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Butovskaya Line

 12  Butovskaya Line
MM L12 - Butovskaya.png
Overview
Type Rapid transit
System Moscow Metro
Locale Moscow
Termini Bittsevsky Park (northern)
Buninskaya Alleya (southern)
Stations 7
Ridership 17.70 million (2012)
Operation
Opened December 27, 2003
Owner Moskovsky Metropoliten
Operator(s) Moskovsky Metropoliten
Character Tunneled/elevated
Rolling stock 81-740/741
Technical
Line length 10 kilometres (6.2 mi)
Track gauge 1,520 mm (4 ft 11 2732 in)
Electrification Third rail
Route map
Bittsevsky Park  6  BSicon numN000.svg
Lesoparkovaya
Ulitsa Starokachalovskaya  9 
to Varshavskoye yard
Ulitsa Skobelevskaya
Bulvar Admirala Ushakova
Ulitsa Gorchakova
Buninskaya Alleya

Butovskaya Line (Russian: Бу́товская ли́ния, IPA: [ˈbutəfskəjə ˈlʲinʲɪjə]) is a line of the Moscow Metro.

The line represents an experiment in building rapid-transit in areas where tunnel boring is considered expensive and impractical. In the past, attempts were made to build lines at ground level, however as the Filyovskaya Line showed, harsh Russian winters and the occupation of the large amount of useful land, make such projects impractical. However, new districts on the very edge of the city, particularly those outside the Moscow Automobile Ring Road (MKAD) required a rapid-transit connection. As the practicality of tunnel boring is unclear, the system was planned to be above ground since the late 1980s, when Moscow Metro design bureau, Metrogiprotrans, developed a set of projects that would bring rapid-transit beyond MKAD, with the Yuzhnoye Butovo District being the first one.

The term Light Metro (Лёгкое метро́) was applied to these new projects, as it would feature a continuous elevated structure. Special rolling stock had to be developed to serve the line, as it would have to be resistant to the harsher climate elements and be able to negotiate sharper curves. For ease of operation, the Light Metro was integrated into the conventional Metro service.

The Butovskaya Line essentially extends the Serpukhovsko-Timiryazevskaya Line beyond the Serpukhovsky terminus. The 5.6 kilometres (3.5 mi) line was opened on December 27, 2003. The first 1.6 kilometres (0.99 mi) were bored in a tunnel, which allowed for a convenient transfer connection at the Bulvar Dmitriya Donskogo terminus. For the rest of its length it is elevated, with both single and double tracks protected by a sound barrier. Currently four elevated stations, each of identical design, are in operation. All of them except Ulitsa Starokachalovskaya have a lift for wheelchair users only. The line interchanges with Line 9 at Ulitsa Starokachalovskaya and Line 6 at Bittsevsky Park.


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Wikipedia

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