RUSSIA: Mayor of Moscow Yury Luzhkov was among the passengers who rode the first train from Strogino to Mitino on December 26, when three new stations entered service on the Artbatsko-Pokrovskaya line.
The northwestern suburb of Mitino has developed rapidly over the last 10 years and is now densely-populated. The 6 km extension of Line 3 is expected to relieve the congested northwest section of Line 7 (Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya), offering residents an alternative route to the city centre.
Heading north from Strogino, trains now call at Myakinino, the first Moscow metro station to be funded privately, and then cross the Moskva river to Volokolamskaya and Mitino. The extension brings the operational length of the Artbatsko-Pokrovskaya line to 43·7 km, making it the longest on the Moscow Metro network. A further extension to Piatnitskaya is expected to open in 2012, along with a new depot.
The trains working Line 3 are currently being upgraded and ATO, which is already in use between Kievskaya and Strogino, will be installed on the entire line. The route will eventually be worked by new Rusich cars manufactured by Metrovagonmash.
- Read more about Moscow Metro in the March issue of Metro Report International.
