-03-01T15:05:00+00:00

UK: Dutch national train operator NS announced on March 1 that its international operating arm Abellio had formally completed the divestiture of its UK subsidiary through a management buy-out.

With the regulatory approval process now completed, Abellio UK’s operations will transfer in their entirety to the MBO vehicle, Transport UK Group Ltd. The transfer includes the East Midlands Railway, West Midlands Trains and Greater Anglia train operating companies, as well as 60 London bus routes. TUG will also operate Merseyrail in partnership with Serco.

Abellio said that in the short term, its brand will continue to be used by some parts of the business, including Abellio London Bus.

The Greater Anglia operation was a 60:40 joint venture of Abellio and Mitsui.

NS changed its international strategy in 2018 to require foreign activities to contribute to the interests of Dutch travellers, and with Abellio UK no longer of strategic importance it decided to withdraw from the UK to focus on services within, to and from the Netherlands.

The MBO has been led by Abellio UK Managing Director Dominic Booth. Commenting on the conclusion of the deal on March 1, Booth said ‘we are thrilled to return key public transport services back into UK ownership. While our name will change to Transport UK Group, our values remain the same. We will continue to play a key role in the country’s transport sector, ensuring the provision of our award-winning services to passengers around the UK and driving innovation to develop a low-emission UK transport network.’

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Abellio UK management buy-out as NS exits British market

2022-08-23T17:06:00Z By Rail Business UK

UK: Dutch state passenger operator NS has announced a management buy-out of its Abellio UK rail and bus business.

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Description of the UK rail and bus market

The UK government privatised the railways in 1993. Since this time the UK franchising bodies such as the British Department for Transport (DfT) award contracts for the operations of UK rail franchises to private operators (Train Operating Companies, TOCs) for a specified period of time, typically eight to ten years. As at December 2019, there are 20 franchised TOCs operating passenger rail services in the UK. Five of the franchised operations are managed by Abellio. 13 of these franchises are let by DfT, however some franchises – including ScotRail and Merseyrail – are let by national/ regional franchising authorities. Rail infrastructure in the UK is maintained by Network Rail which was brought back into public sector ownership in 2013. The TOCs work closely together with Network Rail to deliver safe and efficient operations. Abellio operates ScotRail under an Alliance Agreement with Network Rail Scotland, which means that the management teams work in close partnership. The purpose of the alliance is to work on specified initiatives and align priorities for both ScotRail and Network Rail in such a way that this benefits the quality of public transport in Scotland, is cost effective, and improves services for passengers.  In 1985 the UK Government removed all regulations governing bus transport outside London. This led to the privatisation of local council owned bus companies and the majority of regional bus services are now operated by the ‘Big Five’ (Arriva, FirstGroup, Go-Ahead Group, National Express, and Stagecoach Group). Abellio operates bus services in London, where Transport for London (TfL) is responsible for revenue, marketing and ticketing and awards concessions to operate specified bus routes to operators. Whilst passenger numbers have grown in London, there has been a dramatic reduction in bus usage across the rest of the country.

