Metro essentials

  • 1935first line opened: Sokolniki — Park Kultury
  • ≈70 kmBig Circle Line, completed as a ring in 2023
  • ≈84 mdepth of Park Pobedy station
  • 76bronze figures at Ploshchad Revolyutsii

Then / now: rings and diameters

The diagram shows how the MCC, the Big Circle Line and the MCD diameters were added to the radial lines and the Circle line. Move the slider to compare the network before 2016 and today. Schematic, not to scale.

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How we count: each line at an interchange counts as a separate station (as in metro statistics) — Kievskaya on three lines is three stations. Opening dates from Wikidata and OpenStreetMap, checked on 7 November 2026. Opening years from Wikidata and OpenStreetMap; for the MCD, the launch year of the diameter. The monorail, closed in 2025, is not shown on the 2016 diagram.

How the network grew

  1. 1935

    The first line

    13 stations from Sokolniki to Park Kultury, with a branch to Smolenskaya.

  2. 1938–1943

    New radii

    Mayakovskaya, Ploshchad Revolyutsii and other stations open — even during the war.

  3. 1950–1954

    The Circle line

    The ring joins the railway terminals and radial lines into one network.

  4. 2016

    MCC

    Passenger service begins on the Moscow Central Circle.

  5. 2019

    First diameters

    MCD-1 and MCD-2 are launched.

  6. 2023

    BCL completed

    The Big Circle Line becomes the world’s longest metro ring.

Stations worth going underground for

  • 1938

    Mayakovskaya

    Alexey Dushkin’s light steel arches and mosaic ceilings after designs by Alexander Deyneka.

  • 1952

    Komsomolskaya (Circle)

    Alexey Shchusev’s grand hall with a yellow vault and Pavel Korin’s mosaics.

  • 1952

    Novoslobodskaya

    Glowing stained glass in brass frames — an underground cathedral of light.

  • 1938

    Ploshchad Revolyutsii

    Matvey Manizer’s sculptures in the arches, touched for luck.

  • 1935

    Kropotkinskaya

    A calm, light hall with lotus-like columns — a classic of the first stage.

  • 1954

    Kievskaya (Circle)

    Mosaic panels in gilded frames beneath a high vault.

Using the metro

Trains run frequently and the map is duplicated in English. Interchanges are marked with line colours; at large hubs it helps to check the exit number in advance.

Current operating hours, restrictions and fares are published by the Moscow Metro — check them before you travel.

An independent overview. Check timetables, fares and visiting rules on official websites.