Yerevan Metro
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| Native name | Երեւանի մետրոպոլիտեն | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Locale | Yerevan, Armenia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Transit type | Rapid transit | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number of lines | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number of stations | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | http://www.yerevan.am/en/metro/ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operation | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Began operation | 1981 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operator(s) | Ministry of Transport and Communication of Armenia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number of vehicles | 70 (2 Carriages per Trainset) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technical | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| System length | 13.4 km (8.3 mi) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track gauge | 1,524 mm (5 ft) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Electrification | Third rail, 825V DC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top speed | 90 km/h (56 mph) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Yerevan Metro (Armenian: Երեւանի մետրոպոլիտեն, Yerevani metropoliten; since December 1999, Կարեն Դեմիրճյանի անվան Երեւանի մետրոպոլիտեն (Karen Demirchyani anvan Yerevani metropoliten), the Karen Demirchyan Yerevan Metro) is a rapid transit system that serves the capital of Armenia, Yerevan. The system was launched in 1981 and like most former Soviet Metros, its stations are very deep (20-70 meters underground) and intricately decorated with national motifs. The metro runs on a 13.4 kilometres (8.3 mi) line and currently serves 10 active stations. The use of the system by the city's population has dramatically declined in recent years as a result of the introduction of a new minibus system.
Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, experienced substantial growth during the postwar period when it was the capital of the Armenian SSR. Due to the city's very uneven landscape only an underground system could meet all of the criteria to efficiently move large numbers of people around the city. The first plans for a rapid transit system began to be formed in the late 1960s, under the auspice of Anton Kochinyan, then the 1st secretary of the Communist Party of Armenia. Initially this was centred on a rapid tram system, rather than a full underground metro system. During this time, the Soviet City Engineering Planning Department clearly stated that a Metro system would only be awarded to cities with more than a population of one million, which Yerevan lacked at the start of construction (1972). Nevertheless, all of the tunnels in which the tram lines were to be installed were built to a design that would have allowed a potential conversion into a full underground metro system.
By the end of 1978 over 4 km (2.5 miles) of tunnels were already bored through, when the plans were redesigned so that the system would be opened as a full underground metro (although to avoid extra bureaucratic measures the system continued to be officially called "Rapid Tram" right up until its opening).
There is an anecdotal version of how the Soviet rules (more than 1 million, a full Metro system; less than million, a Tram system) were bypassed. Reportedly the Chairman of the Armenian Communist Party, Karen Demirchyan, convinced the Soviet premier Leonid Brezhnev in the following manner:
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Wikipedia