The rapid transfer system was introduced to the world in the mid-18th century, and until the 19th century, many large cities in the world utilized this system for their inside city’s transportation. St. Petersburg as the imperial capital of Russia in Tsarism era required reliable transportation because of its population and traffic. However, the metro transfer system was not established in St. Petersburg, not until the mid-20th century.
The St. Petersburg Metro is the 19th busiest metro system in the world, but unlike the current capital of Russia which developed quickly, the St. Petersburg metro grew quite slowly. Currently, the city metro system which established its first station in 1955 includes 69 stations, 188-kilometer length, and transporting over 2 million people daily. The St. Petersburg Metro is one of the deepest metro systems in the world because of the city’s bizarre Geology and historical structures around the city. The deepest station in St. Petersburg is the Admiralteyskaya station which is 86 meters below the ground, and on average, the city’s metro is the deepest system in the world.
The first thoughts about building an underground transporting system were brought up by a self-taught engineer named Torgovanov who wanted to build a tunnel under the Neva River. The plan was instantly rejected by the Tsar, Alexander I who ordered Torgovanov to sign an agreement in which he never thinks about these kinds of plans again. Until the late 19th century, many plans were rejected for various reasons such as threatening the city historical structures foundation, disrespecting the city religious sites, destroying the city historical order, and conflicting the daily trade markets.
In the late 19th century and beginning of the 20th century, St. Petersburg turned into one of the biggest commercial cities in Russia and got quite crowded. The city administrators decided to find a good plan for decreasing the traffic, and the best option they’ve found was elevated railway within the city; however, after many arguments around the subject, this plan was also rejected by Nicholas I, in 1903.
Following the October 1917 Revolution, Moscow chose to be the country capital, and the hopes of building the St. Petersburg Metro system has died alongside. Building the St. Petersburg Metro was discussed again in the Soviet government in 1938, and Ivan Zubkov assigned to organize the project. The process of building the metro system interrupted during the Second World War and did not start again until 1947, three years after the death of Ivan Zubkov. Ivan Novikov, the new head of the project established the first St. Petersburg station in 1955 so that St. Petersburg finally got its rapid transportation system.
Until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1992, there were 14 active metro stations in St. Petersburg. However that the government planned to triple the metro capacity by the end of 1997, the plan was achieved in 2012. Currently, the St. Petersburg metro is one of the deepest underground transportation systems in the world. Unlike the usual underground transportation system in which trains goes above the ground in some points, the St. Petersburg Metro is completely under the ground and never reach the surface. Right now, the St. Petersburg metro includes 5 lines and 69 Stations that transfer over 2 million people daily.
Besides the transporting purposes, the St. Petersburg metro has other attractions for tourists. There are many Soviet symbols and art elements used for designing these stations. The architecture of these stations somehow looks like majestic palaces which made them free, accessible urban museums in the city of St. Petersburg. Many art elements and work is done for decorating these stations such as the mosaic artworks, relief works, and sculptures.
One of the significant things about these stations are the usually large structures on the surface which is easily recognizable in the streets.
The thing that makes the St. Petersburg Metro stations somehow unique is the beauty of them that fascinate any visitors every time. One of those beautiful stations would be the Avtovo station on line 1 which established in 1955 is one of the most beautiful stations in the world.
There are many artworks and sculptures in each metro station in St. Petersburg which made its atmosphere more like a small museum rather than a station.
These stations became one of the popular tourist’s attractions of St. Petersburg because of their solemnity and beauty which many tour agencies offer their customers to visit these stations during their St. Petersburg tour plan. We recommend you to check some of these stations out during your visit of St. Petersburg even if you don’t have the plan to use the rapid transporting system in Saint Petersburg.
