Moscow Anyone?

[CamdenTown]

This is a shot in the dark, but is there anyone living in or planning to visit Moscow who would be interested in attempting an all stations challenge on the Metro? I suppose it's not much of a challenge if no one has ever attempted it before, but hey, riding the Metro would be a great way to beat the cold for a day! If I'm truly the only Tube Challenger living in the Motherland, I may give it a go on my own anyway, but I'd rather have company.

I can hear the deafening silence already...

[tractakid]

Good luck russian around the metro!

[The Raven]

Wasn't there an attempt made in the early 1990's that appeared in the GWR book?

Mind you, if any new stations have been opened since then, that would be a mute point.

I'm sure Adham Fisher is planning an attempt. He's got every other non-LU record, it seems!

Just remember in Russia metro ride you!

[CamdenTown]

The Moscow Metro authorities open new stations yearly, and there are dozens more slated for construction over the next several years. A record time on the system would only be a whimsical pursuit, of course! But it is one of the world's more incredible systems and certainly worth adding to any veterans' challenge resume, so Mr. Fisher should strongly consider.

[palkanetoijala31]

Seeing as Monsieur Fisher doesnt really post on forum that much would u like me to ask him?

[CamdenTown]

Sure, I'd appreciate that. Thanks!

[SquadronLeadereggbox]

Good luck russian around the metro!

Best. Joke. Ever.
Also if I a mass event were to take place about the challange maybe it could be a large group thing.

[palkanetoijala31]

Good luck russian around the metro!

Best. Joke. Ever.
Also if I a mass event were to take place about the challange maybe it could be a large group thing.

I presume if you organised it for a suitable date throw in some options for flights and accommodation options around Moscow you might get some takers plus perhaps put a network map on here to see how easy or hard it is?

[TIMOTHY10]

It might be an idea if anyone agrees to do the challenge with you that you meet in a public place so you can gage each other before you spend hours with each other on a tube train in Russia.

[jrparkin]

Late to the party but what constitutes a completion on the Moscow Metro. If we exclude the Central Circle, Central Diameters and the Monorail it's 241 stations, 276 if we add Central Circle.

So do we just do the 241 stations or 276

[tintin]

If by central circle you mean line 5, then all but one of its stations is on another line anyway. And the one that isn't is an interchange with one that is.

Anyway, while the number of stations is currently similar to the London underground, I think Moscow would take longer... I don't believe it could be done in a day.

That's why when I was there, I mainly took photographs of the elaborate architecture rather than trying to visit them all.

That said, I've done all of lines 4 and 5, all of line 3 west of Red Square, and bits of lines 1, 2 and 9.

[Obergine9]

In 2010 I did the entire network in two days. It's sprawling, but very frequent and reliable.

[jrparkin]

Can you tell us more?

[Obergine9]

Can you tell us more?

It was 13 years ago so memory is a bit fuzzy. I wasn't attempting to break any records, but I did write down the train trips I took, and comments are in bold. I have probably butchered the spelling/transliterations here.

There was no equivalent of a travelcard back then, and they just used tokens, which was 26 rubles back then. It made it expensive just going on one trip at a time so I didn't leave the system much, at least on the first day.

Nothing was out of service for engineering work, and I remember being impressed by how frequent the services were, I think in Line 5 it's up to every 30 seconds during rush hour.

Most terminal stations have cross-platform interchange, which meant it was very easy to get a train back.

In spite of the many extensions that have been built since then it could be done in 2 days if one was to make a proper effort :

498:
21/04/2010
I arrived on a sleeper train into Leningradskaya station around 6:30am, and was in the underground by 7am
Komsomol’skaya-Kurskaya
Kurskaya-Schchyolkovskaya
Schchyolkovskaya-Mitino {Line 3}
Mitino-Kuntsevskaya
Kuntsevskaya-Studencheskaya (via Line 4)
Studencheskaya-Mezhdunarodskaya {Line 4}
Mezhdunarodskaya-Aleksandrovskiy Sad
Arbatskaya-Altuf’yevo
Altuf’yevo-Timiryazevskaya
This is a busy market, and I couldn't find the station for the monorail (line 13) anywhere, so I gave up after about 10 minutes and went back underground
Timiryazevskaya-Bul’var Dmitriya Donskogo {Line 9}
Bul'var Dmitriya Donskogo and Ulitsa Starokachalovskaya are next to each other, but I had to go up a staircase, exit the building, and spent 5 minutes until I noticed a small sign for the other station.
Ulitsa Starokachalovskaya-Buninskaya Alleya {L1}
Buninskaya Alleya-Ulitsa Starokachalovskaya
Bul’var Dmitriya Donskogo-Sevastopol’skaya
Kakhovskaya-Kashirskaya
The interchange between Line 1 and 11 was difficult there
Kashirskaya-Varshavskaya
Varshavskaya-Kashirskaya {Line 11}
Kashirskaya-Krasnogovardeyskaya
Krasnogovardeyskaya-Rechnoy Vokzal {Line 2}
Rechnoy Vokzal-Tverskaya
Pushkinskaya-Planernaya
Planernaya-Vykhino
Vykhino-Kitay-Gorod
Kitay-Gorod-Novoyasenevskaya
Novoyasenevskaya-Medvedkovo
Medvedkovo-Turgenevskaya
Turgenevskaya-Trubnaya
I think I finished my journeys for that day around 8pm

499:
22/04/2010
I think I entered the system at around 8:30am
Tsvetnoy Bul’var-Timiryazevskaya
Timiryazevskaya-Tsvetnoy Bul’var
Trubnaya-Mar’ino {Line 10}
Mar’ino-Rimskaya
Rimskaya-Ploschchad Il’icha
Ploschchad Il’icha-Novogireyevo
Novogireyevo-Novokuznetskaya
Novokuznetskaya-Marksistskaya {Line 8}
Marksistskaya-Novokuznetskaya
Tret’yakovskaya-Alekseyevskaya
Teletsentr-Ulitsa Sergeya Eyzenshteyna
Ulitsa Sergeya Eyzenshteyna-Timiryazevskaya {M1}
Timiryazevskaya-Mendeleyevskaya
I got out and went sightseeing for an hour
Novoslobodskaya-Prospekt Mira
Prospekt Mira-Komsomol’skaya
I stopped off in quite a few stations in the circle line, to admire the architecture
Komsomol’skaya-Kurskaya
Kurskaya-Taganskaya
Taganskaya-Paveletskaya
Paveletskaya-Dobryninskaya
Dobryninskaya-Oktyabr’skaya
Oktyabr’skaya-Park Kul’tury
Park Kul’tury-Kievskaya
Kievskaya-Krasnopresnenskaya
Krasnopresnenskaya-Belorusskaya
Belorusskaya-Komsomol’skaya {Line 5}
Komsomol’skaya-Ulitsa Podbel’skogo
Ulitsa Podbel’skogo-Krasnye Vorota
Krasnye Vorota-Lubyanka
Lubyanka-Biblioteka im Lenina
Biblioteka im Lenina-Kropotkinskaya
Kropotkinskaya-Park Kul’tury
Park Kul’tury-Yugo-Zapadnaya {Line 1}
Yugo-Zapadnaya-Chistye Pudy
Srentskiy Bul’var-Kitay-Gorod {Line 6}
Kitay-Gorod-Kuznetskiy Most {Line 7} {Moscow Metro}
Lubyanka-Chistye Prudy
Sretenskiy Bul’var-Trubnaya
I finished later than the previous night, around 9pm