Click on the Moscow Metro subway map below to open a new window with a large format subway map

The Moscow metro is a good combination of reliability, comfort and transportation speed in the tough conditions of a modern metropolis. It is the most popular kind of transport in the city used by approximately 9 million passengers.

At present Moscow metro share among other kinds of transport makes up 56%.

Every day 10072 trains run over 12 lines of the system (298,8 km and 180 stations) with the minimum headway of 90 seconds.

Central Moscow is best explored on foot, but as the distances are huge, it's easiest to use the famous Metro system. It is comprehensive, boasts some great architecture, and is relatively cheap.

As of July 2009, a single trip costs 22 RUB, independent of the length of the trip. Tickets are sold only at manned booths within the stations ("kassa"). In several stations there are ticket vending machines.

A convenient way to avoid queuing is to buy a multi-trip RFID card for 5, 10, 20 or 60 trips (10 at 200 RUB) valid for 45 days, or a monthly pass for up to 70 trips; the latter costs almost the same as 60x pass, but is valid for a calendar month, not the 30 days from the date of purchase.

There are no day tickets or similar offers tailored to visitors. For those who do use Metro really often and for an extended period of time (90 trips per month or more), there is a rechargeable unlimited trips smart-card (small refundable deposit is required), which can be recharged for a period from one month up to one year. However, if you lose it, you will not get any refund or replacement card!

The Metro is open from 5:30AM - 1AM. Stations close at 1AM so your journey must be completed by then (more precisely, at 1AM the last train starts from the end stations, the entrances and transfers between lines are locked and the escalators are stopped - if you caught the train, you'll be able to exit at any stop on the way, but it might be a long slog up the steps).

Before 7AM and after 9PM, the metro is rarely busy. Between these times on work days it can be a real squeeze, especially within the ring. Some escalators are a two minute ride as the stations in the city center are very deep. On the escalators stand on the right.

It's important to know that colors in the underground's signs don't necessarily correspond to the ones on the maps, so the green line is not necessarily indicated by a green sign (that could be the sign for the gray line).

It's less confusing to refer to the numbers, e.g. line 3 is line 3 whatever color is on the sign. There are no English signs inside so have your itinerary ready beforehand or learn to read Cyrillic, which is possible. Anyway, you can use a Russian-English plan while you moving inside a Metro train.

Don't let yourself be intimidated by the huge masses of jostling, rushing, cross people. The Russians also take their time to study the tiny signposts to see where to change trains or which exit to take. Don't use the metro if you are claustrophobic as the air is thick especially at rush hour.

The most interesting stations in terms of decor are Komsomolskaya and Novoslobodskaya on the ring line, Kropotkinskaya on the red line, and Mayakovskaya on the green line (watch out for the mosaics on the ceiling). The last one is also one of the deepest; this allowed it to be used as a makeshift assembly hall for a Party meeting marking the anniversary of the Revolution during the Nazi bombardments in the winter of 1941.

The Metro is relatively safe, although pickpockets are a problem, as they are in any environment where a lot of people are pressed together. Opportunistic petty crime, such as snatching someone's mobile phone and jumping out just as the doors are closing, is also commonplace.

Take the usual precautions at the night hours, when the crowds recede; you don't want to be the only passenger in a car with a gang of inebriated teenagers looking for an excuse to beat someone up. Walk up the platform and get in the first car, near the driver; the cabin of the last car or the one in the middle of the train are not occupied by a conductor, like they are in New York.

Every car is equipped with an intercom to the driver's cabin; they are beige boxes with a grill and a black button near doors, and mostly work, unless visibly vandalized. If you find yourself in a dangerous situation, press the button and wait for the driver or his assistant to reply. They might not understand you, but they will know there's trouble and will pass the info ahead. At the next stop someone (could be even the on-duty policeman, if he's bored) might check in on the commotion.

sourced and adapted from WikiTravel