Exploring a 'People's' Metro Map for Moscow in 2100

The Moscow Metro is actively developing, and online, fantasy schemes of the capital«s subway for 2050, 2100, and even 2222 are published from time to time. Sometimes they are even confused with real projects. Also, maps that are presented as real government plans sometimes leak online.

At the same time, suburban residents really want to see stations near their homes and even demand that the metro be extended to them. MSK1.RU tried to embody all the wishes of people from Moscow and the Moscow region on one metro-2100 map. Let«s see what we came up with and discuss it with experts.

From Korolyov and Mytishchi to Lyubertsy

Residents of Mytishchi have been asking for a metro for a long time, and for good reason. Old master plans even marked the extension of the orange line (Kaluga-Riga line) to Chelobityevo. But experts rightly fear that it would become overloaded.

Therefore, MSK1.RU proposes to build a separate line to the city. And not only to Mytishchi: metro enthusiasts do not take into account that many people travel from Korolyov. At the exit – constant traffic jams, although in a straight line – it«s only a few kilometers. Suppose that the beginning of the line is right there.

The line could run from Korolyov through the Mytishchi railway station, then – deep into the city. After that, we proposed to run it through Shirokaya and Selskohozyaystvennaya streets towards Ostankino and Maryina Roshcha in Moscow. Building a metro in the center is the most difficult, but in our fantasy scheme, we ended up with a station on Petrovka, in the area of the intersection of «Novoslobodskaya», «Lubyanka», «Tretyakovskaya», and «Oktyabrskaya».

Now let«s go from the other terminus. We drew stations in Lyubertsy. To avoid duplicating two entire lines, we went past the TC »Sadovod«, then – through the outskirts of Lyublino, Technopolis »Moscow« (nearby will be business development in place of the industrial zone), »Avtozavodskaya«, and »Derbenevskaya« to the same »Oktyabrskaya«. So the line connected.

Metro to Vidnoye and Dolgoprudny

Residents of Vidnoye currently travel to the «Kantemirovskaya» and «Domodedovskaya» metro stations. The Rostorguyevo commuter train station is also far away. With the opening of the Biriulyovo line, it will be closer, but in Vidnoye, people are still angry that the subway is not being extended to them.

Let«s wish that by 2100 this is fixed. We drew a line from Sapronovo through Vidnoye, then – to Biriulyovo. To have even more transfers, we ran it through MCC-2 (Moscow Central Diameter 2), »Yuzhnaya« on the gray line (Lyublinsko-Dmitrovskaya line), and »Zyuzino« of the BKL (Big Circle Line). After that – under Sevastopolsky Prospekt to »Krymskaya«, »Shabolovskaya«, and »Park Kultury« (where to build a station there, we haven»t figured out yet).

Turn through the center to «Barrikadnaya» towards Botkinskaya Hospital and the BKL station «CSKA». And further – only towards Koptevo, where there is no metro. Then through Onezhskaya Street, MCC «Grachevskaya», and Izhorskaya Street straight to the MKAD (Moscow Ring Road). Let«s not forget about the Moscow region – we»ll compliment Dolgoprudny, and from there it«s not far to Sheremetyevo Airport.

Balashikha and Odintsovo

In this matter, Balashikha cannot be ignored: very many people travel to the metro by buses. We dreamed and mentally gifted the city with several stations at once. We started from Proyezd 40 Let Oktyabrya, went along Entuziastov Highway, and turned towards Reutov.

Then in Moscow, we would direct passengers to MCC «Sokolinaya Gora» and metro «Lefortovo»: a huge number of people cannot be taken to the heart of the capital without transfers. In the center, we found no other way than to go along the Garden Ring to «Ulitsa 1905 Goda», then ran the line to the Filevskaya Poima. A bridge to the «Mnevniki» metro has already been built there, but a new station would help those going to the development and to the National Space Center.

Through «Terekhovo», «Molodyozhnaya» we reached Nemchinovka and Novaya Trekhgorka, and further – only Odintsovo. We duplicated MCC-1 (Moscow Central Diameter 1), this is a big minus, but locals, storming the commuter trains, would still like such a metro.

Putilkovo, Khimki, and Zheleznodorozhny

Where there«s Balashikha, there»s Zheleznodorozhny. But we didn«t dare to draw a new line there. Maybe extend the Nekrasovskaya line through Zenino to the densely populated »Zhelezka«? What do you say?

In Putilkovo, they also demand a metro and even ask to join Moscow. Extend the Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya (purple) line there. On the advice of experts, we extended the Zamoskvoretskaya (green) line to Levoberezhnye Khimki, but went even further and ran it through the Moscow Canal to Lobanovo.

We also didn«t forget about the center of Khimki: from Novokurkino through »Novye Khimki« we also marked a line. However, we ran it through »Skhodnenskaya« and »Vodny Stadion« so that local Muscovites wouldn»t bypass the Khimki Reservoir via MCC and BKL, and Khimki residents could transfer immediately to several lines. Then we ran it to «Koptevo», where there is already an invented branch «Vidnoye – Dolgoprudny» to the center. After connecting the Khimki line with Nekrasovskaya – such a chord turned out.

