Leningrad Station

Station Territory

The surroundings of the Red Pond in the XIV century belonged to Prince Vasily I of Moscow. By 1462, the land became the property of Ivan III, and it began to be called the Krasnoselskaya palace settlement. The shore of the reservoir was used for pastures, and at the end of the 17th century, the area between the fortification bulkhead and the pond was a vast field. In the northwestern part of the site was the traveling palace of Alexei Mikhailovich . The building decorated the tower tower , so the people called the wasteland Kalanchevskaya square. During the construction of the Kamer-Kollezhsky Val area became part of the capital and began to gradually build up. During this period, the site passed through the road to Vladimir land , and its northern part was occupied by the Artillery Field Yard, where they stored live ammunition and organized exercises ^{[8] [9]} . During the capital fire in 1812, the complex ignited due to explosions of artillery shells ^{[10] [3]} . The yard was not reconstructed, and part of the free site in the middle of the XIX century was used for the construction of railway stations ^{[11] [12] [13]} .

Station Construction

The construction of a direct railway link between Moscow and St. Petersburg began in 1842, when Emperor Nicholas I signed a corresponding decree. The road was supposed to be the first government double-track cloth in the country. Works were carried out simultaneously along the entire length of the path, but the sections were commissioned in turn ^{[14] [15]} . For the final station in Moscow, they initially planned to use the section within the Garden Ring . So, the Tverskaya Outpost and Trubnaya Squares were considered . But this idea was abandoned because of the noise and possible fire from sparks from the furnace of a locomotive. The construction commission selected the Kalanchevsky wasteland on the north-eastern outskirts of the city ^{[16] [17] [3]} .

In 1843, architect Rudolf Zhelyazevich prepared model projects for railway stations at intermediate stations. He proposed his own ideas for organizing the final station , but did not accept them. An architectural competition was organized, in which Alexander Bryullov and Nikolai Efimov participated, as well as Konstantin Ton, whose work was approved by Nikolai I for both end stations of the railway ^[17] . Moskvoved Alexander Vaskin claims that the competition was not held, and the emperor immediately assigned the project to Tonu ^[10] .

The construction of the Petersburg Railway Station in Moscow began in 1844 under the direction of Peter Kleinmichel , the manager of the railway lines, who had differences with Ton. So, Kleinmichel demanded the use of brickwork with thin seams, which seemed to him the most aesthetic. The architect refused to comply with this instruction, fearing a violation of the solidity of the walls and the occurrence of cracks. As a result of conflicts in 1847, the work was entrusted to Rudolf Zhelyazevich, who, according to contemporaries, was more compliant ^{[18] [17] [19]} .

Construction was completed in 1851 ^{[6] [1]} (according to other sources, two years earlier ^[10] ). The building was a stylistic pair of a train station in St. Petersburg, but it was distinguished by its smaller size. Its length was 25 fathoms , width - 12 fathoms ^{[3] [6]} . The main facade of the station is located along the red line of Kalanchevskaya Square. The central part of the building was occupied by a spacious two-door lobby. The premises of the station were decorated with oak parquet and marble Swedish stoves, the toilets were also equipped with fireplaces, which was rare. The imperial halls had massive oak doors, they were equipped with mirror cabinets. The second floor of the main building of the station was taken as a servants' apartment ^{[20] [17]} .

The station had a dead-end location of paths , characteristic of that time. From the rear facade from the building two platforms departed. The building with waiting rooms and station services was located along the right apron . In this case, the layout was subject to the class system of passengers. For different segments of the population have provided separate premises, the same in purpose ^{[17] [3] [6]} . The left platform was separated from the outer space by glass arches. Two additional pavilions adjoined it. One was intended to serve the royal family , the other - to distribute and send baggage. Both platforms linked the transverse apron and vestibule. Railway tracks united turning circles for the rearrangement of locomotives . The cable landing stage was blocked by a shed metal ceiling. The use of this design was an innovation for that time and personified the achievement of progress ^[21] . In the same period, according to the architect’s project, a separate circular depot building was built for sludge and repair of trains ^[22] .

