Solntsevskaya Line

Solntsevskaya Line ( _ru. Солнцевская линия) is a future Moscow Metro line that will see the expansion of the metro to the Solntsevo District in Moscow.

Project history

First project - radius

Historically most of the Western Administrative District became part of Moscow only in 1960, and the district of Solntsevo, which is located beyond MKAD was added in 1984 and redeveloped as a typical bedroom raion. The Moscow Metro since the completion of the Frunzesnky and Filyovsky radii in the mid 1960s, left a vast region which has called for an additional metro radius since the 1971 general plan of Moscow.

The original plan proposed to utilise the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line by turning from its western terminus at Kievskaya to the southwest and continuing along the Michurin avenue all the way into Solntsevo. Moreover in doing so the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line would cease to exist, as the planned Perovsky radius would dock with Arbatskaya, and the deep 1953 section of the line would join the new "Kiyevsko-Perovskaya Line", whilst the historic Aleksandrovsky Sad - Ploshchad Revolyutsii service would restart creating a new "Filyovsko-Izmaylovskaya Line". [http://www.metro.ru/map/1973/metro.ru-1973map-big2.gifSee map 1] , [http://www.metro.ru/map/1975/metro.ru-1975map-big2.jpg2] .

However this plan was never realised, partly because the Moscow Metro was required in other districts, partly because the Filyovskaya Line's construction was such that prevented a high-speed operation due to the vast amount of surface sections.

econd project - chord

In 1984 Solntsevko became part of Moscow, and the adjacent districts within MKAD were becoming over-loading the existing service. Simultaneously Moscow's Urban Rapid-Transit planning body - Metrogiprotrans was continuing to debate whether it was suitable of splitting the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line and the whole classical ring-radial layout of the metro. Owning to the disadvantages of the over-congested centre, initially in 1984 I.Burdakov published an article in Pravda where he proposed a set of chordial and semi-chordial lines that would bypass the city centre and the Koltsevaya Line, or at least have some of the transfers outside the ring, which applies to the latter group and the Lyublinskaya Line was to result of this.

Eventually Metrogiprotrans welcomed the idea, and suggested a set of four chordial lines that would appear as standard radii but instead of passing through Koltsevaya Line would pass instead outside the city centre. Not only would this relieve main congestion zones by offering passengers a second transfer contour, the project also solved one of Mosocow's most oldest pending plans the second ring, as the chords would naturally form one, and a ring service could be organised. [http://www.metro.ru/map/1989/metro.ru-1989map-big3.gifsee map] .

For Solntsevo was placed at the end of a "Solntsevo-Mytishchinskaya" Line, which would begin in the adjacent to Moscow city of Mytishchi in the northeast, follow the Yaroslavl Highway until docking with VDNKh with a cross-platform transfer, and then wrap around the city centre on a north western edge: Marina Roshcha, Dinamo, Begovaya, Moscow-City and finally Park Pobedy, after which it would resume its previous path and continue all the way to Solnsevo, and then beyond it to Vnukovo airport.

The chord was planned to be the second order after the Stroginsko-Biryulyovskaya one was to be opened in the mid 1990s. However the Soviet Union collapsed before any of those projects could be realised.

Third Project - Light Metro

The Collapse of the Soviet Union brought severe financial trouble to the Metro, and the Metro administration to reality that it would never have the means to construct such major sections as the chordial lines. As an alternative in the late 1990s Metrogiprotrans proposed a set of "Light Metro" lines to raions located beyond MKAD. Thus in 2001-03 the Butovskaya Light Metro Line was built and opened. Although the novelty of the idea was initially welcomed soon the designs drawbacks became all the more apparent, and one by one other Light Metro projects: [http://www.rosmetrostroy.ru/novokosinline.htm Kosino] , and [http://www.rosmetrostroy.ru/zhulebino.htm Zhulebino] were cancelled in favour of a conventional one station extension beyond MKAD. The Solntsevo Light Metro Line however, was to be the second Light Metro to be launched after the BLLM, continued to be drawn on most Moscow Metro maps.

The light Metro line was to begin at the existing terminus of the Sokolnicheskaya Line, Yugo-Zapadnaya, where an underground station transfer would be organised. It would then turn northwest until reaching the Michurin avenue and then follow it into Solntsevo in total containing seven stations: Nikulinskaya, Olimpiyskaya Derevnya, Vostrekovo, Tereshkovo, Solntsevo, Borovskoye Shosse and Novoperedelkino, with a planned extension to Vnukovo airport afterwards.

Initially it was planned for construction to begin in 2004, but the rising problems of the Butovskaya Line made Moscow planners rethink the idea, and in 2005 the plan was remodelled and two stations Nikulinskaya and Vostryakovo were removed from the project, but the start of construction was continuously put off 2009 in 2006, 2012 in 2007 and in 2008 the project was cancelled altogether.

Сurrent project

By the mid-2000s Moscow Metro was faced with two realities, the first was that financial situation has drastically improved, many of the long standing projects could now be completed. The second one was the drastic rise in passenger traffic, meant that the existing radii (where most of the congestion takes place) would already be filled to the brink, and adding Solntsevo's passengers to the Sokolnicheskaya Line would not be wise, as its central facilities are the oldest in the system and might not handle the additional load. So in 2008 Moscow Metro published a new revised general plan which effectively returned most of the 1980s chordial projects. The new Solnstevskaya Line would begin at Park Pobedy, which was initially envisioned as a future transfer between the Mitinsko-Biryulyovskaya and the same Solntsevko-Mytishcinskaya chords, and then continue south with four stations: Minskaya, Mosfilmovskaya, Lomonosovsky Prospekt, Michurinsky Prospekt and Olimpiyskaya Derevnya. Afterwards it is likely to have two or three stations in Solntsevo itself.

The plan of having the northern route of the chord is still under question, but it is more than likely that the extension to the existing provision at Delovoy Tsentr will take place. Construction of the line is planned to begin soon after the Mitino-Strogino extension is completed circa 2011, with opening planned for 2015.