Vykhino

Vykhino ( _ru. Выхино) is a station on Moscow Metro's Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya Line. Opened on 31 December, 1966 as the final part of the Zhdanovskiy Radius, the station has remained the southeastern terminus of the line since. The station is unique in many respects. First of all, it was the last station in Moscow (not counting the reconstruction of Vorobyovy Gory in 2002 and the light Metro in 2003) to be surface leveled, and the last to have side platforms. In fact the Metro station is only part of a combined transfer complex between the Metro and Mainline suburban railway (Kazan-bound).

Designed by A.F. Strelkov and V.F. Cheremin, the whole point has four platforms, two of which are island. The railway uses four out of the six tracks, whilst the Metro uses the other two. It is impossible to get from one platform to another without leaving the Metro. Two pedestrian subways exist to offer the transfer between the platforms (the transfer complex is above ground level and passengers must rise to get onto the platforms). Direct Rail-Metro connection is only possible from Moscow-bound trains onto centre-bound Metro, where the combined platform was divided lengthwise between Metro and Railway. For vice-versa connection passenger must use the subways.

When the transfer complex was built, it was designed the perspective passenger load was underestimated. As a result, Vykhino became the busiest and most crowded station of the Metro system. In addition to the railway traffic, Vykhino also has a large bus station nearby and many passengers from the surrounding Moscow Oblast come to Vykhino. As a result the small station in March 2002 had some of the largest passenger flows 174,250 in the Metro.Initially the railway commuter passenger trains stopped just outside the Metro pavilion, however since the early 1990s they have been making longer journeys well outside the Metro and most of the passengers were forced to walk a train length distance. However by the early 2000s it was clear that the transfer point needed a major reconstruction. In 2004 the station was closed to railway (passengers were told to use the Kazansky Rail Terminal instead). During the time the old 1960s concrete hinged roofs on the railway platforms were knocked down. These were replaced with modern light green and white transparent roofs with decorative features. The stairwells from the subways were covered with separate pavilions where turnstiles were inserted, and the concrete floor was repaved with stone. The combined Metro/Railway platform was re-divided along the width where a pavilion was built. Thus the Centre bound metro platform was nearly trebled in area (accounting for the dismantled ticket offices as well, and safety walls were installed on the railway side. The Metro part of the station kept its hinged roofs, but these were completely repainted and the crude lighting elements in the hinges were replaced with never ones. Giving the platform a cleaner look, the subways were also widened and cleaned up with the old tile work replaced by marble. Additional subway was built as well. The complex was re-opened to the public on October 2, 2004.

Since there are no direct connections between Metro platforms, the change of train crews takes place on the Ryazanskiy Prospekt. Behind the station is a surface cross junction used for reversal and the paths lead on to the Vykhino depot.

Originally the station was called Zhdanovskaya (and thus the radius and the line) after the famous revolutionary and politician Andrey Zhdanov, however in 1988 the station was renamed after the district name.

External links

* [http://www.metro.ru/stations/tagansko-krasnopresnenskaya/ryazanskiy_prospekt/ metro.ru]
* [http://www.mymetro.ru/cgi-bin/list.pl?lng=ru&a=1&b=7&c=19 mymetro.ru]
* [http://www.kartametro.info/?hl=EN&ms=Vykhino&z=17&t=k KartaMetro.info] — Station location and exits on Moscow map (English/Russian)