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The Kiev Metro (Template:Lang-uk; Template:Lang-ru) is a metro system that is the mainstay of Kiev's public transport. It was the first metro in Ukraine and the third one built in the USSR (after Moscow and Leningrad (presently Saint Petersburg) ). Kiev Metro carries 1.6 million passengers daily, accounting for 34% of 4.7 million people who use the city's public transport system every day. In 2005, the number of trips totalled over 600 million.

Lines and stations

(The colours in the table correspond to the colours of the lines in the Kiev metro map.)

Kiev metro consists of 3 lines following the standard Soviet triangle layout of six radii intersecting in the centre, where most of the stations are very deep and could double as a bomb shelter. The interstation distance is also quite great 1.4 kilometres, although some of the longer tunnel streches have provisions for additional stations to be built in.

The 45 stations are split almost evenly between deep level and sub-surface stations. The former compromise 20 stations, of which 15 are of pylon type, 3 are of column type, and 2 stations are vall-columned. Of the 19 sub-surface stations, 12 stations are of pillar-trispan type and one is a side-platform pillar bi-span, 5 more are single vaults, and 1 is a single deck. In addition, 6 stations are located above ground, of which four are surface level, and the rest are estacade. Some stations have surface vestibules, whilst others are below street level interlinked with understeet subways. Recently disabled access became a big issue (previously overlooked) and all new stations have provisions.

Two depots provide a total of 617 metro cars which form 109 trains that travel 56.9 km of track length carrying 1.7 million passengers daily between 6:00 and until 0:00 when the metro is open. Stations usually have large entrance halls, which often host vendors.

History

Original proposals for a rapid transit system in Kiev originated back at the turn of the century in 1916 when businessmen of the Russo-American trading corporation attempted to collect funds to sponsor construction originally for the Tsarist administration and then for the short-lived Ukrainian states. However following the Bolshevik victory in the Russian Civil War all of the proposals were discarded. Only two decades later in 1936, two years after the capital of the Ukrainian SSR was moved from Kharkiv to Kiev, the presidium of the Kiev city Soviet analysed the first report by the Moscow's institute of transport engineering proposing an underground system for the reconstruction of the new capital. Funds were already allocated then for the development but were stopped in 1938 when preparation for World War II became a priority.

Following the terrible destruction suffered by the city in the war construction began only in august 1949 as part of Kiev's massive post-war reconstruction programme, and the first 5.2 kilometre five station segemen opened in 1960.

Those stations formed the central part of what is today known as the Sviatoshynsko-Brovarska Line, which runs from west to east of the city. The line crossed the Dnieper river in 1965 across a newly constructed Metro Bridge and went east to the large residential massives being built on the left bank of the river with subsequent extensions in 1968 and 1971. At the same time it extended to Kiev's westernmost residential area of Svyatoshyn in three stages 1963, 1971 and 2003.

Construction of the second north-south line began in the early 1970s and the first three stations were opened in 1976. What became known as the Kurenivsko-Chervonoarmiyska Line continued expanding in both directions, but particularly in stages conducted in 1980 and 1982 reached Obolon, then the largest residential district, in the north of Kiev. At the same time construction continued to the southwest with stages in 1981 and 1984.

Construction of the third, Syretsko-Pecherska Line began in 1981 for the first segment to open in 1989 with the first 3 stations in central Kiev. Following a northwest-southeast axis, in 1991 it continued up to the left bank of the Dnieper and by 1992 crossed the river into the rapidly developing Poznyaky and Kharkivsky residential districts in 1994. In mid late 1990s construction began on expansion to the older Syrets district in the northwest with stations opening in 1996, 2000 and 2004. In addition some of the stations were deliberately left unfinished and later opened like Pecherska 1997 and Vyrlytsia 2006.

Architecture

Metro systems in the former Soviet Union are known for their vivid and colourful decorations, and Kiev metro is no exception. The original stations are elaborately decorated, blending together traditional Ukrainian motives with those of postwar Stalinist architecture. From the mid-1960s, however, functionality of the metro became the most important factor in the architecture. Only in the 1970s did decorative architecture start to make a rapid recovery.

The stations built from the 1980s onwards show more innovative design that influenced also stations in other cities in former USSR. After the 1991 Ukrainian independence following the breakup of the Soviet Union, some of the Soviet symbols incorporated into decor were adapted to modern times or removed altogether thus liberating the original architectural composition of those stations from Soviet rudiments.

Language issues

When the Metro was opened in 1960, although many workers and all technical level documents were using Russian, nevertheless all the signs and announcements used Ukrainian exclusively. The closeness of the languages did allow for every station to have a Russian translation and these were often given in Russian language literature and media. However some Ukrainian names for stations were different from Russian ones, and to signify this, those stations were semi-translated semi-transliterated into Russian, effectively blending Ukrainian words into Russian grammar. Examples of this include Zhovnteva and Chervonoarmiyska (both later renamed to Beresteiska and Palats Ukrayina respectively) when translated into Russian would become Oktyabrskaya and Krasnoarmeiskaya, were instead given as Zhovtnevaya and Chervonoarmeiskaya.

During the 1980s partly due to Shcherbytsky's gradual Russification campaign, and partly due to Kiev becoming increasingly Russophone, the metro started to change as well. Although the stations retained their original Ukrainian titles on the vestibules, Russian was added mixed in with Ukrainian on the walls, and replaced Ukrainian in signs and voice announcements. Stations that were opened during this period still had Ukrainian appearing along with Russian on the walls, but now all the decorations, where slogans were required, too became bilingual. Also during this time the unique practice of blending Ukrainian into Russian was dropped, and those selected stations were called in standard Russian translation.

