Surely you could not even imagine such a thing - go down into the subway, and ... a tram leaves the tunnel. Yes Yes! The most ordinary tram! Or sit in the carriage, it goes to itself, and then suddenly goes underground. This is possible only in Russia! But how did it happen that an underground tram appeared in Volgograd?
From metro to metrotram
In the 70s of the last century, Volgograd developed extremely rapidly: new plants were opened, the city was growing, the population was growing exponentially. Given that the regional capital stretched along the right bank of the Volga for more than 80 kilometers, residents were faced with the fact that getting from the northern part to the center became quite difficult. The tram and trolleybus routes operating then did not allow moving without transfers and road difficulties. Therefore, the authorities started talking about the subway. But the lack of funding and the desire to do everything quickly and cheaply forced the designers to refine themselves. It was then that they came up with the term "metrotram" - a hybrid of ground tram and metro. Moreover, not so many stations had to be hidden underground. And the process of creating an underground tram in Volgograd has begun.
Doors on the right, platforms on the left
According to the canon, in underground stations, access to the platform is on the left side, while trams land people on the right on the surface of the tram. Wagons with doors on both sides could solve the problem, but no money was found to replace the rolling stock. But they figured out how to get out of this seemingly hopeless situation. The designers simply decided to cross the tunnels one above the other: in this way the car went underground on the right, and arrived at the station on the left. At some point, the authorities promised that the metro would appear in the city on the Volga, so the stations made a small laying with the possibility of restructuring to the metro standards. And the last three metrotram stations were dug up without crossing tunnels. Then the Soviet Union collapsed, and they were mothballed for a long time.
First of all
The light rail went on its first journey on November 5, 1984. An underground tram in Volgograd went along a route that included 17 stations: from the Tractor Plant to the Chekist Square. Thus, the ST line (light rail) united four districts of the city. The existing tram line was dismantled in the center, and taken out of the road in the north. It turned out that the cars almost do not intersect with the road, which means that they can go much faster. The ground part consisted of 14 stations, and the underground part consisted of only three. In the area of Baku street, trams began to go into the tunnel and follow to the Ploshchad Lenina, Komsomolskaya and Pionerskaya stations. From the last carriages again drove to the surface to the final “Chekist Square”. Moreover, the Pionerskaya station is both underground and aboveground. Due to the terrain, trams launched along the overpass above the floodplain of the Tsaritsa River.
Second turn
For many years, mothballed stations without crossing tunnels stood idle. The region was getting poorer, but slowly bought trams with two-way doors. As a result, they managed to buy 10 pieces. This was not enough, so it was decided to make two routes. On December 1, 2011, new beautiful cars entered the ST-2 route, which started from the turning ring at the Monolit stadium in the Krasnooktyabrsky district and ended at Yelshanka in Sovetsky. That is, the underground tram in Volgograd was extended by only three stations. The townspeople were both pleased and outraged. On the one hand, metrotram united as many as five districts. On the other hand, the ST-2 traveled at great intervals, and you had to pay for travel twice during a transfer.
Single line
As many as 27 years have passed between the opening of the first and second phases. And for sure, if not for the World Cup, then Volgograd residents would not have waited for a single line. But on July 9, 2018, she still earned. The ST-2 route was lengthened, and the cars went from the terminal metrotram in the north of the city to the very last station in the Sovetsky district. They did not begin to abolish the previous ST route, it still goes to the Chekistov Square from 7:00 to 19:00, since the ST-2 ignores this station (it's a reversal ring).
Now people do not have to change trains, pay twice for a ride and wait for a long tram. The average underground tram speed is 25 kilometers per hour. Travel time is approximately 40 minutes. The total number of stations is 22, and the underground tram route in Volgograd stretched 17.3 kilometers.
Underground Tram Stations in Volgograd
Traktorozavodsky district:
- VGTZ.
- "Bakery".
- "Auto Center".
- "Hospital Ilyich."
Krasnooktyabrsky district:
- "Plant" Barricades ".
- "Gymnasium number 14".
- "Monolith stadium.
- "Factory" Red October ".
- "Street named after the 39th Guards Division."
- "Renaissance Square."
- "Palace of Sports".
Central District:
- "Mamayev Kurgan".
- "Central Stadium".
- "CPKiO".
- "TRC" Europe ".
After the underground part begins:
- "Lenin Square".
- "Komsomolskaya".
- "Pioneer."
Voroshilovsky district:
- "Chekist Square" (ground turning ring).
- "Union".
- "Youth Theater".
Sovetsky district:
The scheme of the underground tram in Volgograd is very simple - it is a line along the right bank of the Volga.
Unrealized projects
The townspeople are so fond of the underground tram in Volgograd that for a long time there was talk of launching the third stage - from Yelshanka to Volgograd State University, the fourth - from VGTZ to Spartanovka and even the fifth - from Komsomolskaya through the housing estate and to the airport. But all this remained only the imagination of the designers on paper.
Currently, the Volgograd underground tram schedule has been made more convenient for passengers. Wagons run from 5:49 to 23:08 with an interval of about five minutes. So if you are in this glorious city on the Volga, then be sure to take a ride on its unique sights. By the way, Forbes magazine even included metrotrams in the list of the most interesting tram routes on the planet: it is in 4th place.