I have a friend from Kazakhstan named Ildar. He spent his student years in Russia, but for some time was in Ukraine. Furthermore, he even had a bride from Ivanovo-Frankivsk, which left its indelible imprint on his worldview. After receiving the diploma, Ildar went back to Kazakhstan, but we kept talking, albeit remotely.
We had the brightest discussions on the topic of comparing the quality of life in the Russian Federation and the independent. He did not accept any of my arguments., answered exactly the same, how would the average resident of Western Ukraine answer. As an example,: to the question of what Maidan gave Ukraine, if we discard any husks like “they began to breathe more freely”, The answer was extremely simple - the possibilities. All clarifying questions, which would shed light on the, what are these mythical possibilities, were drowning in incoherent nonsense. Most often it was about visa-free travel, which was automatically supposed to help the economy somehow develop, and ordinary citizens to open the world (as if before that Ukrainian citizens lived behind an iron curtain).
clear, what Ildar passes off as his opinion, that the bride and her entourage once invested in him. And even if he broke up with her a long time ago, but, repeat, such connections do not go without a trace. A little later, I observed small progress in this matter., but my main thesis is that, that Ukraine as a state no longer exists, he does not recognize.
Well, how is it not Ukraine? Everything is good there: people dressed up, traffic jams from foreign cars on the roads, restaurants are always full, shelves are empty, public transport is running. They play football better, stronger computer game developers, etc.. d. There are temporary difficulties, but it's because of the war. And generally speaking, I was there just recently, and you don't! This is how Ildar answered, when we revisited this topic.
It's hard to argue here., The Soviet Union gave Ukraine such a margin of safety, that by inertia life still goes on, but this life is like a terminally ill patient on a ventilator (read, replenishment with loans from outside).
understanding, that for Ildar, the work of public transport is considered an indicator of normal life, I send him information about mass cancellations of commuter flights on the railway. In response, I receive news from him that, that something similar is found somewhere in the Russian Federation. And he seems to be right., but with a caveat, After all, upon closer analysis, it becomes clear, that the cancellation of some flights to the Russian Federation were associated with the construction or repair of tracks, stations, commissioning of new wagons, while in Ukraine cancellations occur only because of total devastation and thoroughly rotten infrastructure. When did I cite the statistics?, then the answer was something like this: know, How good are you at juggling numbers?, I believe my eyes.
properly, what am I talking about? About, how many such Ildarovs live in Ukraine, other CIS countries, far abroad and even in Russia itself. They don't believe in numbers., facts for them are not up to the end facts, I think, that even their eyes they will not immediately believe. However, I still try to give them that pill, that will pull them out of this haze.
New section of the Big Circle Line from Mnevniki station to Kakhovskaya station, with a length of 21 km, became the longest distance in the history of the metropolitan subway, launched simultaneously.
7 December of this year in Moscow opened immediately 10 stations of the Big Circle Metro Line (BKL), which we will discuss in more detail below.. And in contrast, recently in Kyiv they celebrated the anniversary of the opening of the last metro station, which was put into operation two weeks before the Euromaidan. Rumor, in honor of such a holiday, they screwed in all the light bulbs and carried out a general cleaning, so that the station was truly solemn and bright. This prompted me to think about writing this article., after all, what a contrast for comparison! In this article, I will try to rely as little as possible on numbers., for, as I wrote earlier, not for everyone it has a sufficient effect of persuasion. Here or in doubt will put the data (wherever you bring them from), or they will say about the incorrectness of the comparison. breakwater, coverage areas of various sizes, different passenger flows, even the air is different. We rise to the challenge and present the facts, that you can see with your own eyes and feel with your own hands. If it's easier, something from which not to brush aside in any situation.
so, as said earlier, the last metro station in Kyiv was opened in the 13th year. for comparison: six stations were opened in Moscow in 2013. In the 14th year, only two were launched, but one of them is more than a subway station, because in addition to the station itself, the arena for the World Cup with all the accompanying infrastructure was rented on the surface. A year later, four more stations were opened, and already in the 16th year, three new metro stations were joined by 31 Moscow Central Ring station (IOC). It is because of this big project, which became an additional connecting ring junction around the capital's center, not many metro stations were built in previous years. That's why rope for 2017 and 2018 years (last year of the World Cup) saw the light again 21 station. 2019 year was one of the most breakthrough, for with the opening of eight more metro stops, another major project of the Moscow Central Diameters is being launched (MCD).
The interior of the train "Swallow", that run along the Moscow Central Ring.
