THE 166th station on the Moscow metro network entered service on May 9, with the opening of a 4 km extension of the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya line westwards from Kievskaya. The new terminus at Park Pobedy is claimed to be the deepest metro station in the world, with the platforms lying 97m below ground. These are connected to the surface by 126m long escalators with 740 steps each.
Located on Kutuzovsy Prospekt near the Victory Park memorial complex, the four-track station has architectural treatment by local artist Surab Zereteli. One island platform is decorated to commemorate the 1812 battle of Borodino and the other to mark World War II.
Work on the extension began in 1987, but was delayed by the metro authority’s funding problems. A further extension is envisaged to Slavyanskiy Boulevard, which would provide interchange to Kuntsevskaya station on the Filyovskaya line. Earlier this year the city government said that 40 km of new line and 20 stations would be opened over the next five years at a cost of 63bn roubles.
