Depot of the Moscow Metro

• Depot Moscow Metro

May 15 - the birthday of the Moscow Metro. On this day in 1935 the first part of the route on the left. They went from the depot "North" - the first depot of the Moscow metro. Since 77 years now it serves subway passengers.

A large area on Krasnoprudnaya the street - this is a whole agglomeration of metro: in addition to the station, there is a factory for repairing escalators, fire subway management, depot, 1st police station on the subway, and even some services.

Depot "North" serves Sokolnicheskaya line, there is listed 32 staff and 1 stand, says Chief Engineer Mikhail Borisovich Elgudin. 19 of them spend the night in custody, and 14 - on the line, that is, directly in the tunnels: the Working sidings at stations "Street Podbelskogo" and "South West", as well as on the station tracks.

But the main function of the depot - is the repair and maintenance of train services. During the day, nine trains pass MOT in three volumes - TO-1, TO-2 and TO-3. The figure indicates the seriousness of the work: TO-1 - a normal inspection, but on the TO-3 takes a whole working day - teams are distributed through the cars and rolling is performed on the inspection of wheel pairs, open all covers, inspected devices, defective components are replaced.

Another two PTO - point inspection - are right on the line underground. But there is only inspection and minor repairs.

- How often found fault? - I ask the chief engineer.

- Occasionally. But for this and made maintenance and repair.

- But on the line they are not obvious?

- No, it is revealed at the depot. If a fault is detected on the line - this is an emergency.

Mikhail Borisovich shows us the machine for turning wheel sets - This operation is necessary in the event that during the operation a so-called "rolling surface" grinds unevenly. Not far - "reference wheelset." She set up defektostopy, which are used to verify the wheelsets.

But for washing trains looks almost exactly like a car - perhaps, a little more. Each formulation was washed once a week. In addition to water treatment, the train still visit the purge chamber - in the gutter with them, remove the cover and all car equipment - motors, motor-compressors - blown dust and oil deposits.

On the train line are current through the contact rail, but it ends in front of the depot gates. Train you done partly inside, and there on the current collectors are put on "fishing rods" - hanging from the top mobile cables with knobs. After that, the composition of calls in the depot completely. Of course, for repairs voltage is switched off.

The depot works 750 people, including 176 drivers and 500 people - repairers.

Go to the shop lifting repair. There's a 32-ton wagons hoisting lift for changing wheelsets, traction motors, motor-compressors, as well as produce major repairs to disassembly.

The main attraction of the dispatch depot - a large display. On it - all formulations. One - "on the ditches," ie, the depot, the other - on the line. This scoreboard - a kind of rarity, the legacy of the Soviet Union: it is not an e-mail, not on light bulbs or even mechanical - each car corresponds to the metal label with a number hanging on the magnet. Seven nameplates - composition. When the train leaves on the line, the controller is suitable to display nameplates and transfers from one magnet to another. Simple, you say? But safely!

To move the maintenance teams through the tunnels at night, when the contact is off the rails, used railmotor cars, or as they are called here - "economic units". They work on Zilovskoye gasoline engines. On the territory of the depot for they have their own dressing. A two concrete block rail car on the platform are required in order that he not stalled when cornering and on wet tracks.

Before the train leaves on the line, the last inspection of the driver does - check the wheel passes through the cars of the cab several times opening-closing doors throughout the lineup.

Finally repairers show us another curiosity of the Soviet era - laid in the concrete away from the rail depot, marked Stalin's name and the date - 1934

Our tour comes to an end. We kindly offer to leave the depot with the wind - on the next part of which is sent to the line. Of course, we agree! And now, after a few minutes, we drove up to the ramp - gradually deepened the tunnel through which the formulations fall on the line - in the current deadlock over the station "Komsomolskaya".

At the station, the train passengers go - it is unlikely they at least sometimes think about how many people are working every day to ensure that they just take the metro home.

Editorial Reedus congratulates the whole team of the Moscow Metro with its professional holiday! Thank you for your work!