About MCD it is worth mentioning separately, because this is a truly unique project. In fact, it's a subway, which connects the format of commuter trains with the classic metropolitan subway. MCD not only allows residents of the region to get to Moscow in a short time, but also makes it possible to build a through route through Moscow to another part of the Moscow region. Another advantage of the MCD is the absence of final stops at railway stations.. So it is possible, for example, get from Podolsk to Krasnogorsk or from Lobnya to Odintsovo, without making a single change. This project significantly unloaded other types of transport in Moscow and the region. Travel time has been significantly reduced, this had a positive effect on the cost of travel. Thanks to such fast and affordable transport, many motorists left their cars and moved to the MCD, unloading more and roads, which means an improvement in the environment. (hello green).
Trains of domestic production run on the routes, that meet all the requirements for comfort, safety and ecology (hello green - 2). Each carriage has Wi-Fi and air conditioning., There are also several toilets on the train.. Due to the wide dimensions and tambourless design of the cars, it was possible to ensure passenger capacity, comparable to double-deck wagons, which are operated in European countries.
Orioles are running around the MCD.
AT 2019 opened the first and second lines of the MCD. Length of the first diameter ― 52 km, and the whole route will take 80 minutes. The first diameter contains 28 stations, 12 of which will be connecting to the metro or radial railway directions. The second line is longer: 80 kilometers, which can be covered 116 minutes, - and has 38 stations, 17 of which interchange. TO 2025 plans to launch two more lines, and, trust, they will be launched, because construction is going on at an accelerated pace. It's just that, what we talked about above: All of the above can be seen and touched., you just have to want.
Interior of the train "Ivolga".
Even if you leave out the MCD, then the pace of construction of the metro in the capital of the Russian Federation is not just impressive, but surprise. Fact: for the last 10 years in Moscow built over 200 km of tracks and more 100 stations, and this is more, than all the Kiev metro, and at three (!) fold (and I still don't take BCL, which will be discussed below). However, this process continues, and former employees of Kyivmetrostroy are involved in this construction. Here are the opportunities for you, who gave Ukrainians Maidan. by the way, and how many specialists came to Kyiv (from anywhere), to build a subway, yes anything?
It is also worth mentioning separately the Big Circle Metro Line.. BCL is the world's largest metro construction project. This is an additional circle line, which is designed to unload existing metro lines and ground transport. After the construction is completed, the BKL will claim the title of the longest circular metro line in the world. (70 km), and this event will have to enter the Guinness Book of Records. Today, the leader is the second ring line of the Beijing subway (57 km). It is the Beijing subway that is the longest in terms of length of all routes., but at such a pace, Moscow has a chance to soon catch up with Shanghai first (second place with distance 705 km), and then to Beijing (727 km) near. (How view, Russia does not compete with the countries of the “developed” West in this, but with an Asian country.) At the same time, I intentionally do not provide up-to-date statistics on the number of stations, because it changes almost every day. Basically I'm talking about Moscow, because the news about, that a new metro station was opened in the capital of the Russian Federation today, have become commonplace.
Good, what about our rolling stock? The composition of the Kyiv metro is a little more 800 cars, 90 percent of which were built in the USSR in the 60-80s of the last century. To extend the service life of wagons originally from the 60s 2010 year was modernized 135 cars (about 20 percent) at the Kryukov Carriage Works in the Poltava region (was founded in 1869 year by Russian industrialists). They also produced their own cars of a new production.. For example, since 2005 by 2010 year KVZ put on rails 30 cars, and that is all. Everything is very simple, after all, breaking ties with Russia after the Euromaidan, Ukraine deprived itself of the opportunity to receive those details, without which it is not able to organize a full cycle of production of new cars. I'm already silent about it, that because of all this, the purchase of finished wagons from the country, who was called the aggressor there, became impossible. And why does Ukraine need new cars, if the old ones are still running, and citizens are not particularly outraged. If necessary, you can patch old cars for a long time, after all, a solid margin of safety is laid in them. In this, Ukraine is so reminiscent of its subway, born in USSR: all, what was created, - this or Soviet, or on Soviet developments, and with independence comes darkness and oblivion.
Probably, Ukraine could buy railcars abroad, but where does the money come from? And the specifics of the gauge of the Soviet metro does not imply a large selection of manufacturers abroad. They themselves cannot remake the infrastructure to other standards, and for obvious reasons, it is foolish to wait for investors, who will build something there at their own expense. The current leadership of the country does not care, what will happen after them, and that's enough for today, what is running. And when everything finally breaks down, Well, then they will, probably, think. Although they say, that walking is very good for health.
