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Minsk, the capital city of the former Soviet republic of Belarus, has 1.76 million inhabitants and is right in the centre of the country, more or less half way between Berlin and Moscow.

The Minsk metro network is a typical triangle system opened on 26 June 1984, after 8 years of construction. There are plans for a basic network of 58.3 km and 45 stations (3 lines). Line 3 should become a north-south line crossing the other two lines at Frunzenskaya (formerly Yubileinaya) and Pl. Lenina (for some time called Pl. Nezavisimosti / Pl. Niezalezhnasci - railway station).

November 2007:
Line 1 - Moskovskaya - 11 stations, 12.2 km
Line 2 - Avtozavodskaya - 14 stations, 18.1 km
TOTAL - 25 stations, 30.3 km

Due to geological conditions a shallow alignment was chosen for the Minsk metro (average 12-14 m). During construction of the Nemiga station, remains of an ancient city were found. Archeologists worked on the site for two years but eventually everything was covered with sand.

The Minsk Metro has standard Russian gauge (1524 mm), platforms are 100 m long and 10 m wide. Maximum speed of metro trains is 80 km/h on the first line and 70-80 km/h on the second line, except for the span between stations Nemiga and Frunzenskaya where trains run at speed 45 km/h. Since September 2002, 5-car trains have been running on the first line, while on the second line there are still 4-car trains.

The stations are accessible via pedestrian subways, only three stations in the centre have entrances in existing buildings: Oktyabrskaya, Kupalovskaya and Pl. Lenina. All stations except Pervomayskaya have island platforms. Mogilyovskaya, opened 5 Sept. 2001, was the first metro station in the ex-USSR to be equipped with elevators.

See list of station names in Belarussian below >>

26/06/1984: Institut Kul'tury - Moskovskaya
30/12/1986: Moskovskaya - Vostok
07/11/2007: Vostok - Uruchye

Institut Kul'tury
Instytut Kultury

Ploshchad' Lenina
Ploshcha Lenina

Oktyabrskaya
Kastrychnitskaya

Ploshchad' Pobedy
Ploshcha Peramohy

Ploshchad' Yakuba Kolasa
Ploshcha Yakuba Kolasa

Akademiya Nauk
Akademiya Nawuk

Park Cheluskintsev
Park Chaluskintsau

Moskovskaya
Maskouskaya

Vostok
Uskhod

Borisovskiy Trakt
Barysawski Trakt

Uruchye
Uruchcha

Kamennaya Gorka
Kamennaya Horka

Kuntsevshchina
Kuntsaushchina

Molodyozhnaya
Maladzezhnaya

Frunzenskaya
Frunzenskaya

Nemiga
Nyamiha

Kupalovskaya
Kupalauskaya

Pervomayskaya
Pershamayskaya

Proletarskaya
Pral'atarskaya

Traktorniy Zavod
Traktarny Zavod

Partyzanskaya
Partyzanskaya

Avtozavodskaya
Autazavodzkaya

Mogilyovskaya
Mahileuskaya

 Projects

A southwestern extension from Institut Kul'tury to Petrovshchina began in Oct. 2004 (5.2 km, 3 stations). Later, one more station, Malinovka, was added.

In the future, a third line will run from the residential area of Zeleny Lug in the north to Kurassovshina in the south, crossing the existing lines at Pl. Lenina and Frunzenskaya (17 km).

A fourth line might become a semi-circular line from Vesnyanka in the northwest to Serebryanka in the south, via Akademiya Nauk and Traktornyiy Zavod on the existing lines.

The back of an older magnetic metro ticket showed another planned extension towards the west, Krasnyiy Bor (or Vilenskaya), but this is not likely to take place any time soon.

The Minsk Metro runs from 5:30 until 01:00. Line 1 operates every 2 min during rush hours, every 3-4 minutes during normal daytime service and every 10 after 23:00. Line 2 runs every 2.5 min during peak hours and every 4-5 minutes during the day.

- FARES (08/2007)

Single - 600 BYB (general), 300 BYB (preferential)
10-Day Pass - 8300 BYB/4150 BYB
Monthly Pass - 23670 BYB/11840 BYB

50% discount for students. Tokens and magnetic cards are used for fare collection.(Prices in Belarusian Roubles)

Minsk Metro incl. more photos

Minsktrans

Minskiy Metropoliten

Minsk Metro at Wikipedia

Listen to some Sounds of the Minsk Metro

Map on the back of a magnetic subway ticket enlarged

UrbanRail.Net > Minsk Metro Gallery

Minsk Metro Track Map