Spotlight: Underground
Written: Feb 15 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: architectural triumph (especially older stations), the most efficient underground system I have seen
Cons: Very crowded during peak hours
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| AlexG's Full Review: Moscow |
As a preview for this review, please read the description of the following place and answer a multiple-choice question that will follow. (Just pretend you didn't read the title).
The walls and ceilings of this place are decorated with fanciest marble--red, black, white-golden, etc. The floor is paved with gray granite. There, one can find bronze sculptures, stained glass, fancy chandeliers, rare wood, semi-precious stones...
What is this place? Although the above description is somewhat vague, use your educational guess.
a) The palace of Peter the Great
b) Kremlin
c) Bolshoi theater
d) The Moscow metro.
Congratulations, I'm sure you figured it out by now. But still, it's hard to imagine, isn't it? In my young travel life I have visited many big cities and I have seen many underground systems in US and Europe and I have yet to see anything that comes even remotely close to Moscow metro. I find it kind of ironic that the Communist regime buried so much of the country's wealth into the ground.
The decision to build Moscow metro was made by the Central Committee of the Communist Party in 1931. Four years later the first metro line opened. It had 13 stations and the length of the line was only 11 kilometers. Nowadays, Moscow subway system has over 150 stations and covers over 260 kilometers. The vast majority of these stations are decorated by different natural-stone materials, including semi-precious stones. Half the area of the walls in Moscow metro is decorated by various kinds of marble, as old as 2 billion years. White, black, red... marble was shipped to Moscow from various places of the former Soviet Union--Ural Mountains, Siberia, Altay, Middle Asia, the Caucasus, the Crimea, and other places. Besides the mere presence of natural/semi precious stones, Moscow metro is a triumph of architecture. Every station has its own unique design, which makes the system as whole a worthy tourist attraction. My personal favorite--Mayakovskaya station, named for a revolutionary poet Vladimir Mayakovsky. In fact, it is a favorite of many people, and deservedly so--a combination of several kinds of marble and semi-precious stones, stainless steel columns rising towards the arched ceiling with 33 mosaics. Amazing!
Besides its beauty, Moscow metro is most likely the most efficient in the world. During the peak times, the wait is as little as 85 seconds between the trains, and in the off-peak hours the wait is usually not more than a few minutes. (I wish New York subway was like that.)
I have been to Moscow twice, and I like this city. It has plenty to offer its visitors. Just don't forget to take a look beneath the surface.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
AlexG
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 - Top 500 |
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Location: New York, NY
Reviews written: 130
Trusted by: 239 members
About Me:
Alex has a voracious appetite for travel. Travel hasn't satisfied an appetite. It's created one.
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