St. Petersburg Metro System city unitary enterprise

   The subway system, also known as the metro, first began operating in St. Petersburg (Leningrad) on November 15, 1955. The first segment of tracks included eight stations, linking Avtovo, the city's largest industrial district, with city center and with three railroad terminals. 66 million passengers have been transported during the first year of the subway system's operation.
   Over the period of 45 years which passed since then the underground railroad has become the largest transportation system of the 5-million megapolis and one of the most complex technical engineering mechanisms within the city infrastructure. The ratio of the city's total passenger transportation that the metro is responsible for is 27%. About 800 million passengers used the subway system's services in the year 2000. This figure makes St. Petersburg Metro one of ten most actively used subway systems in the world. 2.1 million people enter the city metro's turnstyles each day.
   St. Petersburg Metro at the turn of the 21st century consists of four undersurface routes with the total length of 98 kilometers, of 58 metro stations and 64 vestibules, of five operating depots and of a powerful repair base. The subway's total vehicle park includes 1,375 train cars. 214 escalators deliver passengers to platforms. The maximal workload of the subway's tracks is 28 pairs of trains per hour (28 trains per hour in each direction). Passenger flow on most highly loaded segments of tracks amounts to 25 to 56.6 thousands of people per hour. Secure operation of the undersurface transportation system is ensured by 12,000 metro workers representing about 300 professions.
   The last decade, coinciding with the epoch of economic change in Russia, was probably the most difficult in the history of St. Petersburg subway's development. Total economic slowdown resulted in decreases in the metro system's financing. At the same time, the subway had to take on additional volumes of work due to the sharp reduction of surface transportation.
   It would seem that at such a period the metro system's obsolete methods of economic management should have been replaced by market relations. However, at this very time the Government of Russia has adopted a series of openly populist laws, granting discounts to a large portion of the population.
   It is true that the high social importance of metro transportation requires the system to take into consideration the population's real paying abilities, but a mechanism for compensating the transportation enterprise for lost income should also exist. Such a mechanism has not been created. In 2000 the subway system transported an average of 2.1 million people per day. 36% of them did not pay the full fare. Over 60 categories of passengers have the advantage of free subway transportation at the present time. Besides pensioners, war veterans and handicapped persons these categories include workers of various government organizations, such as justices, prosecutors, police officers, tax police and customs workers, military servicemen. It turns out that the transportation enterprises and the city budget in fact provide financial assistance to these organizations. But it is only possible to change this system at the level of federal government.
   In relation to this problem, St. Petersburg metro has introduced a system of electronic payments which allows to account for practically every passenger, including passengers with discounts. A well-directed system of discounts for those who really need them plus a well-designed tariff policy could substantially raise the financial welfare of the subway system without causing harm to city and federal budgets.
   The recent years have turned out to be really difficulty for the city metro. In 1995 a breakdown occurred on Kirovsko-Vyborgskaya line between the stations "Lesnaya" and "Ploschad Muzhestva". This line was constructed on foating soil in the 1970's, and, in order to avoid problems, scientists suggested a special cryogenic method of freezing the soil, with temperature below 150 degrees Celsius. This unprecedented operation has been carried out successfully. No problems occurred during the operation of this track segment for 20 years, but in 1995 it was noticed that more water with sand was thrown onto the concrete track foundation. The amount of sand deposited soon reached 300 kg per day. Sand was carried away in motor carriages, water was pumped out, attempts were made to strengthen the metallic carcass that held the watered-down area, but to no avail. Suddenly the deposits of sand and water increased to 30 cubic meters per day and tonnel bottoms started to sink. A threat to the safety of passenger transportation became quite real. The damaged segment of the tracks between "Lesnaya" and "Ploschad Muzhestva" stations was blocked with concrete plugs and drenched in water.
   Since that time about 400,000 inhabitants of one of the districts in the northern part of St. Petersburg were left without a secure transport link to the center of the city. Right after the breakdown the Administration of St. Petersburg announced an international tender to build new tonnels around the drenched area. IMPREGILO/NCC Italian-Swedish corporation won the contest among many candidates. A special mechanism to lay tracks across the underground river was bought in Austria and delivered to St. Petersburg. At the present time, Russian subway builders have already drilled tonnels which come very close to the damaged area from both sides. Special shafts to lower and mount construction equipment have been created also. The final stage of the operation, which will involve building new tonnels across the underground river, will begin in the nearest future.
   Regardless of all these difficulties, St. Petersburg's subway has always been and remains a critically important transportation system that the multi-million city cannot live without. The subway not only ensures stable and safe transportation on existing routes, but it also continues to develop. Even in recent years, marked by financial instability, such stations as "Staraya Derevnya", "Chkalovskaya", "Krestovsky Ostrov" and the double-level "Sportivnaya" were built. "Vyborgskoye", the city's fifth subway depot, was put into operation.
   St. Petersburg metro is rightfully considered one of the most automated in the CIS countries. In 1976 all stations were equipped with a complete system of automated train control. In 1994 a new system, known as "Motion", was designed. This system incorporates the entire complex of devices intended to ensure safe transportation into one network. It has been developed in cooperation with specialists from Precise Mechanics Research Institute and is currently operating in experimental mode.
   St. Petersburg metro became the first one in Russia to introduce electronic payments. This project, carried out in cooperation with "Elsi" firm, was awarded an honorary diploma at "Transtek" international exhibit. This system is expected to play the key role in the process of compensating the subway system's losses of income. Active work on introducing contactless smart cards is also being conducted.
   New economic conditions created a necessity for the metro system to seek new sources of financing. But its commercial activity is not limited to leasing space for sales outlets and to placing advertizement ads. The creation of "Metrocom" joint stock company, founded by St. Petersburg Metro System and the U.S. company Andrew, is one of the most large-scale and promising projects carried out in recent time. Optic fiber cables are being layed through subway tonnels. Equipment has been mounted underground and highly technological communications are already used to serve large banks and companies. Besides profits, "Metrocom" allowed the subway system to have access to modern communication technologies.
   St. Petersburg metro has been actively integrating into the world community of public transportation enterprises. This practice allows St. Petersburg subway workers to introduce newest technology as it is being invented worldwide. St. Petersburg's metro is a unique combination of a powerful transport mechanism with an unimitable architectural ensemble of its historic stations. Efforts are currently being made to officially announce St. Petersburg's oldest stations on the segment between "Ploschad Vosstania" and "Avtovo" city landmarks. These stations have been designed by best architects, artists and sculptors of that time period.
   Unfortunately, the growth of St. Petersburg's subway system is substantially slower than today's growth of demand for passenger transportation. The metro does not yet service some of the city's "sleeping" districts, stations in city center are extremely overcrowded. However, we are quite certain that St. Petersburg's metro will continue to grow and improve, preserving its reputation of the safest and most comfortable type of transport in the third millenium.
   Vladimir Aleksandrovich Garyugin is the present-day head of St. Petersburg Metro System.

   St. Petersburg Metro System's photo album

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