In St. Petersburg, everything is amazing and not like in the capital in general, but like in St. Petersburg exclusively. Not only the streets radiating from the center in all directions, not only the deepest subway in the world, but the hours of operation of the subway here are shorter than in other megacities.
Working hours on weekdays and holidays
For example, the operation of the Vasileostrovskaya metro station is the period from 05:45 am to 00:30 am.
Metro covers the most active hours of life of citizens and guests of the city. For those who like to take longer walks, enjoy night walks, get-togethers at a party, nightlife, the city authorities have come up with alternative ways to get to the place - these are taxis and buses with routes along the metro lines. Or you can just walk across the Palace Bridge to the Admir alteyskaya Embankment, across the Tuchkov Bridge to Bolshoy Prospekt, to Academician Likhachev Square throughBirzhevoy Bridge and across the Blagoveshchensky Bridge to the English Embankment.
But this is on ordinary days, but on New Year's Eve, on the night of honoring graduates - the show "Scarlet Sails", on City Day, Victory Day and other state and large city celebrations of the St.. Metro station "Vasileostrovskaya" works almost around the clock. This is done so that the citizens and tourists, who are especially numerous these days, enjoy spectacular performances and enjoy walking around the amazing city.
The only one on the island
And there is something to see. Only one "Vasileostrovskaya" metro station can become a place for tourists to visit. This station of the Nevsko-Vasilyevsky line is considered one of the deepest - it is located at a depth of 64 meters. It was put into operation on November 3, 1967 and still remains the only station on Vasilyevsky Island.
Hence the name, although earlier, at the design stages, there were several options: “Middle Avenue”, “Eighth Line”. The reason is banal - it is at the intersection of these streets that the station lobby is located.
But on the 7th line near house 34 there is a monument to the scorer-lieutenant Vasily, in whose honor the island was named. According to historical legends, Tsar Peter I personally signed orders to an artillery battery with the addition: "To Vasily on the island." It is worth mentioning that the action took place during the days of the defense of Russian borders from the Swedes.
And sincethe station on the island turned out to be the only one in the entire historical development, then the name was given to it the only possible one - "Vasileostrovskaya" metro station.
Rebuild-remake
Now the average monthly passenger traffic is about 2 million people. This was not in the calculations of architects and builders. For this reason, during rush hours in the Vasileostrovskaya metro station, it can be crowded. But specialists are working on it now.
The interior of the station is concise, comfortable - the walls are dressed in white granite, the floor is lined with gray granite inlaid with an aluminum profile, the platform and the tunnel leading to the escalators are finished with blue-green sm alt. Comfortable wooden benches for tired travelers are installed along the walls.
Before City Day in 2016, Metrostroy completed the renovation of the Vasileostrovskaya metro station ahead of schedule. The mechanisms of escalators were adjusted, drainage umbrellas were replaced with structures made of modern reinforced materials.
The outer vestibule was redesigned, and now there are wide comfortable doors for passengers with limited mobility, all dilapidated outdated structures have been replaced: massive iron supports and a canopy, stained-glass windows and windows have been replaced. The color scheme of the Vasileostrovskaya metro station has also been corrected - a more saturated yellow-canary color is noticeable from afar.
In 2010, there were talks and there was even a project to replace the outdated lobby of a 7-storey (!) shopping center building. It is difficult to judge how it would fit in the historical center. But the wise leadership of the municipalThe Improvement Council, represented by Galina Kalinina, decided: “Before creating new problems, we must solve the old ones.”
The same "Metrostroy" of St. Petersburg promises in 2018 to put into operation the transition to the metro station "Vasileostrovskaya -2". This is a station on the Circle Line. The city is growing, more and more tourists are coming, and the subway must develop in accordance with the needs of its passengers.
Useful information
Even just the name of the metro station "Vasileostrovskaya" is already mesmerizing with its sound. And how many attractions around! All of them are connected with the ghosts of the island, its legends, follies and extravagant secrets. Brusnitsyn's mansion with Dracula's mirror; Egyptian sphinxes that once guarded the entrance to the temple of Pharaoh Amenhotep III and found refuge on the banks of the Neva; the courtyard of the Academy of Arts, created at the behest of Catherine II the Great, has a perfectly round shape and is equal in diameter to the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral in Rome; the first palace in St. Petersburg - the majestic chambers of Prince Menshikov; a monument to the horse - installed just near the metro station "Vasileostrovskaya" - to the right of the exit; pharmacy of Dr. Pel and sons; Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art.
Come, it will be interesting.
