First free restrooms open at Moscow Central Circle stations

Restrooms have opened at 15 MCC interchange hubs, including seven Metro interchange stations: Luzhniki, Botanichesky Sad, Kutuzovskaya, Shosse Entuziastov, Bulvar Rokossovskogo, Ploshchad Gagarina and Delovoy Tsentr. By the end of the year, the remaining interchange hubs will be equipped with restrooms.

Of the 26 currently operational MCC stations, restrooms are already available at 15 stations. According to the Russian Railways department in charge of railway repairs and facility construction, restrooms have been opened at the busiest MCC stations:

- Luzhniki (nine toilets) – interchange to Sportivnaya metro station;

- Kutuzovskaya (two toilets) – interchange to Kutuzovskaya metro station of the Filyovskaya Line;

- Botanichesky Sad (one toilet) ‒ interchange to Botanichesky Sad metro station of the Kaluzhsko-Rizhskaya Line;

Shosse Entuziastov (one toilet) – interchange to Shosse Entuziastov metro station of the Kalininskaya Line.

Restrooms are also available in the underground crossings at the following MCC stations:

- ZIL

- Bulvar Rokossovskogo (interchange to Bulvar Rokossovskogo metro station)

- Okruzhnaya

- Streshnevo

- Shelepikha

- Likhobory

- Rostokino

- Belokamennaya

- Ploshchad Gagarina (interchange to Leninsky Prospekt metro station).

Some restrooms have opened at the Delovoy Tsentr interchange hub – interchange to Mezhdunarodnaya metro station (six toilets) and Khoroshevo (one toilet). The remaining restrooms are scheduled to open by the end of the year.

According to Moscow Central Circle Company, the following stations will be equipped with restrooms by the end of the year: Ugreshskaya, Novokhokhlovskaya, Andronovka, Izmaylovo, Lokomotiv, Vladykino, Baltiyskaya, Khoroshevo and Verkhniye Kotly. Also by the end of the year, restrooms will become available at the Krymskaya interchange hub, according to Russian Railways.

Most MCC interchange hubs will have restrooms, including for limited mobility riders, according to the Moscow Central Ring. Some restrooms have separate male and female facilities.

The remaining five stations of the ring, including Zorge, Sokolinaya Gora, Panfilovskaya, Koptevo and Dubrovka, will be launched in October 2017. They will also be equipped with restrooms that will become available once connected to the water supply.

Lastochka high-speed commuter trains, used on the Moscow Central Circle, also have restrooms, which are located at the train’s first and last cars. For passenger convenience, the aisles between the seats have been made wider and special racks have been set up for bicycles. In addition, the trains are equipped with seats for wheelchair users, Wi-Fi, and USB-ports for charging gadgets.

The Moscow Central Circle railway was launched on 10 September. The ring serves 26 districts of the city with a population of about two million people. The MCC has helped reduce the load on the Metro’s Circle Line by 15 percent, while the passenger traffic on the Sokolnicheskaya Line has decreased by 20 percent. In addition, the number of passengers using the Moscow railway stations is projected to decline by up to 20 percent. During the first year of operation, about 75 million people are expected to use the Moscow Central Circle.