The Kaluga-Riga metro line in Moscow (or the orange metro line in the common people) is among the first that were built in this city. Its stations are located on the line connecting the north-eastern areas of the city of Sviblovo and Medkovo with the center, VDNH and the south-western parts of the city, such as Yasenevo, Cheryomushki and Konkovo.
The history of the Kaluga-Riga line
The orange metro line in Moscow was first mentioned in 1958 when the Riga radius was created. It connected the city center with the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition and had a length of 5400 meters as a whole.
In 1962, the Kaluga radius was put into operation, which included transport routes from the city center to the southwestern sleeping areas. The Kaluga radius at that time had a length of about 9000 meters and had only 5 stations. The features of its construction are the construction of stations using open pits. And the distillation tunnels were erected by the method of shield driving in connection with difficult geological conditions. Later, in 1964, the Kaluga radius was lengthened to the south in order to achieve a new electric depot.
A full-fledged orange metro line was created in 1970, when engineers adopted a project to create a central line that will connect the Kaluga and Riga radii into a single line. This was marked by the opening of new stations, such as the Tretyakovskaya, Sukharevskaya, Turgenevskaya and the creation of transitions to other lines. The central line came into operation in 1972. The year 1978 was marked by the extension of railway lines north to the Medvedkovo station. The length of the branch increased by 8100 meters. The stations were delayed due to the outbreak of the political and economic crisis in the 80s of the 20th century.
Modern time
In Moscow, the orange metro line today requires regular repair and maintenance. This was especially true for stations of the Kaluga radius, since the tile lining had already exhausted the terms of its operation. To replace in 2004, the walls of the Akademicheskaya station were lined with anodized aluminum, and the track walls were lined with black granite.
In addition, there have been changes in the operation of this line in connection with emergencies. The attacks on the Kaluga-Riga line began in 1998, when an unknown device hurt three people. In addition, the age of the structure also affects. So, in 2013, residents of Moscow were pretty scared of a failure in the wiring at the Shabolovskaya station, which manifested itself in the form of severe smoke.
But despite all the hardships, the Kaluga-Riga line continues to function in full. Today it is an orange subway line.
Travel time
Due to its length and congestion (the average number of people who use this line is about 1,000,000 people), the orange metro line has the longest time to reach the terminal station. It will take you about 55 minutes to get from Medvedkovo to Novoyasenevskaya (end stations).
The total length of the branch is 37.6 km. It includes 24 stations.
Development prospects
Engineers of the Russian Federation developed the document “Orange subway line: stations”, according to which in 2020 it was planned to expand the line to the station “Chelobitevo”. But the government rejected the project. In addition, the plans include the construction of the Yakimanka station, which will become a transitional link between the Kaluga-Riga and Serpukhov-Timiryazevskaya lines. It was planned to work on the project from 1996 to 2000, but the deadlines were postponed, now the delivery is planned for 2025. However, the government has not yet determined the exact timing of when the orange branch of the meter will be updated. Stations are still unchanged.