Current market context

There has been a huge increase in demand for rail, with a doubling of passenger numbers since privatisation whilst the infrastructure is not everywhere suitable to cope with this. Many routes have been engaged in large infrastructure enhancements in the past years and continued investment in new trains with over 1,000 additional vehicles being introduced during 2019 and 2020. This investment is allowing new trains, with additional services and capacity but has resulted in timetable changes with disruption for many customers as the increased use of the tracks could not be sufficiently dealt with in all areas. Calls for radical change of the UK rail industry, have been driven by customers’ frustration at poor performance of the railway system and perceived high fares. The annual fare increases are set by the UK Government, linked to the retail price index. This process reflects the political decision taken years ago to shift the balance of the UK’s rail network costs onto passengers rather than general taxpayers. A significant proportion of punctuality issues are down to Network Rail, the already publicly owned UK infrastructure operator, with their regulator -the Office for Rail and Road – taking enforcement action in November 2018 following a decline in performance since 2015. The new CEO of Network Rail introduced a “putting passengers and freight users first” initiative that is having a positive impact on performance. During 2018 and 2019, there was also significant change in the UK Rail market with the Government taking back control of the East Coast Mainline franchise and recently of the Northern franchise, legal challenges from rail owning groups to franchise obligations in relation to pension contributions and the exit of significant operators from UK rail. The Department for Transport cancelled the franchise process for the South Eastern franchise. Industrial action impacted rail operations throughout the UK in 2019, in particular focused around the issue of driver only operation of the train doors and the role of the conductor. Given the challenges facing UK Rail, with major shifts in customers’ travelling patterns, and general customer dissatisfaction with performance following the introduction of poorly executed time table changes in certain franchises in 2018, the UK Government commissioned a ‘root and branch’ review of the UK rail industry, chaired by an independent business leader Keith Williams. In calling the Williams review, the governing Conservative Party reaffirmed its support for the principle of private sector involvement in running the railway, positioning the exercise as a practical response to challenges like fragmentation between track and train, the continued underperformance of the railway system and the impact of industrial relations issues. Abellio has made submissions to the Williams Review based on our own experience in the UK market. It is expected that the Williams Review’s findings and recommendations will be published in a Government white paper in March 2020 alongside plans for increased devolution of transport powers to Metropolitan authorities and consultation on minimum service obligations during industrial action. These reforms may re-open opportunities to bid for railway business across the UK. In 2017, the UK Government passed the Bus Services Act, which gives some city regions the opportunity to regulate bus routes, fares and operations. Greater Manchester and other regions are consulting on moving to a bus operating model based on Transport for London’s concession system. Abellio UK has developed a strategy to pursue opportunities to bid to run bus operations in a number of these city regions in England based on its experience in the London bus market. Demand for Rail and Bus services is likely to increase as the UK Government, and devolved regional and country Governments, all pursue policies to reduce dependence on cars. A series of targets to achieve net zero carbon emissions have been set and this will likely drive demand for public transport.

Following the UK Parliament’s inability to break the deadlock over the Brexit process an early general election was called for December 2019, which the Conservative Party won with a significant majority. Following the election, the Government passed legislation to ensure that the UK could formally leave the European Union with a withdrawal deal on 31 January 2020. During the subsequent transition period, expected to be until 31 December 2020, Britain will effectively remain in the EU’s customs union and single market but it will be outside of the political institutions and there will be no British members of the European Parliament.  British Government negotiators have until year-end 2020 to agree and ratify a trade deal with the EU, after which the UK will either begin a new relationship with the EU, or exit the transition period without a trade deal in which case the UK would be faced paying tariffs on exports to the EU.  Abellio UK is active only in the UK and does not provide any international cross-border passenger rail services. All necessary licenses to operate (such as licenses from the ORR, homologation of trains) are in place and will remain in place. Brexit does not have any direct impact on Abellio UK’s operations from a legal point of view, and a ‘no-deal’ situation will not impact the necessary licenses.  The British Pound (GBP) has fallen in value against the Euro since the Brexit vote from 1.31 in June 2016 down to 1.18 at year-end 2019, a decline of 10%. Abellio UK does not have any material exposure to foreign currencies, and so the only impact of this is the translation risk to NS. This translation risk has an impact on the translation of invested capital, balance sheet items and results into Euros.  There are potential implications from Brexit for the smooth import of new trains and spare parts and a decline in economic growth having an impact on passenger revenue and profitability. In the event of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit at the end of 2020 economic growth could diminish further. Contractual and other measures are in place to mitigate risk. Abellio UK is confident of achieving its ambitions through all Brexit outcomes, although a ‘no deal’ Brexit may hamper the growth in revenue and will have an impact on results of Abellio UK.

