The Vynohradar tunnels, a metro line under construction in the city of Kiev

@ElentirENG ES 12·21·2023 · 23:04 0

Since February 2022, in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Kiev Metro has become world famous for its refuge status.

The beautiful ghost station of the New York Subway that was designed by a Spaniard
Walking an abandoned metro line beneath the capital of Armenia

For a long time, thousands of Kiev citizens have flocked to the metro facilities to shelter from the air attacks of the invaders. Inaugurated in 1960, the Kiev Metro has three lines and 52 stations that connect ten districts of the city. In addition, it has a world record, since it has the second deepest station in the world, Arsenalna, inaugurated in 1960 and which is 105.5 meters below the surface. It was the deepest station in the world until 2022, when the Hongyancun station was inaugurated, on the Chongqing Metro (Communist China), at 106 meters.

An extension of the Kiev Metro to the north has been planned for decades, with the so-called Vynohradar line, which began to be announced in 1970. The construction contract for the new line was signed in 2018, with the expectation that its two new stations, in Mostytska and Varshavska, would be ready by 2021. However, in the summer of 2021, problems with the construction company delayed its inauguration until 2023 strong>, and the Russian invasion of February 24, 2022 postponed the work even further. There is talk that it could be ready in 2024.

The Ukrainian urban explorer Stepanets has today published a video talking about this line and showing its tunnels(the video is in Ukrainian, you can activate the automatic subtitles in English in the bottom bar of the player):

Here you can see some screenshots from the video. Below these lines, an access shaft to the new metro line under construction. It has been open for many years (14, at least, according to the author of the video).

The lower part of the well, where we can see the beginning of one of the tunnels of the new line.

One of the tunnels on the Vynohradar line. The forecast is that trains will begin to run here next year.

A large closed gate, which gives access to the already active part of the Kiev Metro.