Architect Ton planned to arrange two outbuildings for customs and servants' apartments symmetrically relative to the main building of the station, but only the first one was realized. The construction of the complex was completed by 1853, it consisted of a three-story main building, a one-story warehouse and a two-story wing with apartments of employees ^{[23] [1]} .

The first train arrived at Petersburg Station on August 3, 1851, and on the 19th of the same month, Nicholas I and his wife and heirs first traveled by train. Regular train traffic was opened in November 1851. ^[20] Four years later, due to the death of the emperor, the Petersburg-Moscow railway was renamed Nikolayevskaya. Both terminal stations received the same name ^[14] . In 1903 the cable-stayed landing stage system, built by Zhelyazevich, was replaced with an arch system ^[20] .

Station Renovations

On March 11, 1918, in connection with the relocation of the Soviet government to Moscow, Vladimir Lenin arrived at the station from Petrograd. In honor of this, in 1975, a marble bust of the leader and a memorial inscription were installed in the main hall ^[5] . According to the decree of Felix Dzerzhinsky from 1923, the Nikolaev Railway was renamed the Oktyabrskaya Railway, and the station in Moscow received the same name. A year later, in connection with the death of Lenin and the renaming of Petrograd, the station was called Leningradsky. In 1927, the country's first Deputies' room of increased comfort opened on its territory. On June 10, 1931, the first courier train “ Krasnaya Strela ” departed from the platform of the Leningradsky railway station, in which a new type of wagon was equipped - sleeping ^[24] .

Reconstruction of the Leningrad station was held in 1934. During this period, the cash zone was expanded, in the former imperial halls they arranged the room for mothers and children. Organized premises help desk, mail, telegraph , waiting room for transit passengers. In 1949, they carried out the restoration of the station premises according to the design of architect Alexei Dushkin , during the works they completely changed the decoration of the rooms ^{[20] [3] [6]} .

A decade later, the next large-scale reconstruction took place, the draft of which was prepared by the engineering bureau Lengiprotrans ^[25] . According to others, the redevelopment of the Leningrad station took place in the mid-1970s ^{[6] [10]} . During the works, the building was noticeably expanded, equipped separate platforms and paved new station tracks. At the same time, they preserved the historical proportions of the external facade, increasing the area from the side of the railway tracks by 2,300 m² . The territory of the former landing stage was re-equipped for cash and operational rooms. In the side parts of the building was built on the third floor, where they placed the waiting rooms and office space. On the ground floor of the new part of the station, luggage storage and technical services were equipped. Between Yaroslavsky and Leningradsky railway stations, an additional building was erected, designed by the Mosgiprotrans Institute ^[26] . The premises of the station were united by underground passages with the Komsomolskaya metro station ^[20] .

In 1989, began the reconstruction of the station on the project of the Moselectrotyagstroy trust. The timeframe and cost of the work were voiced - four years and seven million rubles. During the restoration, they extended the platforms, erected canopies over the platforms, increased the lighting and changed the layout to prevent the intersection of passengers from different directions. At that time there were 32 cash desks for distant directions, waiting rooms and service premises with a total area of ​​more than 5,000 m² ^[27] .

Modernity

In 2001, a memorial plaque to the engineer Pavel Melnikov, one of the builders of the railway, was installed on the facade of the station ^[6] . In 2008—2013, during the project “ Ground Metro ”, the station building was reconstructed. During the works, the total area of ​​the complex was increased by 8,000 m² , of which 3,000 were intended for commercial use. They changed the layout of the station, replaced the ventilation, set up an open-type cash zone and a single food court. In the same period, the main facade of the building was repaired under the guidance of restorers Antonida Gustova and Elena Stepanova. The original color scheme and lost architectural elements were restored to the station, the vestibule vaults were strengthened, the imperial halls on the second floor were restored, and the unique Kasli cast-iron staircase was renewed on the first floor ^{[28] [29]} . A bust of Lenin was dismantled from the main hall, and a monument to architect Ton ^{[30] [31] was} erected in front of the station building. The total cost of the work was about 3 billion rubles ^{[5] [32]} . In 2018, three platforms of the Leningradsky railway station were equipped with electronic scoreboard of carload numbering for convenient orientation of passengers ^[33] . In July 2009, federal media reported that Russian Railways president Vladimir Yakunin signed an order to return the historical name Nikolayevsky to the station:

