RUSSIA: Moskva’s 4·7 km straddle monorail line has closed, with the route to be converted into an elevated linear park 6 m above ground level.
Operator Moskva Metro said the monorail, designated Line 13, had ‘never fully realised its potential as a transport link’.
Scheduled inspections had revealed the need for major repairs and there are alternative travel options on the corridor.
The last services ran on June 27.
About 800 m of the line from Vystavochny Tsentr to the depot will be demolished, and the rest of the line made into a high-level park. This is expected to open in 2027 and attract up to 20 000 visitors a day, ‘10 times more than the monorail ever served’.
The line formed part of Moskva’s unsuccessful bid to host the World Expo 2010. It opened in November 2004 as a tourist attraction, with regular services beginning in 2008. It was designed to handle 7 500 passengers/direction/h. However, in 2016 it returned to being a tourist service, running every 30 min, because of difficulties sourcing spare parts for the rolling stock by Swiss company Intamin. Only two of the trainsets were still operational when the line closed.
