Filyovskaya Line

Filyovskaya Line
Overview
Type	Rapid transit
System	Moscow Metro
Locale	Moscow
Termini	Alexandrovsky Sad (center) Kuntsevskaya (west); Mezhdunarodnaya (center)
Stations	13
Daily ridership	320,600
Operation
Opened	May 15, 1935
Owner	Moskovsky Metropoliten
Operator(s)	Moskovsky Metropoliten
Character	At-grade, underground
Rolling stock	81-740/741
Technical
Line length	14.9 kilometres (9.3 mi)
Track gauge	1,520 mm (4 ft 11 5⁄6 in)
Electrification	Third rail

Filyovskaya Line (Russian: Филёвская ли́ния), or Line 4, is a line of the Moscow Metro. Chronologically the sixth to open, it connects the major western districts of Dorogomilovo and Fili along with the Moscow City with the city centre. At present it has 13 stations and is 14.7 kilometres long.

History

The history of the Filyovskaya line is one of the most complicated in Moscow Metro, due to the eastern radius falling victim of changing policies. Originally the earliest stations are the oldest, dating to 1935 and 1937 when they opened as part of the First stage and operated as a branch from what later became the Sokolnicheskaya Line. In 1938 the branch service was liquidated and the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line was formed by trains now terminating at Kurskaya. However during the Second World War, the station Arbatskaya suffered damage when a German bomb pierced its ceiling, as all of the 1930s stations were built sub surface.

The threat of the Cold War becoming real, meant that these early stations were not suited to double as bomb shelters, and instead a parallel deep section was built. This would have meant the end of the Filyovskaya line, had Nikita Khrushchev as part of his visit to New York City where he was inspired by having elevated and surface lines. Upon his return, and coinciding with his pursuit to save costs on architecture and construction he forced to abandon the planned deep-level extension to Fili and instead build a surface line that would see the old stations re-opened. In 1958 the Arbatsko-Filyovskaya Line was inaugurated becoming the sixth to open (because it was not a proper diameteral line, the term Arbatsko- was dropped soon later). The line continued to extend westwards reaching Fili in 1959, along with its separate depot, the Fili Park in 1961 and ultimately the housing massif of Kuntsevo in 1965. A further extension was built to a newer massif in Krylatskoye in 1989.

All of the stations, save Molodyozhnaya, were built surface, the original late 1950s trio was built to an identical side-platform configuration, whilst the remaining four to a more standards island platform. Despite the success in saving costs, the Russian climate, particularly the winter, the sharp bends, and the small station size made the line one of the most unpopular with passengers.

By the 21st century however, Filyovskaya line's fate would change radically. First the rising Moscow City business centre required a metro line, and a two-station branch was opened from Kievskaya in 2005 to Delovoy Tsentr and again in 2006 to Mezhdunarodnaya.

In early 2008, with the realization of the Strogino-Mitino extension the Filyovskaya Line's underground end was taken up by the same Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line, and its terminus was a redesigned station of Kuntsevskaya.

Timeline

Filyovskaya Line
Legend
to Molodyozhnaya 12.2 Kuntsevskaya 10.7 Pionerskaya 9.6 Filyovsky Park 8.6 Bagrationovskaya Fili yard 7.2 Fili 5.5 Kutuzovskaya 4.5 Studencheskaya 1.0 Mezhdunarodnaya 0.5 Vystavochnaya 3.3 Kiyevskaya Smolensky Metro Bridge across Moscow River 1.9 Smolenskaya 0.7 Arbatskaya 0.2 Alexandrovsky Sad to Okhotny Ryad to Ploshchad Revolyutsii

Segment	Date opened	Length
Alexandrovsky Sad-Smolenskaya	May 15, 1935	1.7 km
Smolenskaya-Kiyevskaya	March 20, 1937	1.4 km
Alexandrovsky Sad-Ploshchad Revolyutsii	March 13, 1938	0.9 km*
Kievskaya-Kutuzovskaya	November 7, 1958	2.3 - 0.9 km**
Kutuzovskaya-Fili	November 7, 1959	1.7 km
Fili-Pionerskaya	October 13, 1961	3.5 km
Pionerskaya-Molodyozhnaya	July 5, 1965	3.8 km****
Kuntsevskaya	August 31, 1965	N/A
Molodyozhnaya-Krylatskoye	December 31, 1989	1.9 km****
Kievskaya-Delovoi Tsentr	September 10, 2005	2.2 km***
Delovoi Tsentr-Mezhdunarodnaya	August 30, 2006	0.5 km***
Kuntsevskaya-Krylatskoye detached	January 2, 2008	-4.3****
Total:	13 stations	14.7 km

* Up till 1938 line functioned as a branch of the Sokolnicheskaya Line, 0.9 km of track was used to connect them.

** Up till 1958 line was integral part of Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line. Although from April 5, 1953 4 kilometre segment from Ploshchad Revolutsii to Kievskaya via Alexandrovsky Sad was closed. Service branch of 0.9 km was used to connect Alexandrovsky Sad and Ploshchad Revolyutsii.

*** Segment exists as branch on route Alexandrovskiy Sad - Kiyevskaya - Mezhdunarodnaya.

****On 2 January 2008 the Filyovskaya line was shortened to its terminus at Kuntsevskaya, whilst the stations Molodyozhnaya and Krylatskoye were passed on to the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line

Name changes

Station	Previous name(s)	Years
Alexandrovsky Sad	Komintern	1935-1937
	Ulitsa Kominterna	1937-1945
	Kalininskaya	1945-1990
Vystavochnaya	Delovoy Tsentr	2005-2009

Transfers

#	Transfer to	At
	Sokolnicheskaya Line	Alexandrovsky Sad
	Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line	Kiyevskaya, Alexandrovsky Sad, Kuntsevskaya
	Koltsevaya Line	Kiyevskaya

Rolling stock

The line is served by the Fili (№ 9) depot and currently the whole fleet is undergoing replacement. The oldest E type trains in Moscow were retired in 2009. Six carriage fleet of 24 trains (a mix of Ezh, Ezh1, Em-508 and Em-509) will was passed on to other depots and replaced by the new 81-740.1/741.1 "Rusich" (also known as "Skif") which are more suited for the outdoor climate that the line has.

Recent developments and future plans

Kiyevskaya station

After the line lost its terminus, its passenger flow dropped substantially, making it more local. Presently work is planned to upgrade the surface stations, and to finish replacement of the rolling stock. The branch service originally having 15 minute intervals now has 7.5 min which makes 1:2 ratio (sometimes 1:1) of trains traveling from Alexandrovsky Sad.