Abellio UK rail and bus franchises

Abellio operates 5 UK rail franchises and around 8% of London bus services with a combined revenue of € 3.15bn (including Merseyrail). Abellio UK operates East Midlands Railway, ScotRail, Greater Anglia as a 60:40 venture with Mitsui, West Midlands as a 70:15:15 venture with Mitsui and JR East and Merseyrail as a joint venture with Serco, as well as a profitable bus business. In addition to serving the Transport for London market, the bus business provides complementary travel expertise, including a rail replacement service in case of disruption for Abellio TOCs and also for the Caledonian Sleeper franchise.

Key figures for UK rail franchise and bus companies

• * Greater Anglia pays a franchise fee of € 205.2m rather than receiving subsidy from the government.

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Abellio UK to be renamed Transport UK Group

Abellio UK and its Dutch shareholder Nederlandse Spoorwegen have completed a management buyout, signed in August 2022, after receiving all formal approvals required.

Following the completion of this complex deal, the new company, Transport UK Group Ltd (TUK), will take over all Abellio UK’s existing services, serving millions of rail and bus passengers in London, Liverpool, the Midlands and East Anglia. TUK will operate East Midlands, West Midlands, Greater Anglia and over 60 London bus routes.

The company will also operate Merseyrail in partnership with Serco. In the short term, the Abellio brand will remain in operation for parts of the business, including Abellio London Bus, but under the TUK group.

Under its new name, TUK remains committed to playing a vital, long-term role in the future of UK rail and bus services, ensuring that it delivers on passenger needs and provides a sustainable, safe, and reliable travel experience. The company will also continue to provide its voice and extensive knowledge to help shape the debate on UK rail industry reform, focusing on driving innovation and working with all governmental and industry bodies to shape and implement a future-ready, low-emission UK transport network.

The deal was led by Managing Director Dominic Booth, who has decades of experience running public transport services in the UK.

He said: “We are thrilled to return key public transport services back into UK ownership. While our name will change to Transport UK Group, our values remain the same. We will continue to play a key role in the country’s transport sector, ensuring the provision of our award-winning services to passengers around the UK and driving innovation to develop a low-emission UK transport network.”

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1. Famous Moscow metro stations

Kievskaya (circle line).

The station was opened on March 14, 1954. It was named after the nearby Kievsky Railway Station. Decorating of station is devoted to friendship of Russian and Ukrainian people. Rich mosaic decoration is made from smalt and valuable stones by project of Ukrainian architects, chosen from seventy-three works presented on competition.

Kievskaya (Dark-blue line)

It was opened on April 5, 1953. Design of the station is devoted to the Soviet Ukraine and reunion of Ukraine and Russia. The station is decorated with a large number of the picturesque cloths executed in style of socialist realism in fresco technique. The fresco «Holiday in Kiev», made in 1953 was practically destroyed in 2010, due to an accident during nearby constructing works. While the fresco recovery, restorers revived its original appearance that had gone through many changes since its creation.

Ploshad Revolutsii

The station was opened on March 13, 1938. The most interesting feature of the station is 76 bronze figures, situated in niches of 18 arches. This peculiar gallery of images of Soviet people, aimed to personify force and power of the country, its glorious past and bright future. One of the bronze sculptures — a dog that accompanies a frontier guard — is believed to bring good luck if you touch its nose.

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Prospect Mira station of the Circle line was opened on January 30, 1952. It used to be called Botanical Garden up to June 20, 1966. The station’s decoration is devoted to development of agriculture in the USSR. Light marble and bas-reliefs by sculptor G. I. Motovilov decorate poles of the station. Famous smalt panel «Mothers of the World» by A. N. Kuznetsov is situated in the lobby.

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Komsomolskaya station was opened on January 30, 1952. The station has rich decoration devoted to a fight of USSR against overseas aggressors and victory in the Great Patriotic War. Mosaic panels from smalt and valuable stones, created according to sketches of the Lenin Award winner Pavel Corin, represent famous Russian commanders and weapons of different eras.