The renaming was associated with the implementation of cooperation agreements between Russian Railways and the Moscow Patriarchate . Another reason was the appeal of the public fund " Return " ^[35] . Yakunin on the radio station " Echo of Moscow " said that the decision is consistent with the company's policy - "historicism and continuity." And he promised to return the old names to other stations in the country. Despite the approval of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Institute of Russian History of the Russian Academy of Sciences , which considered the change of the name “historically fair”, Yakunin’s statement also caused condemnation in society. For example, representatives of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation declared that this action was aimed at “inciting political confrontation”. The press service of the Russian Railways announced that due to a technical error in the media, an unworked project had appeared ^[36] .

In 2009, for the construction of a branch of the October Railway, the management of RZD planned to demolish the rotary depot, built by the architect Ton. Also considered the option of demolishing only one part of the building, and in the second - the arrangement of the museum ^[37] . According to the statements of Vladimir Yakunin, the circular depot was a remake, as it lost its original appearance during repeated renovations and superstructures ^[38] . Under pressure from the public, the project was suspended, and in 2013 they prepared a plan for the reconstruction of the building. However, during the works, 9 of 22 compartments for locomotives were dismantled, due to which the complex lost its original appearance. Following complaints from human rights defenders, the demolition was suspended by the Northern Transport Prosecutor’s Office ^[39] . As of 2017, the structure was in a dilapidated state and was not used ^{[22] [40] [41]} .

The buildings of the end stations in St. Petersburg and Moscow were erected according to a single project; they have classical facades with uniform division by added columns ^[20] . A number of researchers note that the strict forms of the Leningrad station initially contrasted sharply with the iron landing stage. Art critic Elena Borisova indicates that the building represents a peculiar mixture of Renaissance forms and Old Russian motifs ^{[42] [10]} . The historian Andrei Lvovich Punin also emphasizes references to Petersburg architecture:

The connection between the two cities was also emphasized by the tower, which crowns the central two-story station volume. It was a kind of reference to the building of the City Duma in St. Petersburg. The general rhythm of the main facade is presented in the upper part by paired windows, and in the lower part - by window openings with weights . The volume of the main entrance repeats the design of the frames, so it does not violate the integrity of the composition ^{[20] [43]} .

The Leningradsky railway station serves the Moscow-October station. In the early 1990s, he annually received and sent more than 5 million long-distance passengers and more than 24 million suburban passengers. The luggage compartment handled about 590 thousand tons of baggage. During periods of summer increased passenger traffic, the station served daily 35 pairs of long-distance trains and 115 pairs of suburban ^[27] . As of 2015, ten paths approached the platform, divided equally into suburban and long-distance directions. At the same time, 65% of the total number of trains traveled between St. Petersburg and Moscow ^[44] .

According to the mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin , in 2013, the total traffic volume was 650 million passengers and there was an annual increase in suburban passenger traffic by 10–20% ^[32] . According to the data of 2016, the station served daily 23-25 ​​pairs of long-distance trains ^[24] , which transported more than 380 thousand people each month ^[45] . According to the head of the Moscow Department of Transport, Maxim Liksutov , by 2020 total traffic volumes will increase to 900 million ^[46] .

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  The platform of the Leningrad station 2010 year.

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  Express Moscow —- St. Petersburg Sapsan at the Leningradsky Railway Station

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  Electric train Swallow ES2G -016 Moscow-Tver at the Leningradsky railway station

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  Corporate train " Red Arrow " at the Leningradsky railway station in Moscow

Destinations, carriers and timetables

High speed and fast motion

Ground public transportation (Komsomolskaya Square)

  Comment: To clarify the location of the stop of the desired transport on the map, click on the color pictograph of the route number in the table.
902 - express trains; 119 B - regular city bus routes; 454 - regular suburban bus routes, H7 - night routes, 34 - regular trolleybus routes, 42 - electric buses; 7 - trams; 1011 - route taxis ^{[47] [48] [49]}

See also: Register of municipal routes of regular transportation of passengers and baggage by road and land electric transport in the city of Moscow

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