Latypov Roman Maratovich was appointed first deputy. Why are stations cleaned with sawdust and other questions for the metro manager. Where did the smell of the Moscow metro go?
On May 23, the Moscow Metro was blessed with a new head (twelfth in a row) - former deputy head of the Kuibyshev Railway Viktor Kozlovsky.
And away we go...
You can laugh and explain this as a manic innovation itch. No, I do not argue that itching is present. The new boss is a new mega-creative of his closest subordinates. With the accompanying future chaos, when people during rush hour will be tormented by confusion about the intricate entry/exit system.
That’s how it is, but for some reason it seems like another cute saw to me. Tiny, most banal. As one commentator writes, " A great opportunity to warm your hands on a trifle. It's a small thing, but it's nice!". Another commentator echoes him: " Until today, we were all happy with everything, and no thoughts about the signs arose, or rather, everything was fine! There were smart people who decided to simply make money on an innovation that no one needed.". "The next owners will fill their pockets with this “necessary” order", says a third sadly.
New boss Viktor Nikolaevich Kozlovsky (right) and unsurpassed transport worker Maxim Stanislavovich Liksutov
The main reformer-innovator of the Moscow metro, man No. 2 in the Moscow metro Roman Maratovich Latypov
A. KAPKOV: Dear friends, greetings to everyone! Traditionally... well, somewhat unconventionally, of course. We go out on Thursdays, but yesterday we had maintenance, so today, Friday, I am glad to welcome you to the “City of Roads” program. My name is Alexander Kapkov. Today our guest is Roman Latypov. Roman, good afternoon.
R. LATYPOV: Good afternoon, hello.
A. KAPKOV: First Deputy Head of the Moscow Metro for Strategic Development and Client Work - this is the title, this is the position. And what lies behind it? Literally in a nutshell - what do you do, what is the main task of working with clients and strategic development?
R. LATYPOV: I am involved in all development projects. That is, the position consists of two things. Firstly, these are all development projects. These are, accordingly, all new projects, such as the MCC, and these are all projects related to passengers, to what the passenger sees, to what the passenger feels, to those employees who communicate with passengers. That is, for example, all metro cashiers report to me. My block also includes intercepting parking, a project on non-ticket income, to increase it, and so on.
A. KAPKOV: Listen, but the main thing is that I understand for myself, among other things, that it is always important for a passenger to be heard. And this is part of your task - to respond to all requests?
R. LATYPOV: Absolutely, of course.
A. KAPKOV: How do you do this? It's not like it's some kind of magic. I mean - how can a passenger turn to the metro (well, now he has learned your name, not only to the metro), for example, to you, Roman, with some kind of request, with a wish, with a remark, with criticism, with gratitude ?
R. LATYPOV: Look, about how to apply. There are several channels at once.
The first channel - in general, our citizens know it - is the portal of the Moscow Government, through which you can apply and leave a request. And, accordingly, all these requests will definitely come to the metro. I personally read most of the requests that come in. Then we distribute them internally between our services, between our infrastructure services, between our support services, between our client services, which report to me. And then, after this, we, accordingly, take some measures in order to respond, in order to eliminate those comments, to implement the proposals that citizens give us, especially if they are justified. And this is the first channel of its kind, one of the most popular.
Then, of course, you can simply write a letter addressed to the head of the metro. Then we, accordingly, will simply see him. And besides this, we conduct regular surveys, we just try to feel what passengers tell us, we ourselves constantly use the metro. I also came to you by subway. In general, due to this, there is also some feedback we get.
This is actually indicative precisely in the context of the MCC. If we have proposals and requests distributed more or less evenly across metro stations, then on the MCC we had quite a lot of interesting proposals due to the fact that the project is huge and we really didn’t see some things at the launch; made it in time. And we are actually very grateful that passengers tell us something. Often I myself call one of the passengers who wrote appeals. Especially, by the way, journalists are also active - apparently, there is also a professional interest. Recently, one of your colleagues and I drove and walked from the Shelepikha metro station to the radial direction station, Smolensky, respectively, Testovskaya, looked at the navigation and after that, within a week, we hung everything up. That is, we try very hard to listen.