Novokuznetskaya

The station was opened on November 20, 1943. Its name was originally written through a hyphen: ‘Novo-Kuznetskaya’. The interior of the station is rich with decorating elements. The idea of creative force and power of Soviet people, its remarkable victories in the Great Patriotic War found realization in architectural design of station. The perimeter of the escalator arch is decorated with bronze sculptures by the sculptor N.V.Tomsky.

Novoslobodskaya

Novoslobodskaya station was opened on January 30, 1952. It was called after Novoslobodskaya street, where the station is situated. 32 original stained-glass windows from multi-colored glass, framed with steel and gilded brass and the famous mosaic panel «World peace», situated at the face wall the station, are made by sketches of Pavel Dmitriyevich Corin.

Dostoyevskaya

Dostoevskaya is comparatively new station, opened on June 19, 2010. It is situated at Suvorovskaya Square. Russian writer Fedor Dostoyevsky was born and lived in this district of Moscow. Therefore, the station bears his name and features scenes from his works «Crime and Punishment», «The Idiot», «Demons», «The Brothers Karamazov». Artist Ivan Nikolaev, the author of the decoration, said that depicting scenes of violence shows depth and tragedy of Dostoevsky’s work.

2. General information about Moscow metro

Metro working hours, navigation, wi-fi.

The Moscow Metro is open from about 5:30 am until 1:00 am. The precise opening time varies at different stations according to the arrival of the first train, but all stations simultaneously close their entrances and transitions to other lines at 01:00 am for maintenance. The minimum interval between trains is 90 seconds during the morning and evening rush hours. Each line is identified according to an alphanumeric index (usually consisting of a number), a name and a color. Voice announcements in Russian refer to the lines by name and by numbers in English. A male voice announces the next station when traveling towards the center of the city or the clockwise direction on the circle line, and a female voice – when going away from the center or the counter-clockwise direction at the circle. The lines are also assigned specific colors for maps and signs.

Free Wi-Fi is called MT_FREE and available on all 14 lines (inside the trains).

Using Metro services is frequently the fastest and the most efficient way to get from one part of the city to another. But during daytime Moscow Metro stations are usually overcrowded so if you want to just enjoy the beauty of the underground, it’s better to visit it late in the evening.

MCC and MCD

Since 2016 The Moscow Metro is connected to two new types of rail transport. The first one is MCC – Moscow Central Circle. It has 31 stations around the city with changes to metro stations (most of them require to walk a few minutes via the street). The second one is MCD, Moscow Central Diameters, a system of city train services on existing commuter rail lines in Moscow and Moscow Oblast. MCD has several lines, they’re being marked as D1, D2 etc. Changing to both MCC and MCD from the Metro is free when your journey is within the city. Both MCC and MCD lines exist on all of the Moscow Metro maps.

Interesting facts about Moscow metro

213 people were born in the metro during the World War II, when it was used as a bomb shelter.

There are 76 bronze sculptures of workers, peasants, soldiers, sailors, etc. at Ploshchad Revolyutsii station. There is legend connected with this station. To pass any examination successfully, a student should touch the bronze dog’s nose («the Frontier Guard with a Dog» sculpture). You can easily understand high popularity of this legend by looking at the polished nose of the dog.

It is said that some of the magnificent mosaics at several central stations, for example the «World Peace» mosaic at Novoslobodskaya, were made with the pieces of enamel and smalt, taken from the famous Christ the Savior Cathedral, before it’s destruction.

As any other dungeon the Moscow metro, has its own ghosts. The most famous one is the old lineman. He is not dangerous and usually hides into the wall, when people appear. The ghostly metro train is much more dangerous. It appears after midnight at the Circle Line and consists of old-time carriages. It sometimes stops at the stations and opens its doors, and then goes back into the darkness. It is said that the souls of Stalin’s prisoners, perished during the building of the metro are locked in the train forever.

