A geographically accurate map of the route of the Lyublinskaya line

Lyublinskaya Line (Russian: Люблинская линия) is the newest line of the Moscow Metro. First opened in 1995 as a semi-chordial radius it is at present in process of being extended through the centre and northwards. In the future it is expected to be renamed as the Lyblinsko-Dmitrovskaya Line (Люблинско-Дмитровская) once its northern section opens. At present the line has 21.2 kilometres of track and 12 stations.

[edit] History

In the early 1980s, the Moscow development plan put forward several ideas about solving the build-up that came as a result of the radial-ring alignment which has determined the development of the Moscow Metro since the mid-1950s. In the previous programme the radial lines, with an ever-increasing build-up of passengers, were forced to use the central transfer points and those on the ring, severely overcrowding the system.

In attempt to solve this problem, the future Lyblinskaya line was designed so that some of its transfer points would be outside the Koltsevaya Line. This meant it would begin at the ring before extending south to the Kursky Rail Terminal, Perovsky, and Zhdanovsky. The ultimate goal of the line was to then bring the metro to the new developing districts of Maryino and Lyublino in the south.

The initial design when bringing the new line to the new districts was to follow Lyublinskaya Street, not far from the bank of the Moskva River. However after several debates, this was altered and the line would continue westwards until it reached Volzhsky Boulevard and only then turn southwards towards the districts of Lyublino. Although this left out the possibility of railway transfer with Kursksaya, it did allow the metro to enter into the heart of the region more thoroughly.

The change in plans, combined with the financial crises that beset the metro construction in 1990s, meant that the first stage opened with delays. In late 1995 the first section finally opened, and a year later it would reach Maryino. Several problems were encountered with the construction, particularly for Dubrovka. This station was left incomplete due to nearby factories heating up the soil, which prevented the freezing of the underground water to allow the construction of an escalator tunnel. However in the late 1990s, because of the financial crises which paralyzed most of the industries, the metro-builders were able to complete the station.

Despite the delays, the line demonstrated some of the newest methods for metro-building. Deep-level stations were built on a monolithic concrete plate instead of a conventional tubual base. Also the new wall-column design was introduced on two of the deep-level stations and a single-deck for the shallow ones. New finishing materials, such as a fibreglass vaults, were introduced to offer more reliable hydroisolation.

The development of further extensions, was for many years delayed and paralyzed by the lack of finances, and only in 2005 construction was resumed on the long awaited second stage towards the city centre, with Trubnaya being the first to open in 2007.

[edit] Timeline

	Lyublinskaya Line
								Yubileynaya
								Seligerskaya
								Verkhniye Likhobory
								Okruzhnaya
								Petrovsko-Razumovskaya
								Fonvizinskaya
								Butyrskaya
								Maryina Roshcha
								Dostoyevskaya
								Trubnaya
								Sretensky Bulvar
								Chkalovskaya
								Rimskaya
								Krestyanskaya Zastava
								Dubrovka
								Kozhukhovskaya
							Pechatniki
							Volzhskaya
							Lyublino
							Bratislavskaya
							Maryino
							Borisovo
							Shipilovskaya
							Zyablikovo
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[edit] Transfers

[edit] Rolling stock

The line is served by the Pechatniki depot (#15). 81-717/714 (including .5 and .5M modifications) wagons are used since the opening of the line. In 1998-2004 some new 81-720/721 (and .1) "Yauza" trains were received, but now their production is stopped. Some "Yauza" are still working, but all the new rolling stock used on the line is 81-717/714.5M.

[edit] Recent events and future plans

At present there are three distinct areas on the development of the line.

[edit] Central extension

The second stage opened with Trubnaya in August 2007 and Sretensky Bulvar following December. The second segment is scheduled to open in 2009 (construction was resumed only in early 2007). This will include two stations Dostoyevskaya and Maryina Roshcha.

[edit] Dmitrovsky (northern) radius

Construction on this extension, unlike other sections was never started, and there are still debates on the exact path of the future radius. Nonetheless the most likely one is a four station extension from Marina Roshcha to Likhobory with interim Sheremetyevskaya, Butyrsky Khutor Petrovsko-Razumovskaya, where a provision for a cross-platform transfer with the Serpukhovsko-Timiryazevskaya Line exists. This is planned to be inaugurated by 2013.

Afterwards the line will continue northwards to the housing districts of Beskudnikovo, Degunino and Lianozovo. It is believed that the full radius will be operational by 2020, and by this time an extension to the Severny district, beyond the MKAD, might be realised, although this might be in the form of light metro.

[edit] Lyublinsky (southern) radius

In a separate case, a three station extension from Marino began in 1997, but in 2000 the construction sites of the stations Borisovo, Shipilovskaya, and Zyablikovo was abandoned. The importance of this is that Zyablikovo will be a transfer to the Krasnogvardeyskaya station of the Zamoskvoretskaya Line. In 2008 construction finally resumed and it is planned that the stations will open by 2012.

[edit] Footnotes

v • d • e Lines of the Moscow Metro
	Sokolnicheskaya		Zamoskvoretskaya		Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya
	Filyovskaya		Koltsevaya		Kaluzhsko-Rizhskaya
	Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya		Kalininskaya		Serpukhovsko-Timiryazevskaya
	Lyublinskaya		Kakhovskaya		Butovskaya
List of Moscow metro stations