The Little Ring of the Moscow Railways (MK MZD, russian: Малое кольцо Московской Железной Дороги), is a orbital
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
.
Built between 1902 and 1908 as ''MOZD'' (''Moscow Encircle Railway'', russian: Московская Окружная Железная Дорога, or just ''Encircle Line'', russian: Окружная линия)
for mixed use railway traffic, after 1934 the railway was only used for cargo traffic. During the 2010s, the railway was converted to be used for commuter rail service and allows free transfers with the Moscow Metro; the passenger service on Moscow Ring Railway started on September 10, 2016, as the
Moscow Central Circle
The Moscow Central Circle or MCC (russian: Московское центральное кольцо, МЦК), designated Line 14 and marked in a strawberry red/white color is a orbital urban/metropolitan rail line that encircles historical M ...
. The line is operated by
Russian Railways
Russian Railways (russian: link=no, ОАО «Российские железные дороги» (ОАО «РЖД»), OAO Rossiyskie zheleznye dorogi (OAO RZhD)) is a Russian fully state-owned vertically integrated railway company, both manag ...
'
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
subsidiary.
History
In 1800, the
Kamer-Kollezhsky Val
Kamer-Kollezhsky rampart ( Russian: Камер-Коллежский вал, ''Kamer-Kollezhsky val'', also translated as Kamer-Collegium barriers or Chamber-Collegium wall) was a rampart which was built by Kamer Collegium (Collegium of State Incom ...
became the legal outer border of Moscow. In 1879, some additional areas, including
Sokolniki, were annexed to the city; however, at the time Moscow was encircled by a number of further settlements forming an urban agglomeration. Transport connections between these suburbs were poor. A number of proposals to build a ring railroad around the center to solve this were made in the 1860s and the 1870s. One such project was rejected in 1877 by the
Moscow City Duma
The Moscow City Duma (russian: Московская городская дума, Moskovskaya gorodskaya duma) is the Regional parliaments of Russia, regional parliament (city duma) of Moscow, a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject and th ...
which cited inefficiency.
However, the transportation problems became increasingly obvious, and in 1898 after Tsar
Nicholas II
Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...
sent a message to the City Duma declaring that it was desirable to build a railroad, a project competition was opened. The project by
Pyotr Rashevsky, who proposed to build a ring of the total length of , won the competition.
Construction started in 1902, and the railway was completed with the first train running in July 1907. In 1908, the railroad was declared to be completed, and it became part of the
Nikolayevskaya Railway, the main line of which ran between Moscow and
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
. A Passenger service was organized of four trains per day. The trains first stopped in
Nikolayevsky Railway Station before joining the ring at the
Presnya Station
The Presnya (russian: Пресня) is a river in Moscow (Russia) and a left tributary of the Moskva (river), Moskva. In 1908, Presnya was led into an underground concrete tube. The Presnya gave its name to the Presnensky District of central Mosco ...
. Here trains were divided into two, with one train running clockwise, and the other one running counterclockwise.
The Directorate of the Nikolayevskaya Railway was located in Saint Petersburg, and thus it was inconvenient for Moscow decision making. In 1916 control of the ring railway was transferred to the
Moscow-Kursk Railway. In 1934 it became a separate railway before in 1956 being included in the Moscow Railway.
The Circle Railway became known as Little Ring of the Moscow Railway after the 584 km
Greater Ring of the Moscow Railway
The Greater Ring of the Moscow Railway (russian: Большое кольцо Московской железной дороги) is the common name for a system of connector lines between the railways that radiate from Moscow. The general config ...
, 40–100 km (25-60mi) from the city centre, was completed during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Between 1917 and 1960, the Moscow Little Ring Railway served as the border of the city of Moscow. In 1960, the
Moscow Ring Road
The Moscow Automobile Ring Road (russian: link=no, Московская кольцевая автомобильная дорога, Moskovskaja koltsevaya avtomobilnaya doroga), or MKAD (), is a ring road running predominantly on the city border ...
, a new beltway far outside of the Moscow Little Ring Railway, then just about to be completed, became the new official boundary of the city.
On November 18, 1994, Andrey Shchelenkov died from the explosion of his own bomb targeting the river bridge between Vladykino and Rostokino stations. The explosion was not strong, and the bridge survived. Shchelenkov had ties to organized criminal
Maxim Lazovsky but the motive remains unknown.