3. Moscow Metro tickets

1 or 2 trips.

You can buy tickets in ticket offices or in automatic ticket machines. Passes for 1 or 2 trips are the most expensive. They sold only in ATM and cost 55 and 110 rubles (€0.55 and €1.10) respectively.

More than 2 trips

All the other kinds of tickets are available in the ticket offices. Tickets for bigger amount of trips are more profitable.

«90 Minutes» ticket

A ticket «90 minutes» is valid for one trip on the metro and an unlimited number of trips on surface transport within this time. It costs 65 rub (€0.65).

The «Troyka» card

You can also use «Troyka» – refillable card to pay for travelling on all kinds of public transport – metro, buses, trolley-buses, trams, monorail and blue minibuses. With «Troyka» one trip costs 35 rub (€0.35).

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Moscow’s new suburban rail lines dramatically improve commutes!

The first two of the five lines of the MCD were launched November 21: the MCD1 line goes to Odintsovo (west) and Lobnya (north), while MCD2 to Podolsk (south) and Nakhabino (west). These towns are some 20-30 km from Moscow, and are inhabited by hundreds of thousands of people traveling to Moscow on business each day.

Vladimir Putin at the opening of the MCD.

Both lines cross over with central Moscow stations, as well as those on the outskirts. You can change over to the Moscow Central Circle or the metro (there is a total of 27 stations where you can make the switch). These changes allow for getting to and from the city center much faster and more conveniently than commuter trains.

Why does Moscow need the MCD?

The MCD will add to the function of the commuter trains, easing part of the daily burden experienced by those lines, as well as reduce car traffic in and out of town. The MCD runs every 5-10 minutes with only a four-hour break at night. The reason the new trains are referred to as Diameters is that they travel not just to Moscow’s main intercity stations, but also from one city on the outskirts of Moscow all the way to another one situated at the other end. 

The service runs similar to an ordinary Metro, from 5:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. Directions are available in English, so you won’t get lost.

One important change you must remember is the Aeroexpress trains to Sheremetyevo airport now run differently than before: now one ride from the Belorussky railway to Sheremetyevo will take 50 minutes - instead of the usual 35. Also, on the way from the airport, Belorussky railway will no longer be the final stop - Odintsovo will. But there will also be a few new stations that cross over with the regular metro - in the Moscow City district, on Begovaya, Fili and Kuntsevskaya. All of these interlink with the regular metro.

New internet-capable trains

The MCD trains - in accordance with the Russian custom with giving names of birds to every new train route - will carry the name Ivolga (Russian word for “Eurasian golden oriole”). The carriages are outfitted with bike racks, luggage and stroller compartments, power sockets and USB chargers with every seat, as well as free Wi-Fi - as is the case with all of Moscow’s urban transport. 

39 trains are currently operational.

Free transfers!

Prior to the MCD appearing, passengers wanting to switch between city and suburban trains had to buy separate tickets. The MCD greatly simplifies the process: now you simply need to use your Troika card at the MCD ticket stalls. There are two tariffs - city (38 rubles, or $0.6) and regional (45 rubles, $0.8; meaning cities just on the outskirts of Moscow - not the entire region). If you need to go further afield into the Moscow region, beyond the MCD, then your Troika card will be charged an additional $0.35 (23 rubles) to transfer to the ‘elektrichka’ (electrical commuter trains). 

Switching between MCD and metro trains is free for a 90-minute window, irrespective of the tariff. However, if you don’t check out of the station at the exit stalls, your Troika card will be blocked, and require around $2.30 (150 rubles) to unlock. 

You can also pay via Apple Pay, Google Pay, Mastercard PayPass and Visa PayPass. 

Will there be other ‘diameters’?

Several more MCD are slated to launch before 2025 - the MCD3 (from Ramenskoye to Zelenograd), MCD4 (Zheleznodorozhny to Aprelevka) and MCD5 (from Domodedovo to Pushkino). Right now, the passenger load of the first two Diameters is estimated at 900,000 per day. All five Diameters will serve more than 330 million Moscow passengers every year. 

