The Minsk Metro (; ) is a

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separation, grade separated rapid transit line below ground su ...

system that serves

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

, the capital of

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. Opened 29 June 1984, it presently consists of 3 lines and 33 stations, totaling . In 2013, the system carried 328.3 million passengers, which averages to a daily ridership of approximately 899,450. In 2023, the system carried 233.9 million passengers, which averages to a daily ridership of approximately 640,800.

History

During the 1950s–1970s the population of the city grew to over a million and designs for a rapid transit system were initially proposed during the late 1960s. Construction began on 3 May 1977, and the system was opened to the public on 30 June 1984, becoming the ninth metro system in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. The original eight station section has since expanded into a three-line 33 station network with a total of of route. Despite the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

the construction of the Minsk metro continued uninterrupted throughout the 1990s (as opposed to other ex-Soviet Metros like those of

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

and

Samara Samara, formerly known as Kuybyshev (1935–1991), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast in Russia. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with a population of over 1.14 ...

, which were halted due to a complete lack of funding). Some experts attribute it to the slow reform of the Soviet planned economy in Belarus, which turned out to be beneficial for metro expansion. For example, the final phase of the Aŭtazavodskaja Line (Avtazavodskaya Line), originally planned for 2006, was opened in late 2005, and similarly the northern extension of the Maskoŭskaja Line (Mosсowskaya Line), originally scheduled for 2008, opened on 7 November 2007. In November 2012, three new stations opened on the southern end of the Maskoŭskaja line (Institute of Culture - Piatroŭščyna) and in June 2014 the line was expanded in the south part with 1 more new station (Piatroŭščyna - Malinaŭka). Construction of the 1st phase of the new Line 3 (Zelenoluzhskaya Line) started in 2014 which consisted of 4 new stations running from Jubilee Square to Kovalskaya Sloboda station. The 1st phase opened on 6 November 2020. The 2nd phase started construction in 2018 and opened on 30 December 2024 which contains the extension from Kavaĺskaja Slabada to Slutski Hastsinets stations with 1 depot being built in the new south terminal station of the line.

Timeline

Operational characteristics

The city is located on an almost level surface and on very dry soil. As a result, although all of the Minsk Metro stations are under the surface, there are no deep-level stations that are found in most of the ex-Soviet cities. Out of the current 33 stations 19 are pillar-spans and 10 are of vaulted type. Like most of the Soviet metro systems, all of the stations are vividly decorated. Some (notably, Niamiha) exhibit Belarusian national motifs, while others focus on more Soviet socialist themes, although recent years have seen more priority on high-tech decorations. Signs and announcements in the metro system are in Belarusian and English.

Expansion plans

Construction of a third line, the Zielienalužskaja (Zelenaluzhskaya) line (shown in green), began in 2014. When fully completed, this line will run from the south to the northeast of the city via the centre, creating two new transfer points with the existing lines. The first stage of the line was opened on 7 November 2020 running from Jubiliejnaja Plošča to Kavaĺskaja slabada station. This follows a northern contour parallel to Maskoŭskaja (Moskovskaya) which has since relieved the extensive congestion in the city area with 2 interchange stations at Vakzaĺnaja (Plošča Lienina station of Line 1) and Jubiliejnaja Plošča station (Frunzienskaja station of Line 2). As of November 2020, the Zielienalužskaja line consists of four stations. While Line 3 is planned to be extended north to the residential area of Zialiony Luh, a southern extension to Slucki Hasciniec with 3 new stations and 1 depot of Line 3 is under construction (estimated opening in 2023). A planned Fourth (Circle) line is expected to connect south and north parts of the city which are densely populated. This line is planned to have a length of 37 kilometres with 1 new depot serving the line and 17 new stations of which 6 stations are going to be interchange stations. Specifically, Line 4 will interchange at Michalova and Akademija navuk stations of Line 1, Traktarny zavod and Puškinskaja stations of Line 2 and future Plošča Banhalor and Aerodromnaja stations of Line 3. Two extensions of Line 1 and two of Line 2 (4 in total) with 2 new stations for Line 1 and 2 respectively were mentioned but never went into additional consideration as the construction of Line 3 and the plans for Line 4 keep their priority low. These expansions were specifically mentioned as: Line 1: Malinaŭka – Ščomyslica and Uručča – Smalienskaja Line 2: Kamiennaja Horka – Čyrvony Bor and Mahilioŭskaja – Šabany

Incidents

1999 stampede

On 30 May 1999, a sudden thunderstorm caused a large crowd, from a nearby rock concert, to seek shelter at the Niamiha station. The limited size of the underpass leading into the ticket hall and the wet pavement caused a

human crush Crowd collapses and crowd crushes are catastrophic incidents that can occur when a body of people becomes dangerously overcrowded. When numbers are up to about five people per square meter, the environment may feel cramped but manageable; when nu ...

. Fifty-three people died.

2011 bombing

The Kastryčnickaja station was the site of a terrorist bombing on 11 April 2011. Fifteen people were killed.

Lines and stations

Map

Gallery

Maskoŭskaja/Moscowskaya line

File:Pkolosa 15.jpg, Plošča Jakuba Kolasa/Jakub Kolas Square File:Minsk_metro_Akademiya_Nauk.JPG, Akademija navuk/Science Academy File:Pchelus 07.jpg, Park Čaliuskincaŭ/Chelyuskentsy Park File:Maskousk 03.jpg, Maskoŭskaja/Moscowskaya File:Ushod 07.jpg, Uschod/Minsk East File:Bortr 02.jpg, Barysaŭski trakt/Borisovsky tract File:Minsk-Metro-Uruch'e-05.jpg, Uručča/Uruchye

Aŭtazavodskaja/Avtozavodskaya line

File:Kamgor 04.jpg, Kamiennaja Horka/Stone Slide File:Kuntsau 02.jpg, Kuncaŭščyna/Kuntsevshchina File:Sportyun 05.jpg, Spartyŭnaja/Sporty File:Push 02.jpg, Puškinskaja/Pushkinskaya File:Molodz 07.jpg, Maladziožnaja/Youth Station File:Frun 03.jpg, Frunzienskaja/Frunzenskaya

Zielienalužskaja/Zelenoluzhskaya line

File:Юбилейная площадь 7.jpg, Jubiliejnaja Plošča/Jubilee Square File:Plošča Franciška Bahuševiča (Minsk Metro station).jpg, Plošča Franciška Bahuševiča/Frantishka Bagushevich Square File:Vakzalnaja (Minsk Metro station).jpg, Vakzaĺnaja/Railway station File:Kavalskaja slabada (Minsk Metro station).jpg, Kavaĺskaja slabad/Kovalskaya Sloboda

Rolling stock

File:Minsk-Metro-Uruch'e-06.jpg, 81-717/714 File:Stadler M110-M111 in Minsk (July 2020).jpg, Stadler M110/M111

References

External links

Minsk Metro – official site

Official City of Minsk Urban Transport site

The site of the Minsk subway Minsk-Metro.NET (unofficial)

Popular site

Another Popular site

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