A. KAPKOV: Well, we are passengers too.
R. LATYPOV: Of course.
A. KAPKOV: We are journalists, and then, of course, we are residents and passengers, and we do everything, including... Listen, it’s quite interesting that you said that you travel in the metro yourself. Criticize yourself. Here you are Lately you move around in the subway and you can say that maybe (I don’t know if it’s correct to say so) here you don’t like something, here something needs to be done a little, here something needs to be adjusted.
R. LATYPOV: You know, in fact, about all the problems, most of them, as I hope, we know and are already doing something to eliminate some things.
A. KAPKOV: Well, for example?
R. LATYPOV: The first part is directly what my area of responsibility includes - navigation. We now see, for example... I just left the Novokuznetskaya station when I was coming to you. Frankly, the navigation is old. It was developed a long time ago, several decades ago. And overall she...
A. KAPKOV: Do you mean these black and white light ones?..
R. LATYPOV: I mean the signs, these black and white light boards, these wayfinding signs that hang, the signs that hang at the exit from the station, which show where they are...
A. KAPKOV: Streets.
R. LATYPOV: What streets, yes, what points of attraction. Obviously, this navigation is not very convenient, and it is probably not very informative. We are now... You can already see this at many stations - at those stations where renovations are being completed, and at all stations that are opening, for example, after the reconstruction of escalators, and at all new stations that are now being introduced and will be introduced, it has already been applied new system navigation. That is, at the output there is a very convenient cartography, there is a completely different quality of fonts, a completely different readability, it is perceived in a completely different way. Everything is duplicated on English language, including for preparations for the World Cup and for foreigners, for guests of the capital, who, accordingly, use the metro. And we are actually running this program, making several dozen stations every year. Next year we will continue this. This is the first thing you can criticize yourself for.
Further, the second story is, of course, infrastructure, this is rolling stock. Indeed, the new carriages are, of course, much more comfortable than the old ones. Old carriages are, of course, noisier. In old carriages, of course, there is less light. And the large program that the Moscow Government and the metro is currently implementing to replace rolling stock is precisely aimed at eliminating this deficiency.
We are now very actively trying to work with our staff that we have. We understand, among other things, that there are often some requests from passengers that we could not answer before. We have now installed 17 information desks in the metro specifically for this purpose. These are these round counters, such a free information desk, where our employees stand who speak English, who have a city map, a metro map, who can give some information. At the same time, we understand that other personnel, including cashiers, must also have this knowledge. And now we are also working on this. This is if we talk about those areas that we need to improve.
A. KAPKOV: That's enough. How much does this resonate with passenger needs? Is this what they primarily pay attention to, these three areas? Or do they have some other wishes, do they look at the metro differently - not like the boss, one of the heads of the metro?
R. LATYPOV: You know, in general, this generally corresponds to the bulk of the proposals and requests from passengers that exist. Of course, we receive a lot of requests regarding infrastructure issues. For example, passengers offer to open new station at the intersection of some lines or build a subway somewhere else. Unfortunately, this is not an event that we can implement even within one year. In general, this is a little more difficult, let’s say, implementable.
And there are also proposals for approaches to metro stations and their accessibility. We also try to monitor their implementation whenever possible. But, unfortunately, as a rule, what is already on the ground, all these approaches are not in our area of responsibility. But we are trying to work with the relevant authorities who are responsible for this in order to also implement these proposals. But in general, I would say that 90% of requests are on these three topics that I mentioned.
A. KAPKOV: You talked about working with personnel. I had this question spontaneously: why doesn’t the person on duty at the escalator give information?
R. LATYPOV: You know, a very simple story. The fact is that if passengers stop at the exit from the escalator and ask questions, then those people who descend from the escalator, in general, will not be able to exit it. This is the first reason.