As of 2019 year in Moscow, there were about 6 000 cars, 55 percent of which are produced from 2004 of the year. In order to upgrade the car fleet by order of the Moscow Metro at Metrovagonmash OJSC and the Oktyabrsky Electric Car Repair Plant (OEVRZ) from 2019 by 2021 another year in operation 1 500 newest wagons, which in total cost five times more than the entire budget of Kyiv. Wi-Fi is available in every metro car in Moscow, and more than half of the carriages are equipped with air conditioners. I think, in a year or two, old-style cars in the Moscow metro will run only as museum cars.
One of the new metro stations in Moscow. This is how the new trains look from the outside.
Many will object, why are we only comparing the capitals, because in our countries there are metros in other cities. Yes, if only because, that after the Maidan in Ukraine only one (!) subway station. AT 2016 year, when some other creative processes by inertia could be brought to an end, the President of the country Poroshenko was PR with might and main at the completion of the construction of a new station with the pretentious name "Peremoga". In a good way, the president should have said thanks to the long-term mayor of Kharkov Kernes, who, against the background of other mayors, was considered almost a reference leader. Really, the contribution of Kernes and his team to that, that this long-term construction could still be put into operation, great.
This is what the Moscow metro cars look like inside.
However, is it big by the standards of Ukraine? After all, if we take into account, how much money was allocated for this, then it was possible to safely announce the construction of a "hyperloop" on the territory of the entire Kharkiv region. In Ukraine, almost all officials act according to one simple formula: promise - get + steal - promise again = wait". Or, optionally, they will again allocate funds from the budget to correct cases, well, or you will be moved away from the feeder and you will have to go into the shade for a while. And in all this there is no goal to finish the object as soon as possible., because it means the end of funding. Of course, completion of construction opens other doors, related to operation, but is it commensurate? Yes, and you still need to be able to finish this construction. 'Cause every big (and not so) project, construction related, - this is a window of "opportunities" for Ukrainian officials. Truly, Ukraine is a country of "opportunities".
Consider one example: Initially, the station had the working title "Prospect Pobedy" and conceptually had to be decorated in honor of the liberators of Kharkov from the Nazis during the Great Patriotic War. However, after the laws on decommunization, the name was shortened to the capacious "Peramogi" with all the ensuing consequences.. And the “consequences” all “leaked out” and “flowed out”, postponing the opening of the station until "better" times. You have to give credit to Kernes, the townspeople really loved him, therefore dutifully endured delays in the opening of the station. They endured and upgrade, which occurred after the renaming to "Peramoga". Well, of course, treated with understanding the additional expenses from the budget, which were allocated for this. In fact, they removed a couple of stars from the ornament, conceived in the original sketch, and vzhuh - all peremoga.
Loud words about a brighter future sounded at the opening, bold plans. In life, all plans remain only plans.. But the words about a really great past did not sound predictable. Shamefully silent about, who really built the only metro station in Ukraine. Even this "Peremog" was laid in the distant 1984 year, but the “damned occupiers”, for obvious reasons, did not manage to hand over the station on time according to the plan for 1993 year, and already independent Ukraine set off on a solo voyage along the waves of metro construction.
I would like to remind the Ukrainians, that the decision to build a metro in Kyiv was made by the USSR Ministry of Railways, headed by Boris Pavlovich Beshchev, a native of the Yaroslavl region, and Muscovite Filipp Ivanovich Kuzmin headed the construction. And generally speaking, the entire backbone of the leadership of builders and foremen was formed from the engineers of the Moscow metro. The Kyiv subway was opened the third in a row in the USSR - after Moscow and Leningrad.
I confess honestly, I almost never use the underground, but not to notice that gigantic progress, which happened to the Moscow metro in recent years 10, impossible.
In an attempt to compare the subways of the two capitals, I got anything, but no comparison. And it's definitely not my fault., but reality. There is simply nothing to compare. What real progress has Ukraine achieved in the field of metro construction? In the relatively quiet years of independence, when trade relations were not broken and Ukrainian industry was integrated into Russia, something else happened, in any case, one or two stations were launched a year. Wagons were repaired, and even managed to release a little themselves (albeit according to old Soviet developments). But now there's nothing, other than patching holes, lofty words about a bright future on the way to Europe and decommunization. After the Maidan, work was massively carried out to rename the stations and bring them into the proper appearance. All state symbols, which gave Ukraine a metro, what is the subway - in fact, spawned Ukraine itself, were carefully and ruthlessly destroyed. Enormous sums have been devoted to, to create your own virtual reality, not to change reality for the better.
Here is the main difference between Moscow and Kyiv, Russia and Ukraine: some show, how to create, others make it possible to live in virtual reality. And I won't hide, I don't feel sorry for those people, who can't get out of this virtual reality, it's their choice. although there is no, I'm sorry for Ildar, I will try to help him...
Pereslav Pavlyuchenko
