Few people know that Ukraine has the smallest metro system in Europe. It consists of only one branch, which a passenger can drive in twelve minutes! The Dnepropetrovsk Metro was built over 15 years, but was never completed to the end.
Construction history
At the end of the 70s, the millionth resident was born in the Dnieper (then Dnepropetrovsk). Shortly after this event, municipal authorities realized that the city needed a new and progressive mode of transport. It was decided to build the Dnepropetrovsk Metro.
But there were other reasons for this decision. The Cold War between the two superpowers was in full swing. And Dnepropetrovsk, as one of the closed cities of the Soviet Union, was in dire need of reliable shelter from possible atomic strikes. By the way, this explains the fact that almost all of the existing Dnipropetrovsk metro stations are laid deep enough (up to 60-70 meters).
In 1979, a request for a metro system in the city was signed by L. I. Brezhnev. Experts from various cities of the USSR participated in the construction of the subway: Kiev, Leningrad, Kharkov, Krivoy Rog. However, the work went slowly, and by the end of the 80s the project completely “froze”. Then came the "dashing" and deep-crisis 90s.
The Dnipropetrovsk Metro seriously interested only the second president of independent Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma. In the last days of 1995, it was open to passengers. True, the allocated state money was enough only for six stations.
Dnepropetrovsk Metro: photo and description
Six stations, one 7.1 km long line and 45 wagons for passenger transportation are the main indicators of the city metro system. The interval between trains is from 7 to 20 minutes. During the year, the Dnepropetrovsk Metro transports about 7 million people.
The price of a token in the metro is one of the lowest in Ukraine (cheaper only in Krivoy Rog). The cost of one trip since 2011 is only two hryvnias (this is 5-6 Russian rubles).
The only metro line in operation connects the railway station district with residential districts of the western part of the city. It has only 6 stations:
- "Station".
- "Metro builders."
- "Metallurgists."
- "Factory".
- "The Freedom Avenue".
- Pokrovskaya (formerly Kommunarovskaya).
By the way, four of them are almost identical in their appearance, and differ only in the color of the panels with which the walls of the stations are decorated on the inside.
The mysteries of the unfinished subway
Throughout the 2000s, it was repeatedly planned to extend the metro line to the historic city center and bring it to the banks of the Dnieper. Yulia Tymoshenko and Viktor Yanukovych promised to allocate money for this. However, the plans remained on paper.
At the same time, the townspeople have composed more than one legend about why the Dnepropetrovsk Metro cannot be completed at all. According to one version, metro builders discovered in the distant 80s a layer of unknown metal under the city. None of the rigs could overcome it. On the same day, all the workers were taken out of the city in an unknown direction, and the shift foreman, according to rumors, completely lost his mind.
Most likely, this is a common urban legend. But the subway could not be completed at all not because of an unknown metal, but because of a banal lack of money.
What is the future of the metro of the Dnieper city?
Since the beginning of 2016, the city authorities have seriously considered the option of flooding unfinished sections of the metro. According to officials, the total cost of the project is about 7 billion hryvnias (18-20 billion, if translated into Russian money). And yet, this idea was discarded.
At this point in time, the authorities of the city and the region promise to complete the first metro line. To do this, they even found an investor - the Turkish company Limak Ins SanVetic AS.
As promised to residents of the Dnieper, the first phase of construction will be completed in the next three years. The extension of the metro line at least to the Central Department Store, according to experts, will significantly improve the situation with passenger traffic and traffic jams on the central streets of the city.