And the second reason. The person on duty at the escalator is not just a person who looks at the camera or sits and does not know what he is doing, but this is a person who at any moment must stop this escalator if something happens, because the escalator itself will not stop. And for this function, in order not to distract him, that is why he does not give information.
A. KAPKOV: That’s it, Dear friends. For some reason it seems to me that this is a question that also concerns you, and this is written on the booth itself. Not because he is evil or she, the aunt who sits there, but all this, of course, is primarily for passenger flow, so that it does not stand, and secondly, of course, for your safety.
Okay, let's move on. Three things that you are currently working towards, towards which you see that much more can be done. By analogy, not necessarily three, but a number of things that you can now be proud of and say: “We have implemented this. This is wonderful. And not because we think so, but because passengers tell us about it”?
R. LATYPOV: First. I just started with navigation, let me talk about navigation. First of all, we had a lot of requests, I’ll be honest, there were actually more than 80 suggestions from passengers every day about navigation on the MCC. MCC - it was new line…
A. KAPKOV: Exactly at the MCC?
R. LATYPOV: Exactly at the MCC. I'll just explain why. The line is new. Some transfers take place in open space, that is, in urban areas, and not always in a straight line. And not everywhere there was enough navigation, as we found out at launch. Based on requests from passengers over the past month, we have additionally placed more than 5 thousand navigation elements: a) in the metro; b) on the MCC infrastructure itself - on platforms, at transport interchange hubs and in the adjacent territory. We now have... If we had 80 requests from passengers about navigation every day, now it’s two or three requests, and then, as a rule, passengers ask to indicate some points, just additional navigation - a hospital or something else .
A. KAPKOV: Where is the MFC.
R. LATYPOV: Where is the MFC, yes. That is, such systemic ones... We solved this problem, which existed initially. And in general, in fact, passengers also write and note that we have improved this.
A. KAPKOV: They were found, everyone was found.
A. KAPKOV: In general, of course, the MCC is simply a truly grandiose and successful project, which can be judged solely by the responses of passengers. Everyone praised it! I have not heard a single person who would say that this is terrible, that it is inconvenient, that it is somehow humiliating. Everyone said it was “wow!” and everyone applauded. Of course, we join in these thanks. We tried everything. And I think that this year (and maybe for many decades to come) this will really become the most significant event in the life of the metro.
R. LATYPOV: Thank you very much. Indeed, the MCC was one of these key projects. We have been working very actively on it all year - both last year and this year - to make sure this is all possible. Moreover, just on my wall hung a map of several thousand events that needed to be implemented before the launch. A lot of things were done to integrate the ticket system, to improve it so that the ticket would recognize free transfers. They have done a lot to change the legislation. Thanks to the Ministry of Transport. Also for the first time in Russia, the railway and metro systems are actually combined. That is, a lot of events were done in order to do this. But in principle, there is actually a lot left to do, so we try not to relax.
A. KAPKOV: I remember very well that we still expect some stations and some interchanges to be put into operation before 2018, but in general somehow the atmosphere gives the impression that the MCC is such a completed project, we are unlikely to see new MCC lines. New stations? Maybe. Give me some explanation on this. What can we expect from the development of the MCC - not only until 2018, but also in the future?
R. LATYPOV: You know, I would not say that it is completed. I would just say that this is just the first stage of the project. Now, when we look at the load on the MCC, we see that some of the stages are actually already full, that is, there is really not only nowhere to sit, but even often it is difficult to get into the cars, on some stages. There are only two or three of these, but nevertheless they exist. The rest are nevertheless quite free. And we actually see several directions for the further development of the MCC.
The first is, of course, further integration with metro stations. There will be at least a few more integrations, first of all at new metro stations, which do not exist yet, but which will be opened in the near future, in the coming years. This is the Okruzhnaya metro station, this is the Shelepikha station, this is the Nizhegorodskaya station, where there will be a very large transport hub, where there will be a whole new line. In general, there will be a very large knot.
