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- The Moscow metro, one of the busiest metros in the world, is known for its efficiency and its beautifully ornate stations.
- On a recent trip to Russia, I rode the Moscow metro and found it to be a vast improvement to the subway system in New York City, where I live.
- The stations are cleaner, better ventilated, and more beautiful, and the trains are quieter and more efficient.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
The Moscow metro is known for its efficiency and its beautifully ornate stations.
It’s also one of the busiest metro systems in the world, with more than 8.5 million riders every day.
On a recent trip to Moscow, I decided to ride the metro to see how it stacks up to the subway system in New York City, where I live.
Here’s what it was like.
The Moscow metro, with more than 8.5 million passengers each day, is one of the busiest metro systems in the world.
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It’s also the most efficient, according to a 2018 report by global consulting firm McKinsey & Co, which ranked Moscow’s public transport No. 1 in terms of efficiency. The system uses more than 2,000 cameras and 3,700 sensors to reduce congestion and synchronize traffic lights.
Gavriil GrigorovTASS via Getty Images
The system has 15 lines and 232 stations. Trains start running at 6 a.m. and the last trains leave around 1 a.m.
Moscow Metro
In addition to its efficiency, the Moscow metro is known for its beautifully ornate stations.
Toby Forage / SOPA Images/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
My first trip on the Moscow metro began at the Park Kultury station in the south of central Moscow, a large, vaulted structure with elegant archways and a dome on top — as well as a Coca-Cola sign.
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A single ticket costs 55 rubles, or about 87 cents. On the New York City subway, a single ride is $2.75.
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Metro riders can also buy tickets at the automated machines.
Photo by Sergei BobylevTASS via Getty Images
In addition to single-ride tickets, Moscow metro passengers can buy 60 trips (valid for 45 days) for 1,900 rubles, or about $30, on the Troika transport card. There are also unlimited fares on the Troika cards for periods of one day, three days, 30 days, 90 days, and one year. An unlimited yearly pass costs 19,500 rubles, or about $308.
Wikimedia Commons/Правительство Москвы, Московский метрополитен (билеты) Кирилл Зыков
Riders must pass through full-body security scanners before entering the metro system.
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The inside of the station had marble everywhere, vaulted ceilings, and chandeliers.
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An attendant was on hand to answer questions at an information desk in the center of the station.
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I headed underground, noticing a distinct lack of garbage, grime, and mysterious liquids on the ground.
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The platform was a stark contrast to a New York subway platform. For one, it was spotlessly clean and not at all crowded a little after 2 p.m. on a weekday. Instead of urine and garbage, the air smelled pleasantly like … nothing.
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And although it was around 80 degrees Fahrenheit that day in Moscow, the station was cool and well-ventilated. In New York, temperatures in the stations can climb past 100 degrees in the summer.
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The train stops were clearly displayed on the wall in both Russian and English. I was on the Sokolnicheskaya line, the oldest in the system, on my way to to the Okhotny Ryad station, where I would transfer to another line.
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My train arrived about 30 seconds after I stepped onto the platform. I found that even though it looked like an old train, it was much quieter than trains in New York City.
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This particular train was not air conditioned, although a local told me the newer trains are. But because the platforms themselves were cool, and open windows on the train let in a breeze as we sped through the tunnels, it wasn’t an issue.
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There was free WiFi available on every train car, but I found I didn’t need it because I had cell phone service even between stations, which is definitely not the case in New York.
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I got off the train at Okhotny Ryad to switch to the green Zamoskvoretskaya line, and I was struck by the beauty of the station. Judging by photos I’ve seen, this one was far from the most beautiful station in the city. Yet compared to New York’s dark, dirty, rat-infested stations, it practically looked like a museum.
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And once again, I waited less than 30 seconds before my train pulled into the station — which is perhaps not the norm, but it was a marvel to me after riding NYC’s perpetually delayed trains.
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LED clocks on the platform displayed both the current time and the total elapsed time since the last train left the station. According to this clock, my train came just over two minutes after the last train left. Moscow metro trains have an average speed of more than 25 miles per hour, while NYC subway trains travel at an average 17 miles per hour.
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When I got off the train at the Tverskaya Station, I rode up a long escalator. The Moscow metro system has 872 escalators.
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I exited the metro at Moscow’s famous Tverskaya Street, near Pushkin Square. On the way out I had to snap a photo of the entrance, which was decorated with a beautiful mural.
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Even after one ride on the Moscow metro, it was clear that the system’s cleanliness, beauty, air quality in the stations, and efficiency of the trains are all miles ahead of the New York subway.
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