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Moscow Metro

The Moscow Metro is one of the world's busiest underground railway systems, and also one of the most extensive.

Date Opened

Line 1 – May 15 1935

Population of Moscow

10,524,400 (June 2009)

Moscow Metro Staff

Total system length (2013), contractors.

Metrostroy and Metrowagonmash

Ring Line Total Length

Start date (construction).

2007–08

Opening Date

Maximum line speed, average operating speed.

AC (third rail current collection)

Older Stock

Eight cars (lines 2,6,7,9), seven cars (lines 1,3,8,10), six cars (lines 4,5,11)

One of the busiest metros in the world

Over 9 million passengers carried per day

Second ring line will reduce overcrowding on existing lines

New ring line will be further from the city centre to provide suburb-suburb connections

Construction of extensions to start by 2008

The Moscow Metro is one of the world’s busiest underground railway systems, and also one of the most extensive. However, the network is now under severe strain as nine million passengers use the 325.4km system every day, and there is an urgent need to reduce the amount of passengers at city centre interchanges, and on the current ring line.

Far from being an ordinary railway, the stations are ornately designed, and home to a wide array of socialist realist art. The system has 194 stations spread across 12 conventional lines. They are spaced 1,800m apart, allowing trains to attain a speed of around 42km/h (26mph) between stops.

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The majority of the network is hidden deep below the streets of Moscow – there are a total of 70 deep level stations, 87 on a more shallow level, a further ten on the surface, and four on elevation.

However, even with such an extensive network of radial lines from the city centre to the suburbs and a connecting circle line within the city centre, the Moscow Metro still needs more routes in order to meet the demands of all the outlying suburbs and provide more flexible inter-suburb connections.

The metro system is continuing to expand to provide better services to the people. In December 2009, three new stations, Myakinino, Volokolamskaya and Mitino, were inaugurated. The Myakinino station is the first station of the metro to be situated outside Moscow.

Moscow metro project

The need to provide a convenient and quick transport option for the people of Moscow led to the development of the ring railway system. The project was originally conceptualised in 1901 and included the construction of a 67km elevated railway line and 16km of tunnels. The plan, however, did not materialise due to high costs and other factors.

In 1931, the government needed to address the growing transportation problems in the city and commissioned the construction of an underground railway system.

The main aim of the project was to provide cheap and adequate transportation to the people of Moscow. In 1932, the plan for the first line was approved and work on an experimental tunnel was initiated. The construction of another ten lines with a length of 80km was approved in 1933. In 1934, the construction of the first line was taken up in three stages and completed.

In June 2006, to meet the demands of inter-suburb travel, a second ring line around Moscow was proposed.

After receiving approval from the Moscow City Government, the start date for the project was set for 2008, and a 12km section between Mezhdunarodnaya and Savyolovskaya was to be built initially, with eight stations. The project was seen as an ambitious step but one that is needed as overcrowding was becoming a major issue. In 2006, the 0.5km Vystavochnaya–Mezhdunarodnaya section was completed.

The new ring line is expected to be built between 3km (1.9 miles) and 5km (three miles) further from the city centre than the present ring line, which is 20km long and primarily circles the centre of Moscow. It is envisaged that the new ring line will reduce the number of journeys made into the city to reach other outlying areas, providing interchanges with other lines radiating from the centre further out of the city. The new ring line is scheduled to be completed by 2018.

Metro line construction

Metrostroy, the company that built the entire Moscow metro, faced several difficulties while constructing the metro system. The company encountered different types of soil, underground rivers, limestone and quicksand while carrying out tunnelling operations. To build the metro system, Metrostroy used deep-level tunnelling and cut-and-cover procedure of construction.