The second part is integration with the radial directions of the railway. We now have six radial directions that are integrated with the MCC. At the same time, in general, there are no integrations in the warm circuit in order to move from the radial direction to the MCC as conveniently as I move between metro stations - there are no such integrations at all.
A. KAPKOV: Well, it seems to me that this is connected more with Russian Railways, because Russian Railways does not have many warm stations in Moscow. Do they even exist, excuse me?
R. LATYPOV: Well, there are train stations. And the transitions can be truly closed. At least the crossing can be under a canopy. And in fact, the MCC is not only a system of, let’s say, a railway, it’s something... Most passengers now perceive the MCC as a second metro line. And therefore, integration with the railway is just as important as, for example, integration through the station with the metro. That is, when a passenger arrives, say, at the Leningradsky station, he can go to the Komsomolskaya metro station quite comfortably. And the same thing is important at the MCC.
In general, there will be nine directions out of ten that exist. They will all be directly integrated with the MCC. Most of them will have closed transfers. To do this, our colleagues, including those from Russian Railways, will move the platforms according to the program that the Moscow Government is implementing jointly with Russian Railways.
Just as an example - for example, the Yaroslavl direction, one of the busiest in Moscow, in the Moscow region. Accordingly, the Severyanin platform, which is now connected to the Rostokino MCC station, requires about 500 meters of walking along the tracks in order to change trains. And at the same time, during the reconstruction, with the work that is actually already underway, the Rostokino platform will be moved - and this path will be shortened to 60 meters. And in fact, there will be a normal terminal there that you can go to. That is, this actually integrates the Yaroslavskoye direction into the MCC system. And passengers will not have to go to the Yaroslavl station. Firstly, the Komsomolskaya metro station will be unloaded, the Yaroslavl direction itself will be unloaded, and passengers will receive a new option for a convenient transfer to save time.
A. KAPKOV: Okay. We see a clear connection with radial directions railways, but we don’t yet see any connection with motorists. Where and how should it be? Is it mortgaged now? What work is being done in this direction? Intercept parking in which places, on which outbound routes, where will this be implemented?
R. LATYPOV: You know, we actually thought about intercepting parking, and even partially something has already been implemented. There are already four parking lots on the MCC in operation.
A. KAPKOV: Remind me.
R. LATYPOV: This is the Lokomotiv station, this is the Izmailovskaya station, this is the Luzhniki station. The parking lots there do not operate in interception mode, that is, in our traditional metro now, when a passenger leans a ticket and enters, and then leans it again in the evening - and due to this it costs free. For now, these are just paved areas where you can park your car for free. At the same time, we are now also working with the Moscow Government in order to choose the optimal administration mode, that is, it is either a metro mode or a road network mode, as is the case with the UDS. In general, we are looking at this now.
And there will be 17 intercepting parking lots. First of all, if we speak, these are the stations of the north of the MCC. Why north? The fact is that in the north the MCC is closer to the Moscow Ring Road, and intercepting parking and intercepting passenger traffic makes sense there. Because if we talk about the southern part, then this is, say, Leninsky Prospekt, and this is the level of the Third Ring. If a person got there by car, in general...
A. KAPKOV: It makes no sense to him.
R. LATYPOV: There is no point in changing trains, yes. Probably someone will change seats, but the meaning is greatly reduced. Another thing is the north. That is, this is the Botanical Garden, for example, where there is also parking now. It is much closer to the Moscow Ring Road, and it makes sense to intercept there.
A. KAPKOV: Speaking about meanings, I have a question. If we are talking about most of these intercepting parking lots in the north, then I think that the north will end in three directions... well, okay, in four: Yaroslavka, Dmitrovka, Leningradka with Volokolamka - four. Well, we can still add a fifth one here - Altufevskoye Highway, which in the MCC area, in principle, has already approached Dmitrovka, so I don’t know if it makes sense.
