Moscow Metro, MCC carry over 1.3 billion passengers in first six months of 2018

The city metro and the Moscow Central Circle (MCC) carried over 1,262,000,000 riders in the first six months of 2018 or 27 million passengers more than in January−June 2017.

Salaryevo Station posted the greatest increase in passenger traffic, with 5.8 million people using it in January−June 2018, a 33 percent upsurge on the same period of 2017. The station became more popular due to expanded housing construction projects in southeastern Moscow and also because additional express trains arrive here from Vnukovo airport. In addition, S6 shuttle buses linked the station with Vnukovo airport in the run-up to the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Kitai-Gorod and Ploshchad Revolyutsii metro stations, which are located next to the new Zaryadye Park, handle many more passengers than before. Over 11 million and eight million people, respectively, have used them in the past six months, with both stations serving an additional 1.2 million riders each.

“The Moscow Metro carries over 2.4 billion passengers annually. Eight new metro stations have opened since the beginning of 2018, and new seamless links with MCC stations have appeared, making it easier to reach the city’s residential areas. This has also served to increase the metro’s ridership. In the first six months of 2018, we have carried 1,201,000,000 riders, with Lastochka (Swallow) fast trains moving over 60.5 million more along the MCC. The MCC’s passenger traffic volumes are up 21 percent on the first six months of 2017,” said First Deputy Moscow Metro Chief for Strategic Development and Client Relations Roman Latypov.

The first section of the Big Circle Line (BCL) has now opened, with new stations providing links to the Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya (No. 7) and Zamoskvoretskaya (No. 2) lines. Passenger flows have therefore changed dramatically. In January−June 2018, Dinamo Station received 500,000 fewer riders, and Polezhayevskaya Station handled 600,000 passengers less. Riders who used those stations in the past now prefer Petrovsky Park and Khoroshovskaya stations. They have been operating since February 2018, with over 1.5 million people using them through late June.

With the first BCL section already operating, local passenger traffic continues to increase steadily. In February, CSKA station handled about 7,400 passengers daily, and that number has now reached 17,000 because the nearby CSKA multipurpose arena hosts numerous sports events.

The metro’s five most congested stations include Komsomolskaya on the Circle Line (No. 5), Vykhino, Shchelkovskaya, Novogireyevo and VDNKh, with an estimated 80 million people using them in January−June 2018. This compares to the entire population of Turkey. Riders used the Circle Line’s Komsomolskaya Station more often than all other stations because the Leningradsky, Yaroslavsky and Kazansky railway stations are located nearby. This station handled over 20.2 million riders, which is 101,000 passengers more than during the same period of 2017.