About 9,013m of tunnels were constructed by cutting and another 887m were built with the help of mechanical shields. A further 3,251m were constructed using the cut-and-cover method and 4,220m using the open-cutting method. The part from Komsomolskaya to Biblioteka Imeni Lenina required deep-level tunnelling as the area contained several high-rise buildings and narrow streets.

Moscow metro infrastructure

The Moscow metro features safety systems such as automatic interlocking system, signalling systems and centralised traffic control. Other safety provisions include security signalling devices, fire extinguishing equipment and closed-circuit surveillance equipment with video recording. A modern ticketing system provides passengers with a range of options to travel in the metro.

Rolling stock

The Moscow metro uses two main types of metro car, the E-series and newer 81-series. They are the same as those used in other former Soviet cities, including St Petersburg, Budapest, Prague and Warsaw.

Different lines use varying lengths of trains to meet the passenger demands and frequency. Lines 2, 6, 7 and 9 have the longest trains with eight cars, whilst other lines use six or seven car trains. All vehicles are 19.6m long.

As is standard throughout Russia, the Moscow Metro uses 1,520mm gauge track, but unusually for a metro system employs a third rail for AC power at 825V.

On an average day, the metro operates 9,915 trains carrying an average of 53 passengers per car.

Moscow metro signalling and communications

The Moscow metro has an unusual way of making communication to passengers simple. The public address system has two operators, one male and one female. On the ring line, the male voice denotes trains travelling clockwise, whilst the female voice announces trains travelling anti-clockwise. On the radial lines from the city centre to the suburbs, the male voice announces trains travelling towards the centre and the female voice announces trains travelling out of the centre.

Trains can travel up to a minimum of 90 seconds apart using the present signalling system and achieve a relatively high speed between stops of 42km/h. At off-peak times, train frequency can drop to between eight and ten minutes.

Metro line routes

The 12 lines on the Moscow metro include: Sokolnicheskaya line (26.1km), Zamoskvoretskaya line (36.9km), Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya line (43.5km), Filyovskaya line (14.9km), Kol’tsevaya (circle) line (19.3km), Kaluzhsko-Rizhskaya line (37.6km), Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya line (35.9km), Kalininskaya line (13.1 km), Serpukhovsko-Timiryazevskaya line (41.2km), Liublinsko-Dmitrovskaya line (20.7km), Kakhovskaya line (3.3km) and Butovskaya line (5.5km).

The Sokolnicheskaya line runs between Ulitsa Podbel’skogo and Yugo-Zapadnaya and services 19 stations. The Zamoskvoretskaya line is among the busiest lines of the metro. It connects Krasnogvardeyskaya and Rechnoy Vokzal, and services 20 stations. The Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya line services 21 stations, and runs between Shchelkovskaya and the newly constructed Mitino.

The Filyovskaya line connects Kuntsevskaya with Mezhdunarodnaya and services 13 stations. The Kievskaya-Kuntsevskaya section of this line is a surface line. The Kol’tsevaya line encircles seven out of the nine railway depots of Moscow. It has 12 stations and its major routes include Park Kultury, Kurskaya and Kievskaya.

The Kaluzhsko-Rizhskaya line with 24 stations connects Medvedkovo and Novoyasenevskaya. The seventh line, the Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya line, is another busy line of the metro. It connects Planernaya and Vykhino and services 19 stations. About seven stations are services by the Kalininskaya, line which links Novogireevo and Tretyakovskaya.

The ninth line, the Serpukhovsko-Timiryazevskaya line, connects Altuf’evo with Bul’var Dmitriya Donskogo. The line serves a total of 25 stations. The Liublinsko-Dmitrovskaya line has 12 stations and runs between Trubnaya and Mar’ino. The shortest line of the metro, the Kakhovskaya line, serves three stations, and links Kashirskaya and Kakhovskaya.

The last line of the metro, the Butovskaya line, is the starting line of the light rail metro. The line connects Ulitsa Starokachalovskaya and Buninskaya Alleya, and has five stations. About 1.8km of the line is elevated.

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