Number of lines 1 Operation will start unknown | Number of stations 4 (start) System length 7.5 km (4.7 mi) | |
Native name О́мский метрополите́н
Omsky metropoliten Transit type Rapid Transit/Light metro | ||
Omsk Metro (Russian: О́мский метрополите́н, Omsky metropoliten) is a rapid transit line that has been in various phases of construction since 1992 in Omsk, Russia. Upon its eventual opening, it will become Siberia's second metropolitan underground railway system after the Novosibirsk Metro which opened in the mid 1980s. Recently it was scheduled to open in 2015, currently, opening date is not known.
Contents
History
Central planners in Moscow first identified Omsk as a metro-eligible city during the 1960s, due to its length along the Irtysh River and its relatively narrow streets. But after the plan was approved and financed, the planners decided to build an express tram instead, and the money allocated to Omsk was given to Chelyabinsk. In 1979, a Gosplan commission rejected a plan to build an express tram system since it was predicted to be unable to handle projected passenger flows without severely discomforting riders. In 1986, metro plans were revisited and financing began, along with the demolition of residential buildings to make way for tracks and a yard.
Construction began in 1992 between the stations Tupolevskaya (Russian: Туполевская) and Rabochaya (Russian: Рабочая ~ Workers' Station). The initial plans involved opening the section between the stations Marshala Zhukova and Rabochaya on the right bank of the Irtysh River to connect downtown to the manufacturing district, and then later to connect the line to the opposite bank of the Irtysh. Due to poor financial circumstances, by 2003 just the section between Tupolevskaya and Rabochaya was completed (with no intermediate stations). At that time the plans changed and the authorities decided to connect the two banks of the Irtsh with a metro bridge, going between one station on the right bank and three on the left bank. The combined metro (lower level) and motor-vehicle (upper level) bridge was built and opened to vehicular traffic in 2005.
The current phase of construction involves four stations:
This section is 6.1 kilometers (3.8 mi) in length. The average speed is expected to be 36 km/h and travel time along the entire route is expected to be 10 minutes 12 seconds. Daily ridership is projected at 190,000 passengers and yearly ridership at 69 million.
Since 2014, construction on the system had stalled, but an 84.6 million Ruble contract was awarded to the Russian firm Sibmost to carry out detailed design studies on completing the 7.5-kilometer (4.7 mi) light metro line, from Biblioteka Pushkina to Prospekt Rokossovskogo, with five stations. On September 9, 2015, it was announced that the construction will continue, in view of the high cost of preserving and maintaining the core structural features of the metro.
Stations
All of the stations will be shallow.
Future development
Plans call for the line to be extended on the right bank of the Irtysh to Rabochaya station (the section between Tupolevskaya and Rabochaya is partially complete). The first line is planned to have 11 stations and a total length of 13.6 km, with an additional metro bridge over the Om River, by 2015 or 2016 (the latter date is the 300th anniversary of Omsk). When the line is complete, it is expected to have a daily ridership of 330,000 passengers.
Construction of the second line will start after 2015. It will go on the right bank of the Irtysh, mostly parallel to the river. Transfer to the first line will be available at Biblioteka Imeni Pushkina. This line is expected to have twenty stations. At the same time, the first line is planned to be extended on the left bank by four stations.
The third line will not be built until the distant future. If built, it will likely be on both banks of the Irtysh, like the first line.