By 2012, there were twelve freight stations operating on the railway.
The line was reconstructed during the period of 2013–2016 for joint passenger and freight use. The reconstruction process included:
* Electrification of the whole line with 3 kV DC overhead wires and the construction of substations
* Construction of new passenger stations and rehabilitation of old stations
* Construction of an additional third track on the northern half of the circle for freight trains
* Construction of depot for EMU trains at Podmoskovnaya stations
* Construction of interchanges with existing
Moscow Metro
The Moscow Metro) is a metro system serving the Russian capital of Moscow as well as the neighbouring cities of Krasnogorsk, Reutov, Lyubertsy and Kotelniki in Moscow Oblast. Opened in 1935 with one line and 13 stations, it was the first unde ...
stations.
Moscow Central Circle Line
The
Moscow Central Circle
The Moscow Central Circle or MCC (russian: Московское центральное кольцо, МЦК), designated Line 14 and marked in a strawberry red/white color is a orbital urban/metropolitan rail line that encircles historical M ...
is a passenger metropolitan line that runs along the Little Ring of the Moscow Railway, operated by
Russian Railways
Russian Railways (russian: link=no, ОАО «Российские железные дороги» (ОАО «РЖД»), OAO Rossiyskie zheleznye dorogi (OAO RZhD)) is a Russian fully state-owned vertically integrated railway company, both manag ...
as subcontractor for
Moscow Metro
The Moscow Metro) is a metro system serving the Russian capital of Moscow as well as the neighbouring cities of Krasnogorsk, Reutov, Lyubertsy and Kotelniki in Moscow Oblast. Opened in 1935 with one line and 13 stations, it was the first unde ...
. It was opened for passengers on September 10, 2016, after a four-year construction period. The passenger service is operated by 33
Siemens ES2G ''Lastochka'' trains.
Stopping points
The following is the list of the original 1908 stations and yards and some other later stations on the line (clockwise from north):
#
Vladykino (opened 1908);
#
Rostokino (opened 1908);
#
Belokamennaya (opened 1908);
#
Cherkizovo (opened 1908);
known as
Lokomotiv on the Moscow Central Circle line
#
Lefortovo (opened 1908);
known as
Shosse Entuziastov on the Moscow Central Circle line
#
Andronovka (opened 1908);
#
Ugreshskaya (opened 1908);
#
Kozhukhovo (opened 1908);
#
Kanatchikovo (opened 1908);
#
Neskuchnoye (halt, defunct as of 2014);
#
Vorobyovy Gory (not in use as of 2014);
#
Potylikha (halt, not in use as of 2014);
#
Kutuzovo (not in use as of 2014); re-opened as
Kutuzovskaya station on the Moscow Central Circle line
#
Presnya
The Presnya (russian: Пресня) is a river in Moscow (Russia) and a left tributary of the Moskva (river), Moskva. In 1908, Presnya was led into an underground concrete tube. The Presnya gave its name to the Presnensky District of central Mosco ...
;
#
Voyennoye Pole (halt, defunct as of 2014);
#
Serebryany Bor
Serebryany Bor (russian: Серебряный Бор) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia.
;Urban localities
*Serebryany Bor, Sakha Republic, an urban-type settlement in Neryungrinsky District of the Sakha Republic
;Rural loca ...
(opened 1908);
#
Bratsevo (not in use as of 2014);
#
Likhobory (opened 1908).
#
Kotly (opened 1908
halt, defunct as of 2014);
Since September 10, 2016, the re-developed
Central Circle Line has been in operation using this route, initially with 26 stations, and with 5 further stations opened in November 2016).
David Shirres: Moscow's new ring (see 'Operating the circle')
at railengineer.uk, accessed 31 March 2018
See also
* Moscow Central Circle
The Moscow Central Circle or MCC (russian: Московское центральное кольцо, МЦК), designated Line 14 and marked in a strawberry red/white color is a orbital urban/metropolitan rail line that encircles historical M ...
(uses MOZhD's land)
* Greater Ring of the Moscow Railway
The Greater Ring of the Moscow Railway (russian: Большое кольцо Московской железной дороги) is the common name for a system of connector lines between the railways that radiate from Moscow. The general config ...
References
External links
{{commons category, Moscow Central Ring Railway
Moscow Central Circle
*
Railway loop lines
Urban ring railways
1908 establishments in the Russian Empire
Railway lines opened in 1908