In the Soviet Union, it was decided that each city with a population of more than one million should have its own metro. I must say that the decisions of those years were implemented and did not depend on external factors. Samara is one of the first cities to receive such a right.
History of the Samara Metro
Work on a new mode of transport began in 1968. It took almost ten years to prepare a feasibility study in detail, to carry out all the necessary studies. By 1977, a promising metro scheme was proposed . Samara began to prepare for construction. A decision was received by the Council of Ministers of the USSR on the development of a technical project. Since 1980, the first tunnel detachment began underground work.
A promising project provided for the construction of the first stage to lay three branches and then increase their number to five. Make a tunnel under the Volga to Samara Luka.
Solemn laying of the beginning of construction was done in the city center. These are the current "Russian" and "Alabinskaya". But, real work was carried out closer to the factory districts. Today, it is Bezymyanka and Kirov.
Today
Unfortunately, the grandiose construction plans were not destined to be completed. The Soviet Union was gone, the development of the metro stopped. We managed to build only one branch, on which there are 10 stations. The first section from Yungorodok to Pobeda station was commissioned in 1987. In Samara, the metro scheme began with four stations. 7 years passed, then the pace slowed down. By the collapse of the country, they managed to build three more, and the funny nineties came. It took almost ten years to commission another station on the Gagarinskaya-Moskovskaya section. Only in 2007 the Moscow-Russian section was commissioned.
Finally, 2014 pleased the new site to Alabinskaya, but in reality it only started in 2017. Only 35 years have passed since the builders returned to the start of work. In Samara, the metro scheme began to consist of 10 stations.
Look to the future
There was hope that the city's economy began to come back to life again. Perhaps in less than a decade, the Samara metro scheme will increase by another three stations. The construction at the Samarskaya, Teatralnaya stations, between Kirovskaya and Krylya Sovetov, is being planned or is underway. This will complete the work on the first branch.
Design work is underway on the construction of the second branch between Khlebnaya Square and Oryol. The line with six stations will stretch for 9.57 km. After launching its first stage, the subway will naturally play a more significant role in the life of the city. Finally, 10% will cross the line of all city transportation.
It is difficult to say when the city will return to the original project and finally 33 stations will be on the metro map. Samara will become the owner of a full-fledged underground transport, with a total length of 41.3 km. We can recall two more branches of the second stage of construction.