Popular Moscow Metro’s Trains Run Every 85 Seconds

Above ground, Moscow is littered with crumbling Soviet institutions. But the capital’s underground showcase of socialism still inspires devotion from its millions of users.

The Moscow subway has survived a world war, the collapse of the Soviet Union and huge budget cuts--and still sends trains speeding through its tunnels every 85 seconds.

The “metro” system hasn’t been immune to Russia’s instability, but it would still make its designers proud.

Riders used to the subways of New York or London would be unlikely to notice the dirt that now occasionally finds its way to the once-spotless crevices in the Moscow stations’ ornate marble columns.

Graffiti and litter are still rare, and even during the city’s extended slush season, hundreds of cleaners keep the stations remarkably mud-free.

Marina Sergeyeva, a pensioner who has been riding the metro since it opened in 1935, says she has never waited longer than five minutes for a train--a statement that might raise eyebrows among passengers in other nations.

And although increasing reports of accidents have caused concern about the metro’s safety, it may be because Soviet authorities almost never report breakdowns of any kind.

The cost of a metro ride, after remaining at 5 kopecks for 56 years, has soared 12,000-fold to 600 rubles--about 12 1/2 cents--since prices were freed in 1991.

Crime is only beginning to seep into Moscow’s metro. Old women still travel alone at night.

In fact, the biggest threat to the underground monument may be its popularity.

Metro trains carry nearly 9 million people daily, three times the volume of the New York subway, even though Moscow’s 145-mile system is less than half the size of New York’s. Ridership on the world’s busiest subway soared 22.5% in 1993 alone.

“We’re like cattle. Look at us, pushing ourselves into these cars until we can barely breathe,” said Sergeyeva, shaking her head at the hundreds of people stuffing themselves into one of the blue and green cars.

Nearby, subway guard Yelena Kurichuk scolded a teen-age boy for leaving his empty soda can on a carved wooden bench.

“The biggest problem with our metro today is that people have forgotten how to treat others with respect,” Kurichuk said as she carefully dusted off the already spotless bench.

The cream-colored stone columns beside Kurichuk rise gently to meet domed ceilings decorated with elaborate mosaics of scenes from Belarus, the former Soviet republic for which the station--Belorusskaya--is named.

Ever since former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev’s policy of “glasnost” opened the floodgates of criticism, Muscovites have grown fond of bashing the metro’s increasing inefficiency, breakdowns and grime.

They wait years to get apartments and telephone lines and can spend hours in line to buy gasoline. But Muscovites hold their metro to such a high standard that a three-second delay for trains causes concern.

Recent press reports say the frequency of trains has slowed from a previous average of 82 seconds to an agonizing 85 seconds.

“It’s shameful,” said Sergeyeva.

But beneath their new cynical veneer, many Muscovites revere and cherish the metro. They argue that no other subway system in the world inspires such devotion.

Valentin Bolotov grew up dreaming of driving a metro train, celebrated the day he received his first uniform, and recites from memory the exact opening date of each of the metro’s 150 stations.

“I am proud of our system, proud of my work, proud of the great accomplishment that was made for the millions of people in this city,” said Bolotov, a 51-year subway employee and now director of the Moscow Metro Museum.

Bolotov sounds a bit like a Soviet propaganda film when he describes the history of the metro. But the story is an impressive one.

Construction began in 1932 and has not ceased since, despite political and economic turmoil.

“The chandeliers, the handrails, the floor tiles,” said Bolotov. He didn’t even mention the stained glass, the mosaics or the hundreds of representations of Lenin that adorn everything.