SOFIA | Metro

[rheintram]

Can't say I'm too impressed by the design and architecture of these stations. I wonder why they always go for kitschy, ornamented designs instead of sleek, modern ones. And I'm not talking solely about Sofia here, it seems to be a trend all over Eastern Europe, Asia and MENA...

[JloKyM]

May I ask why the thread was renamed?

[zzibit]

Helloooooo anybody?

[Andrej_LJ]

I want to ask the same question having in mind that this thread has only materials about the metro system of Sofia and the fact that tomorrow is the opening of 2 new stations on line M1 and in august this year the opening of 11 new stations along line M2. So Sofia metro is offering more than enough materials to talk about here!

[Andrej_LJ]

2 new stations on line M1 (Mladost 3 and Tsarigradsko Shose) opened in Sofia about an hour ago:

[JloKyM]

Two more stations were opened today


Pictures thanks to viktorlc from gtsofia.info


Mladost 3













Tsarigradsko shosse

[Groningen NL]

[Woonsocket54]

good for them

[Andrej_LJ]

pictures by victorlc ( www.gtsofia.info )






Entrances:

[Andrej_LJ]

pictures by Nicky ( www.gtsofia.info )

Insight the station:

[Andrej_LJ]

Platforms:

[WB2010]

Congratulations Sofia

I am from Warsaw and since 1990s I have been following the construction of your metro, as it is quite similar to the development of the Warsaw metro. In my city the first metro stations opened in 1995 (11 of them) and in Sofia in 1998 (5 stations), after many years of construction here and in Bulgaria. In both capital cities there is one metro line: in Warsaw it counts 21 stations, in Sofia - 16. And both in my city and in Sofia second metro lines are under construction.

There are however two major differences: all metro stations in Warsaw are underground and besides the trains made in Russia we have also modern Alstom trains, most of them produced in their Polish factory in Chorzów.

[Woonsocket54]

And in Sofia the two lines will intersect twice while in Warsaw they will only intersect once. That, my friend, is a huge difference.

Perhaps a more appropriate comparison would be from Warsaw to Minsk, although Minsk already has 2 lines. Maybe Warsaw to Sendai would work if you are looking for comparisons.

[Stelian]

well the Warsaw metro is used by roughly 3 times as many people as that in Sofia.
I like the new stations

[Blackraven]

A new station really feels and looks amazing...............

Definitely a lot of good things coming for the Sofia Metro......including upcoming connections like Sofia Business Park and the Airport.

P.S.
Just one thing though:
Better keep your distance (especially if there is some idiot or lunatic who pushes you to the tracks). You do not wanna be near that third rail.

[Mr_Dru]

Wow nice and fresh station...

[Woonsocket54]

Originally Posted by Blackraven

Just one thing though:
Better keep your distance (especially if there is some idiot or lunatic who pushes you to the tracks). You do not wanna be near that third rail.

Useful advice, but it sounds like it might be more applicable in your local metro than in Sofia.

[gogo3o]

Meanwhile, the Russian producer MVM is almost ready to deliver first 2 or 3 of the ordered 18 metro trains.

Originally Posted by vartal

Новые вагоны фактически готовы к отправке заказчику:







Source

[Andrej_LJ]

This autumn construction starts on the northern extension of line M1 towards Sofia Airport, which will include 4 new stations. The tender is already closed and finished and because companies gave much cheaper bids than expected, the saved cca. 50 million euro will be transferred for construction of additional two stations on the southern branch of M1 towards the Mladost 4 quarter. Construction might start towards the end of this year and finish at the end of 2014. If all of this is constructed by that time, Sofia will have about 38 kilometers of heavy metro system with 33 stations that will be used by more than 700 000 passengers daily.
In the meantime construction on the 11 stations on line M2 is proceeding according to plan, so opening of this line is appointed for 31st of August.
Here is a quick made map:

[Andrej_LJ]

Today by the minister of transport was made official that the extension of the metro line M1 southwards, towards Mladost 4 will start this year and will include not 2 but 3 stations. This segment will be 2,8 km, including 3 stations and will cost around 60 million euros. So in the future 2 years (in the period between 2012 and 2014) we will see 7 new stations under construction, an investment for around 140 million euros, bringing the total length of Sofia’s metro to almost 40 km by the end of 2014, which will include 34 stations.