Getting Around

I must admit it, but I have been spoiled.  Over the summer I became accustomed to using the New York Subway, which must be one of the most efficient transportation networks ever devised.  For those of you who are not from New York (don't be afraid, we don't bite...usually), the city boasts a huge number of stations (400-500) and two dozen lines.  There are local trains, express trains, and shuttle trains.  Stops are located every few blocks, and trains generally every few minutes.  Despite it's complexity, it is an easy system to navigate, and carries staggering numbers of passengers daily, while offering service 24/7.  The last bit is something New Yorkers take for granted, and is what I believe to be one of the main reasons that New York is such a late city.  The only true complaints with the network is the price ($2.25 for a one-way trip) and the industrial, grungy look of the stations and trains.  

The New York City Subway has little in common with the Saint Petersburg Metro.  The metro here is small; it comprises of only 5 lines, with only a few dozen stations, and few stations offer transfer.  It has me grinding my teeth with the inefficiency of the layout - whole sections of the city are inaccessible by metro.

Much of this is forgiven when you enter a station.  Unlike in New York where the stations are little more than holes in the ground with a few flights of stairs for entrance and egress, the vast majority here have large vestibules on the surface.  You enter, buy your token (22 roubles at time of writing - about $.70), proceed through the turnstile and step onto the escalator.  There are no stairs, and you honestly wouldn't want them as the Petersburg Metro is the deepest in the world, and it often takes 3-4 minutes on the escalator to reach the platform.  Kindly stand to the right to let faster descender/ascenders pass by on the left.  Having tried to walk down the escalators I don't recommend it; the length of the descent combined with the fact you are on a moving staircase makes the experience a vertigo-inducing one.  One classmate of mine even likened the escalator ride to "descending to the Underworld to meet Hades."  When you (finally) reach the platform, you are greeted not by the River Styx and Charon, but by a sight that is more reminiscent of the Louvre than any home of the dead (take your pick).  High ceilings supported by elegantly sculpted columns trimmed with gold are the rule rather than the exception.  Despite being over a hundred meters below the surface, the stations feel light and spacious if not quite airy.

The trains run fast and come often.  Despite often arriving at the platform as a train is pulling out, I have yet to wait more than 2 or 3 minutes for the next one.  During rush hour the trains are every bit as packed as their New York counterparts, especially around the stations at the center of the city.  No matter - you probably are only riding for a few minutes.  After all, there aren't very many stops.  The last trains leave the end stations at midnight, and after 12:15 you could very well be out of luck taking the metro home (hellooooooo gypsy cabs!).

Unfortunately, taking pictures in the stations is prohibited, and even if you are willing to ignore the statute, exposing yourself needlessly to pickpockets on the busy platforms is not a wise move.  As such, I cannot provide my own photos for your viewing pleasure, but you will have to make do with ones I borrowed from Wikipedia.