R. LATYPOV: Look, when I say “north”, it is actually not only the north, but this is the northern part. It is also northwest, it is also northeast. That is, this is also Entuziastov Highway, this is also Leningradka. That is, in fact, this is the main part. At the same time, in the south, I already named, for example, Luzhniki, this is Vernadsky Avenue, I called the same Leninsky Avenue. There are also parking lots there, there are parking spaces, including near the MCC, but there are simply fewer of them, because there is no such need.
A. KAPKOV: Question: are there any problems with the territory? We understand perfectly well that in order to create parking, it is necessary to make a sufficiently large area where they can leave their car in a convenient place for the motorist, that is, where the departure direction intersects with the MCC. Is there a problem in this sense? Or is there enough space, will we just turn it into these parking lots?
R. LATYPOV: You know, there are generally fewer problems than with metro stations. Here we have, and we also manage, 31 intercepting parking lots at metro stations. At the same time, we continue to introduce them several at a time, on the outskirts of stations, so that passengers can change trains.
And I can simply say that in general it is much more difficult than doing it on the MCC. Why? Because before this there was no transport infrastructure on the MCC, and in general the territory itself is less developed, that is, there are more free sites, more undeveloped sites. If you look at any metro station, especially on the outskirts, every piece is built up. And there, in fact, we are doing a lot of work to find free areas to pave them, to provide convenient passages, entrances, exits, install barriers, and, accordingly, equipment for this free parking. There are much fewer problems on the MCC - the territories are less developed and less built up, because there has never been transport, and in general the territory has developed much less.
A. KAPKOV: There is still enough time for the MCC, as I see, including space, for your work. But as for the metro, here, of course, you know, this is a more conservative system, it’s established, it’s existed for a long time. There are still no toilets there. There are no trash cans at the stations, although we roughly know why all this is done - again, for safety. It's impossible to charge your phone there, but now, it seems to me, the main problem, which exists after the Internet was introduced in the metro. From what I, for example, listed, can you tell me: “We’ll do everything tomorrow, because not only you are talking about this, but everyone is constantly, every day and more than once”?
R. LATYPOV: You know, about “charging the phone.” Just when I was on my way to see you, my phone died. I ended up going to the wrong address because I couldn’t see where it was on my phone. So it's a really relevant story. We are actually involved in the metro, these issues in the metro, these tasks are even more important than in the MCC. Everything you said, we are really starting to implement all these passenger services and client services. At all new stations that open, starting with the Kotelniki station, which we opened, we use these passenger services: we put chargers there for phones, we put benches there, we somehow try to improve them. We put up flowers—artificial, unfortunately, but still flowers. This helps somehow to make the station habitable. At the request of our passengers, we hang large mirrors, including near the ticket office areas, so that you can look at yourself when leaving or entering the metro.
A. KAPKOV: Interesting.
R. LATYPOV: That is, we are introducing these services. And in fact, next year we plan to equip almost all stations in the center with these services to one degree or another (of course, depending on capabilities).
A. KAPKOV: Listen, I can’t help but return to the toilets - not because I have some kind of obsession, but I just see that for some reason passengers often talk about this. Honestly, I manage somehow. Well, I haven't had that problem lately, I'm coping. And, in principle, you don’t spend more than an hour in the subway. How serious is this? current problem? Are you receiving confirmation of this? Are you ready to solve this problem if it exists, or not if it does not?
R. LATYPOV: You know, there are indeed requests regarding toilets. But there are a few things worth noting here. Firstly, we have a new infrastructure, which, for example, has just been introduced... I will return to the MCC once again. There are toilets at MCC stations. Not all of them are open yet, but we are now working to ensure that they are all open. And the trains even have toilets, if it concerns the MCC.
A. KAPKOV: There are no communications.
R. LATYPOV: Communications, of course, have not failed. At the same time, since the stations are located very deep (and in fact, the station is not only what the passenger sees, the passenger sees less than half of the infrastructure that the station actually has), it is very difficult technically to fail these communications. In general, the problem and issue of equipping stations with toilets is very technically extremely complex. We actually did a pilot at one of the stations.
