Come back to my favority topic - Moscow underground.
Metro in Moscow is a gateway to the whole city. Up to 9 million passengers per day. If you want to contribute to this statistics, be sure to learn about Metro system in advance.
Working time:
The stations open at 5:30 am and the first trains start running at 5:40. You can enter the stations till 1:00 am. Trains usually run every 1-2 minutes during a day, every 5-10 minutes early in the morning or late at night. No timetable whatsoever. If you travel very early in the morning (before 7:00 am) account for a longer wait.
Rush hours:
As in any huge city rush hours can be really troublesome. On weekdays from 7 till 11h and from 17 till 21h the Metro is overcrowd. You might would want to avoid this unique experience.
On Saturday Metro is much rather empty, while Sundays could be crowded again, as people tend to spend their days-off in the downtown instead of sleeping suburbs.
Price:
Since September 1, 2007 the price for 1 trip is 17 rubles. You need to purchase a magnetic card which will allow you to pass through automatic tourniquet. After you’ve managed to pass through, there is no other type of ticket control.
You can purchase a magnetic card for 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 60, 70 trips. Card for 2 trips are valid for 5 days from the day of first trip. Other cards are valid for 30 days.
There are 2 types of cards:
1. Cards that you simply need to press against the monitor on the tourniquet. You can check the validity of these cards on the special automats that can be found in the Metro stations.
2. Cards that you need to be stamped with the date and time of a trip. Once it is stamped the tourniquet will be opened and you can pass through.
Cards are sold ONLY in the kiosks at each Metro Station [if you are offered Metro Card somewhere else, most likely it is forgery. Do not buy it].
It is questionable which metro is more difficult to get around Moscow or Paris, but I'm sure Tokyo metro system beats both of those easily.
The most difficult in Moscow Metro is to read the sign, as all of them are in Cyrillic. Nothing is subdued into English. It might be not a bad idea to learn how to read Cyrilic before you visit Russia, it will save you lots of troubles.
The lack of any English signs is a Soviet legacy. Metro built during the period of isolation of Russia when there was no need to accommodate the needs of tourists. Those few tourists who visited Moscow before the break of Iron Curtain were always with a guide (most surely a KGB agent).
Since the beak of Soviet block Moscow became a tourist attraction but despite increasing flow of visitors over the last 10 years city bosses have not provided that many things to accommodate the needs of foreign tourists. Metro is still Russian-only zone. Little hint here: in each wagon there is a Metro scheme and on those all the stations are subdued in Latin letters.
While we wait that the city administration spend some money to modernize logistics of Metro, here are several advices how to find your way in Metro:
1. There is a Ring. The Ring runs in two direction: clockwise and anti-clockwise. There are also 11 lines that cross each other and the Ring.
2. Each line has its unique colour. This colour is used to identify stations on each line.
3. On the platform you can see the signs which list all the stations that the train will stop at. {Of course only in Russian}.
4. The exit sign is "Выход". Usually there are 2 exists from opposite sides of the stations.
5. Trains usually run each 40-90 seconds (excepts very early mornings and very late night).
It is definitely an achievement when you can find your way in Moscow Metro completely on your own. Congratulations, your survival level has increased by 100 points. Now try to enjoy some of the artistic aspects of Metro.
Stumbe it!
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