Sergei Sobyanin announced the imminent opening of a new section of the Solntsevskaya metro line

Construction of a section of the Solntsevskaya metro line from Rasskazovka to Pykhtino and Vnukovo has reached the home straight. The launch of the new section will improve the transportation situation for about 350 thousand residents of the Prefecture of Troitsky and Novomoskovsky Administrative Districts and millions of passengers of Vnukovo airport.

“The main construction of the stations Pykhtino and Vnukovo Airport is being completed: finishing, installation works are already underway. So I hope this station will be up and running in the coming months, as will the Vnukovo Airport station. What does that mean? We will get one of the longest radii of the Moscow metro: from Delovoy Tsentr to Vnukovo Airport — about 30 kilometers, 14 stations. This line is important because it will satisfy not only New Moscow but also millions of passengers of Vnukovo airport,” noted Sergei Sobyanin during his visit to the under-construction Pykhtino metro station.

Sergey Vorobyev, CEO of IBT LLC, said that the works on the future metro station Pykhtino are being completed: the readiness is more than 90 per cent.

Crossing tunnels and metro bridge

They launched construction of the 4.9-kilometer-long section of the Solntsevskaya metro line, including two stations of Pykhtino and Vnukovo, in October 2019. Today the specialists have fully completed the tunneling works using the traditional technology for the Moscow Metro: with the construction of two single-track tunnels with a diameter of six meters.

The tunnels between stations Rasskazovka and Pykhtino were constructed by closed method. Within the segment from Pykhtino to Vnukovo Airport, trains will run on the surface along the 460-meter-long metro bridge over the Likova River to further go underground again. The Likovsky (Pykhtinsky) metro bridge will be the 12 th in Moscow and the second longest after the Luzhnetsky metro bridge over the Moskva River.

“In the long term, the new metro section will improve transportation services for 350,000 people living and working in the Vnukovo area and nearby settlements, as well as for millions of passengers of one of Russia’s largest airports,” wrote the Moscow mayor on his Telegram channel.

Source: Sergei Sobyanin’s telegram channel @mos_sobyanin

Now there are 11 metro bridges in the Russian capital. The oldest of them is Smolensky as part of the Filyovskaya line. It was opened in 1937. The newest metro bridge is Mitinsky (Myakininsky) on the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya line. It was erected in 2009. For comparison: the Luzhnetsky metro bridge is 1178 meters long, Likovsky (Pykhtinsky) has 460 meters, Mitinsky is 439 meters long, Preobrazhensky has 330 meters, with Smolensky of about 300 meters and Nagatinsky of 233 meters in length. Other bridges have no above-ground segments and are quite shorter.

Pykhtino station

The main structures and track structure is being completed at the future Pykhtino metro station, and specialists have started architectural finishing.

This shallow station will have one above-ground concourse. Due to the difficult terrain, Pykhtino will feature different track walls: one wall will be blank, as at most metro stations, and the other one will be decorated with panoramic windows.

The focal point of the architectural and artistic solution is the aviation theme due to the station’s proximity to the airport and the streets named after famous Russian pilots and aircraft designers.

The blank track wall will be decorated with a chronological tape dedicated to the history of domestic aircraft construction: from the ANT-3 to the supersonic Tu−160. The ceiling will have light structures in the form of turbine cylinders, and above the sloping escalator, there will be a model of Tu−144 aircraft surrounded by concentrically diverging reflective aluminum panels.

The floors and walls will be finished in light gray granite with black gabbro. The platform part will be equipped with aluminum honeycomb panels of a “rust patina” color, imitating aged iron and metal, and on the ceiling, there will be bent elements of light construction from honeycomb panels with a stainless steel surface.

About 11,000 passengers are expected to use Pykhtino station every day. By 2030, passenger traffic will double to 22,000 people per day.

Specialists will landscape the adjacent territory, including Letchika Ulyanina Street and Aviakonstruktora Polyakova Street, designed avenues No. 7653 and 7654, sections of Letchika Gritsevtsa Street and Borovskoye Motorway. Sidewalks and roadway sidewalks will be renewed to improve transport and pedestrian accessibility, modern stop pavilions and contrasting lighting will be installed at crossings, parking spaces will be created, and new streetlights, benches, and garbage cans will be placed. A skate park and a dog walking area will be built on Letchika Ulyanina Street.

Solntsevskaya metro line

The extension of the Solntsevskaya metro line to Vnukovo airport will improve transportation services for about 350 thousand people living and working in the Vnukovo district and Vnukovo, Marushkinsky, and Filimonkovsky settlements (taking into account existing and future development). Today, about 25 thousand people live within a walking distance of the new stations, and they will save up to 40 minutes a day when traveling.

Travel time for passengers at Vnukovo airport will be reduced by about 1.5 times. For example, it will be possible to get from the airport to the Michurinsky Prospekt station in 23 minutes instead of 37 and to the Moscow City station in 40 minutes instead of an hour. In addition, airline passengers and other visitors will be offered a wider selection of the shortest routes to the airport using different types of transport, such as metro/Aeroexpress trains, regular or electric buses, taxis, car sharing or personal cars.

The new stations will help relieve the pressure on the adjacent highways. The traffic load of Kievskoye highway will improve by up to five per cent and Borovskoye-by up to 12 per cent. Also, the passenger flow of Rasskazovka station of the Solntsevskaya line (up to 25 per cent) and Salarievo station of the Sokolnicheskaya metro line (up to 15 per cent) will decrease.

When the Rasskazovka — Vnukovo segment is ready, the Solntsevskaya metro line will be more than 30 kilometers long with 14 stations. The line was erected in stages:

— the first section Delovoy Tsentr — Park Pobedy with a length of 3.4 kilometers and two stations was opened for passengers in early 2014. Park Pobedy is the deepest station of the Moscow metro, its depth is 84 meters, the length of escalators is 126 meters, and one of the sections passes under the Moskva River;

— the second section Park Pobedy — Ramenki, 7.3 kilometers long with three stations, opened in March 2017;

— the third one, Ramenki — Rasskazovka, including the Solntsevo train depot (15.3 kilometers, seven stations) opened in August 2018,

— the fourth section Rasskazovka — Vnukovo Airport 4.9 kilometers long with two stations will be completed this year.