Metropolitan Cities of the World

• Moscow Metro
• Mosmetrostroy, OJSC
• Petersburg Metro
• Kyiv Metro
• Yekaterinburg Metro
• Novosibirsk Metro
• Almaty Metro
• Omsk Metro
• Minsk Metro
• Nizhny Novgorod metro (Metro Nizhny Novgorod)
• Samara Metro
• London Underground
• Shenzhen Metro

2020: Moscow, Krivoy Rog and St. Petersburg - leaders in the increase in the number of metro stations

On April 28, 2020, information appeared that a rating of subways built in Soviet times was compiled, ranked by the number of stations built after the collapse of the USSR. This rating considers high-speed transport (subways and light rail systems), built in the cities of the former USSR in the Soviet period. According to the information provided , Moscow holds the lead . However, the Ukrainian Krivoy Rog, which is not even a regional center, unexpectedly came to second place. The last places are occupied by Tbilisi and Yerevan.

The ranking presents only those systems that were put into operation before December 26, 1991, when the USSR ceased to exist. Accordingly, the rapid urban transport systems, which were only designed under the USSR, are not affected, but were built after the fall of the socialist system in the CIS countries; moreover, the systems that were designed and put into operation were after the specified date (subways of Almaty, Dnipro and Kazan).

The planned or even under construction stations and lines are not considered, since only what has already been put into operation has been considered. Also, non-high-speed sections of tram tracks built into light rail systems and tram systems with higher speeds than ordinary ones, but not isolated from street traffic (for example, in Novopolotsk), as well as city train systems like Moscow diameters are not considered.

At the same time, the Moscow monorail and the MCC, which belong both nominally and technically to the Moscow metro, are classified as high-speed transport. The Kyiv light rail is considered separately from the metro due to different owners and different fares. Thus, the ranking understands how one of the main transport legacies of the USSR is used in the CIS countries - high-speed off-street urban electric transport.

Moscow is in first place in terms of the number of metro stations, monorail and MCC built after the collapse of the USSR. Due to the significant passenger traffic comparable to Western megacities, the Moscow metro is the only break-even in Russia. The program for the construction of the metro in Moscow has recently been unprecedented. As of April 2020, subsidies to the Moscow metro amount to approximately 30 billion rubles a year, and ticket revenue - 50 billion. At the same time, the exorbitant development of the metro to the detriment of other types of transport causes complaints from many analysts. In particular, over the past 10 years, the number of metro depots has increased by 4, the number of tram depots has not changed, the number of trolleybus fleets has decreased by 3, the number of bus fleets has decreased by 1.

In second place in terms of the number of high-speed off-street electric transport stations opened over the years of independence is Krivoy Rog (Ukraine, Dnieper region). There have been 23 light rail stations since the collapse of the USSR. Krivoy Rog, in terms of the percentage increase in high-speed off-street electric urban transport stations opened since the collapse of the USSR, is in first place in the CIS. During the post-Soviet period, 23 light rail stations were opened there. This is all the more striking, given that in the very regional center, the Dnieper, the metro is significantly inferior in its development and coverage to Kryvyi Rih. This is explained, apparently, by the fact that Kryvyi Rih has a specific layout, being the longest city in Europe. Also, due to the location in the city of large industrial facilities that bring significant revenues to the city treasury, the city hall, after the difficult period of the nineties was passed, had the means to expand the light rail network.

In terms of percentage growth, the top three include Yekaterinburg and Samara. Their subways are young compared to the rest presented on the list and were opened in the last years of the USSR's life. A significant increase was caused by the fact that after the collapse of the USSR, they began with numbers close to zero, and the main period of construction fell on the post-Soviet era. If we take their absolute numbers, then no out-of-the-ordinary achievements will be found. According to absolute figures, St. Petersburg ranks third, even despite the difficult geological situation. This is due to the fact that the St. Petersburg metro, although not as profitable as the Moscow metro, still balances at the break-even border. As for financing, the city budget of the second capital has a sufficient replenishment for the implementation of transport projects, besides, everyone knows that the Verkhovna power of Russia has a large number of immigrants from St. Petersburg, which affects the positive dynamics of large business in the city.

The last places are occupied by Tbilisi and Yerevan. In Tbilisi, the metro was built without taking into account the population (at the time of construction, Tbilisi did not reach the millionth) and the geological situation. After the termination of funding from Moscow, the metro in the Georgian capital fell into decay. The climax of this was the collapse of the ceiling on the heads of passengers in 2018. A number of planned stations were mothballed. What is happening in Tbilisi with the metro is part of the decline of urban electric transport: a trolleybus, common in Georgia in many cities under the USSR, has survived only in Gori as of April 2020, in Tbilisi the main passenger traffic falls on private minibuses.

It was noted that as for Yerevan, it was never given significant attention: even under the USSR, for example, they saved on electricity - the metro was half-lit. As the number of private minibuses grew, passenger traffic in the Yerevan metro decreased. The metro route was chosen unsuccessfully, the metro is unprofitable, and the Yerevan City Hall apparently does not see the point^[1]

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