A. KAPKOV: “Prospekt Mira”.
R. LATYPOV: Yes, indeed it was “Prospekt Mira”. Let's see how it works. The service, we saw, was in demand; passengers used the toilet. And in general, we can say that the pilot was successful, that is, he showed his relevance. At the same time, during the pilot, a lot of technical details came out, including the maintenance of the toilet with a very large passenger flow, which makes it almost impossible to service during the day, that is, we only have a night window. And many other technical questions arose. And now, in fact, we are continuing this pilot further, while within ourselves, while we are not discovering anything new for passengers. For now, we are trying to eliminate all these nuances that we have found out.
A. KAPKOV: It’s time to say: be patient, dear friends! Look, we're running out of time, as always. I am grateful to you for the answers that were given here. Our time is up. Thank you very much. Our guest was Roman Latypov, first deputy head of the Moscow Metro for strategic development and client work.
R. LATYPOV: Thank you very much. Goodbye.
A. KAPKOV: Thank you. My name is Alexander Kapkov. Happily bye!
Roman Latypov graduated from the Academy of National Economy. He defended his second diploma with honors in English University Bedfordshire majoring in Business Administration. Took an advanced training course at MIT on the topic of payment technology. In the Moscow Metro he holds the position of first deputy for strategic development and client work.
It seems that in 2016 the metro began to look and sound more modern - cashiers began accepting cards, announcements appeared in English, the metro took part in the “Mannequin Challenge” flash mob. What changed?
It’s not that we have changed in a year - we change every day. What you noticed - the logo, the new payment system, the form and services - these things are connected together and represent part of a unified transport policy. We look at what other metros have and try to be better.
The Moscow metro is the first in terms of reliability among the old metros, that is, those that were opened in the first half of the 20th century. In addition, we are the first in the world in terms of intervals between trains. And now we have begun to pay more attention to passenger services - we are developing various forms of payments, automating some things to make the passenger more comfortable.
Flashmob #MannequinChallenge. Now the Moscow metro competes for people's attention just like cultural institutions, media and music festivals
Why did all the changes happen in 2016 - announcements in English, updated navigation, and acceptance of cards. For people who remember how they paid for entrance with a nickel, all these are small revolutions, but overall it feels like waking up in another city.
Over the past year, we really accomplished a lot: we opened five stations, which helped redistribute the flow in the southwestern and northern parts. The launch of the MCC also had a colossal effect on the infrastructure - the load on the Circle Line fell by 15%, and other lines were unloaded. We started accepting bank cards. For this reason, we revised the entire work schedule of cashiers. Branded trains have appeared, navigation taking into account global solutions in London and New York, charging stations, benches where they are in demand. A program to improve the quality of service provided by cashiers and Passenger Mobility Centers is planned for 2017. I hope you are still noticing changes: the cashiers have changed both their uniform and style of behavior.
Show of the Alexander Terekhov brand as part of Moscow Fashion Week at Dostoevskaya station. October 2016
© Victor Boyko/Alexander Terekhov
1 of 6Performance by the Ballet Moscow theater on the platform of the Polyanka station as part of the “Night of the Arts” event. November 2016
© Sergey Savostyanov/TASS
2 of 6© Tretyakov Gallery
4 out of 6© Tretyakov Gallery
5 out of 6© Tretyakov Gallery
6 out of 6The metro has suddenly become one of the cultural platforms - Ballet Moscow dances here at the Night of the Arts, concerts are held at the stations, fashion shows, you and the State Tretyakov Gallery launched a train. What's the point?
Fashion show and all the promotions that we hold with Tretyakov Gallery, perform two functions: firstly, they introduce passengers to the metro infrastructure - they show those parts of the stations that they had not noticed before. At the “Park of Culture”, for example, the dome, escalator, and bas-reliefs are now emphasized - the historical value is emphasized by new content. In addition, such events increase the number of passengers. We work with everyone and, above all, non-profit state enterprises - museums and theaters.
