Dnipropetrovsk underground: the history of construction, description, interesting facts

Few people know that in Ukraine is the smallest in Europe metro system. It consists of only one branch, which the passenger can drive in twelve minutes! The Dnepropetrovsk underground was built over 15 years, but it was never completed until the end.

History of construction

In the late 70-ies in the Dnieper (then - Dnepropetrovsk) was born a millionaire. Soon after this event, the municipal authorities realized that the city needs a new and progressive form of transport. It was decided to build the Dnipropetrovsk underground.

But there were other reasons for this decision. The Cold War between the two superpowers was in full swing. And Dnepropetrovsk, as one of the closed cities of the Soviet Union, was in dire need of reliable shelter from possible atomic strikes. By the way, this explains the fact that almost all the currently operating stations of the Dnepropetrovsk underground are laid deep enough (up to 60-70 meters).

In 1979, Leonid Brezhnev signed an application for laying the subway system in the city. Experts from various cities of the USSR participated in the construction of the metro: Kiev, Leningrad, Kharkov, Krivoy Rog. However, the work went slowly, and by the end of the 1980s the project was "frozen" at all. Then came the "dashing" and deep-crisis 90's.

The Dnipropetrovsk underground was seriously interested only in the second president of independent Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma. In the last days of 1995, it was open to passengers. However, the allocated state money was enough only for six stations.

Dnipropetrovsk underground: photo and description

Six stations, one branch with a length of 7.1 km and 45 wagons for carrying passengers - these are the main indicators of the urban metro system. The train interval is from 7 to 20 minutes. For the year, the Dnepropetrovsk Metro carries about 7 million people.

The price of the token in the metro is one of the lowest in Ukraine (cheaper only in Krivoy Rog). The cost of one trip from 2011 is only two hryvnia (this is 5-6 Russian rubles).

The only operating subway line connects the area of the railway station with residential neighborhoods of the western part of the city. It has only 6 stations:

• "Vokzalnaya".
• «Metrostroiteley».
• "Metallurgists".
• "Factory".
• "The Freedom Avenue".
• "Pokrovskaya" (formerly known as "Kommunarovskaya").

By the way, four of them are almost identical in appearance, and differ only in the color of the panels that decorate the walls of the stations from the inside.

Mysteries of unfinished metro

During the 2000s, it was repeatedly planned to extend the metro line to the historic center of the city and take it to the banks of the Dnieper. Yulia Tymoshenko and Viktor Yanukovych promised to allocate money for this. However, the plans remained on paper.

At the same time, the townspeople composed not one legend about why the Dnepropetrovsk underground can not finish building. According to one of the versions, the metro builders discovered a layer of unknown metal under the city in the distant 80's. Not one of the rigs could overcome it. On the same day, all workers were taken out of the city in an unknown direction, and the foreman of the shift, according to rumors, completely lost his mind.

Most likely, this is an ordinary urban legend. And the subway could not be completed at all because of an unknown metal, but because of a banal lack of money.

What is the future of the Dnipro metro?

Since early 2016, the city authorities have seriously considered the option of flooding the unfinished subway sections. According to officials, the total cost of the project is about 7 billion hryvnia (18-20 billion if translated into Russian money). And yet, this idea was discarded.

At the moment, the authorities of the city and the region promise to complete the first branch of the underground. To do this, they even found an investor - the Turkish firm Limak Ins SanVetic AS.

As promised to residents of the Dnieper, in the next three years will be completed the first phase of construction. Extension of the metro line at least to the Central Department Store, according to experts, will significantly improve the situation with passenger traffic and traffic jams in the central streets of the city.