Rokadnaya Line and Southern Transfer Circuit

The Biriulyovo line will officially be extended from «Biriulyovo» through Shcherbinka to Kievskoye Highway. However, there are rumors that the section from «Ostafyevo» to the terminus in New Moscow will be allocated to the Rokadnaya (Bypass) line. Suppose that«s the case. Extend our rocade from Ostafyevo to the Moscow region, connect it with Vidnoye and the vicinity of Misaylovo. An underground (and free!) duplicate of the »YULA« highway is ready.

We also responded to the aspirations of metro enthusiasts. Many of them believe that the section of the red line (Sokolnicheskaya line) beyond Salaryevo needs to be allocated to a separate line. Why not extend the old-new branch towards Borovskoye and Minskoye highways? It would be a duplicate of the automobile highway Solntsevo – Butovo – Varshavskoye, and not far from Minskoye is just Odintsovo.

We called it the Southern Transfer Circuit – just in the Moscow style. In the next five years, the Sokolnicheskaya line (or the section of our «Southern Circuit») will be extended from «Potapovo» to «Ostafyevo». There, an extension to Podolsk almost in a straight line is emerging. And the red line can then be extended to the settlement of Moskovsky and Valuyevo.

And the Troitskaya line became a chord for us and passed through the east of Moscow to «Cherkizovskaya», then took «Bulvar Rokossovskogo» and the future stations «MGSU» (Moscow State University of Civil Engineering) and «Yaroslavskaya». And the red line went through «Shchelkovskaya» to the settlement of Vostochny.

Expert Opinion

MSK1.RU learned the opinion of transport experts about the resulting scheme. And they did not approve all the ideas. So, the chairman of the Union of Passengers of Russia, Kirill Yankov, supported the development of the metro in Mytishchi, but noted that the invented line through the city and neighboring Korolyov turned out too curved, and the detour would be inconvenient. Besides, it might be overloaded.

«The station in Chelobityevo was reserved for the extension of the Kaluga-Riga line. Also in this fantasy scheme, the invented line has no transfer to the MCC,» the expert notes in a conversation with MSK1.RU.

In Balashikha, initially we wanted to propose more stations with a detour to the Aviatorov microdistrict, to cover the city and shorten the path to the metro for residents of Shchelkovo. However, the expert criticized this thought due to detours too large for a metro. Therefore, we optimized it.

«In the Aviatorov microdistrict, in perspective, a commuter train line can be extended, so rounding off the metro line is incorrect. Although a line to Balashikha along Entuziastov Highway with some separate, possibly smoother deviations to the side, could well exist. And I would still make a transfer to the yellow line (Kaluga-Riga line), which you don»t have,« Kirill Yankov explains to MSK1.RU.

Questions also arose regarding the idea to extend lines towards Korobovo or other villages in the Leninsky District of the Moscow region. So the metro would become closer to Domodedovo Airport, and the south of the region would partially get transverse connection.

«Misaylovo is not a place where, based on passenger traffic, a metro is needed, although it would be useful there. Logically, the extension of the Lyublinsko-Dmitrovskaya line looks. And in Korobovo, there is low-rise development. If they don»t plan to build cities there, then why bring two lines there? They will simply carry air,« expresses the opinion a member of the Public Council at the Ministry of Transport of Russia.

According to Kirill Yankov, the Sokolnicheskaya line in the south really should be diverted to the settlement of Moskovsky, but another proposal turned out to be controversial. The line from Odintsovo to Podolsk (our «Southern Transfer Circuit») is unlikely to be in demand fully.

«It must be understood that hardly anyone needs to go from Odintsovo to Podolsk and back. In Podolsk, there is a huge passenger traffic, and the three proposed stations there may not be enough. But people need to go to Moscow, and they, according to this scheme, will transfer to the Sokolnicheskaya line. If through Butovskaya, Biriulyovskaya, or Troitskaya, then they will have to travel with two transfers,» the expert reminds MSK1.RU.

A line from Odintsovo to Moscow is still needed, but here too the question arose of where to lead it. The expert drew attention to the fact that on the scheme it heavily duplicates MCC-1, it could be made a chord towards Mytishchi. And in Vidnoye and Dolgoprudny, a metro would indeed be relevant, but on our scheme, the line still got too many detours.

And transport analyst Vladislav Bulgakov, in a conversation with MSK1.RU, urged not to rely heavily on building a metro in the Moscow region – at least as long as these cities belong to the region. In his opinion, it«s cheaper to launch new bus routes and bet on the railway.

«Redoing a metro station or tunnel is an extremely complex and expensive task. On the railway, everything is simpler, and moreover, carrying capacity can be increased. So don»t be surprised if over time, double-decker trains appear on the MCC. In the same Korolyov, it«s more logical to develop MCC-5, not build a metro,» Bulgakov says to MSK1.RU.

You can also look not at the fantasy, but at the real Moscow metro map for 2035, which is based on confirmed plans of the city authorities. They were announced last year. For example, the Filevskaya line will be extended from «Kuntsevskaya» to the Mozhaisky District and Skolkovo. The under-construction Biriulyovskaya line will be extended beyond the MKAD to Shcherbinka, and then to Kievskoye Highway. They also plan to run the Solntsevskaya line beyond Vnukovo Airport.