- Are you allowed to hold a rap concert?
We are ready to consider anything, but, of course, we coordinate with the city authorities all events regarding information policy and security. The owner of the metro is the city. In addition, we look at passenger traffic and each time carefully select a station for such events. There are nuances with passenger traffic and loading. Musicians' performances often involve short-term shutdowns of ventilation, stopping escalators for the sake of acoustics - all this must be coordinated so as not to create inconvenience.
Do you have a full-time DJ? Here, let's say, on New Year Abba's "Happy New Year" was played on the escalators - who came up with that?
Several departments are responsible for what sounds on escalators and in cars. Part - for information content, part - for passenger content, that is, poetry, music and congratulations. Now we are slightly reworking the concept of voice-over, including thanks to the appearance of the MCC - information on the Ring was too long, and we have reduced the length of the announcements by more than 40%. This year we will work even more with passengers: so that everyone entering the metro, despite the difficulties - we have an overloaded crossing system, for example - still understands that we are communicating with them, listening and listening.
- How are you going to solve the problem of overload?
The metro is part transport system cities. Now it is becoming more and more efficient and is already acting as an alternative to the metro. That is, passenger flow is changing - some people are starting to travel by bus. In addition, the MCC was launched, and a large construction program was introduced - this is essentially the emergence of chord connections. They make it possible to seriously relieve congestion on the ring line and the stations adjacent to it. And thirdly, after analyzing the actual distribution of passengers, we expanded the “rush hours”. The maximum possible number of rolling stock on all lines is now available not for two hours in the morning and evening, but practically throughout the day. All this together relieves congestion in the metro and increases convenience. In 2017, we will intensify our work in this area: we know where our peaks are and what the load is; Moreover, we know where every passenger comes from and where they go every day. Any regular ticket tells the whole story.
It is clear that the metro is a functional thing, but also an architectural monument. Who's watching this? For example, at the reconstructed Frunzenskaya, the Soviet lampshades on the escalator were replaced with new ones.
There are entire stations and individual elements that are cultural heritage, and those that are not. Regarding the first, we coordinate all work with the authors, if necessary, and with the Moscow Heritage Committee. All historical elements at the stations - ballot boxes and lamps - are being restored. We approach stations that do not have the status of architectural monuments more flexibly. Often we do not have the opportunity to preserve historical elements: they are more expensive and more difficult to maintain. Lamps may produce less light, so we change them to more modern ones, and then after each repair we monitor passenger feedback and try to take everything into account.
As far as I know, these were not lamps from the Kyiv station - we checked, all the originals are in place. And on the Avito website you come across strange things. Once there they sold a pass to the metro administration, and for as much as 3,000 rubles, despite the fact that I had mine with me. I can’t imagine who came up with this idea.
- Why do they still clean stations using sawdust? It seems that this is some kind of proprietary Moscow Feng Shui.
Firstly, it is environmentally friendly: sawdust is more effective than chemicals. They absorb dirt, moisture and dust well. And even heavy metals: if someone broke a thermometer, cleaning with sawdust would neutralize it. In addition, sawdust is cheaper and is a well-established technology. But when I was a student, I, of course, often thought about how sawdust gets into the subway every day and why it is there. But now I know.
- Where did the smell of the Moscow metro go?
There are indeed odors that can be associated with the railway or subway - they are usually associated with technical processes and lubricants. Yes, the metro used to have a specific smell - now it is felt less thanks to the new ventilation.
If someday the subway stops smelling completely, then maybe it’s time to sell subway air as a souvenir?
This has never been asked of us before. When we first opened the gift shop, we asked to sell rails and thick cables. One passenger even sent us a drawing of a rail with cut-out spaces for glasses.
- Do you dream about the subway at night?
Yes, the day before yesterday I dreamed that for some reason the metro chief and I were unloading the steps for the escalators.