During the Perestroika in late 1980s, bilingualism was gradually introduced in signs and in voice announcements in the trains. Prior to 1991 this was done with Ukrainian following Russian, but after the republic's proclamation of Independence in August 1991 the order was changed to Ukrainian preceding Russian. After the fall of the Soviet Union in late 1991 both signs and voice announcements were changed from bilingual to Ukrainian-only during the Ukrainianization campaign. However the Russian names are still used in Russian-language literature and some documentation, also some of the decorations that featured bilingual slogans were retained.

Recently opened stations feature some emergency signs (like "exit") in English.

Operation

Management

The Kiev Metro is managed by the state-owned city municipal company Kyivsky Metropoliten which was privitased in the early 1990s from the Ministry of Rail services (formally known as Kievksy Metropoliten Ordena Lenina, Imeni V.I.Lenina). The Metro employs several thousand workers in tunnel and track, station and rolling stock management. In addition to being state sponsered for operation, income comes from ticket sales and from advertisments that are displayed in most Metro stations. Metro building is organised by a daughter company Metrostroy which alocates individual segments of construction to various worker brigades that are responsible for tunnel boring and erecting of the station. Metrostroy is directely funeded by the profits of the Metro and by the state. Most of the state funding comes from Kiev's municipality and additional is recived from the Presidency directely.

Ticket Prices

As of 2006 one way ticket in Kiev metro costs 0.50 Hryvnyas regardless of destination, as it is possible to go absoloutely to any place without getting out of the Metro. Plastic token are still used for turnstiles which can be bought from the cashier at any station, or at automatic exchange machines, which exchange 1 and 2 Hryvnya bills to the tokens. In addition to the tokens on some stations some of the turnstiles are designed to accept 50 kopeks coins. For frequent passengers monthly metropasses are available, which have a magnetic string. On each station there are specifically designed turnstiles that are capable to read the magnetic string. This technology has not been perfected yet, as it requires several repeat attempts for the ticket to be read, howver this is expected to replace the tokens in the future. Older passes, especially for those who have state benefits for free transport (e.g. pensioners) bypass the turnstiles altogether visually showing their social cards.

A new system with smart-chip cards has been under development. Such cards are based on a wireless technology and are readable within about ten centimetres near the reader without a physical contact with it. Also, under consideration is a proposal to set ride price according to the distance traveled, or time spent in the metro. For this purpose, turnstiles have been already installed near metro exits.

Originally the Metro ride cost 0.5 Soviet rubles (50 kopeks), however in 1961 following soviet denomination, and for 30 years the ride was fixed at (5 kopeks). Since 1991 as the country suffered from hyperinflation the price gradually rised by 1996 to 30,000 rubels(karbovanets), which is more than 5 hundred thousand times. Following the 1996 denomination 30,000 rubels (karbovanets) became 0.3 Hryvnyas (30 kopeks), and since that only once, in 2000 it was increased to the current 50 kopeks. Formally, the price is set by the Kiev City Administration, with the approval of the national government.

Ride conditions

As the Metro trains are very often renovated and repaired, most of them are slowly upgraded to modern standards and even so vandalsim and graffiti are much less common than in western European systems. One of the biggest challenges to the Metro is to deal with homeless people and alchoholics, and on each station there are security and police officers that are responsible for public order. In the wake of recent terrorist threats all of the stations are now fit with CCTV surveilance apparatus.

There are restrictions on the size of the luggage that passengers are allowed to carry, and those that do are required to pay addtional fee. Bicycles and animals are also not allowed. Until recentely amateur photography was frowned upon, and video shooting remains illegal. With the exception of two recently opened stations the Metro lacks provisions for disabled people.

Future plans

The third depot (on Syretsko-Pecherska Line) is under construction and is scheduled to be opened by Ukraine Independence Day, August 24, 2006.

The Kurenivsko-Chervonoarmiyska Line and Syretsko-Pecherska Line are being extended with plans for new stations stretching beyond 2020. According to the plans Kurenivsko-Chervonoarmiyska Line will expand southwards to the residential area of Teremky, Syretsko-Pecherska Line will extend north-westwards to Vynohradar neighborhood and on the left bank of the Dnieper from the exisiting Boryspilska station to the Livoberezhna station.

A fourth line, called Podilsko-Vyhurivska, is planned for opening in 2009 or 2010. Initially, it will have three stations all at the intersections with the existing lines. Future plans for this line include making it run north of and parallel to the Svyatoshynsko-Brovarska Line on the left bank of the Dnieper.

A fifth line, Livoberezhna, planned to be launched in 2009 will run from north to south along the left bank of the Dnieper, intersecting with the Podilsko-Vyhurivska Line and the Svyatoshynsko-Brovarska Line at the Livoberezhna station. The line will provide metro services to Troyeshchyna, Kiev's largest residential area.

In the more distant future it is expected that rapid transit be developed further including a surface ring railroad which will go around Kiev, and a rapid rail exchange with the Boryspil International Airport.

External links

• Template:Uk icon Official Kiev metro website
• Template:Ru icon Kiev metro site, supported by metrofans
• Template:En icon Kiev metro site at UrbanRail
• Template:En icon Kiev metro English map at Best of Ukraine

Template:Metros in FSU

• Rail transport in Ukraine
• Rapid transit in Europe
• Transport in Kiev city