The metro cannot be classified as one of the most common modes of transport. Slightly more than one and a half hundred cities on the planet can boast of such an underground structure. In the same cities where the metro has long become a part of life, the authorities often try to give the stations an attractive look, which some cultural heritage sites may envy. According to experts, the deepest metro in the world is located in Pyongyang.
The deepest metro stations
There are several metro stations in the world that claim to be the deepest. One of them is the Arsenalnaya station in the capital of Ukraine, Kiev. Its depth is just over one hundred meters. But the station is built under a hill, so experts disagree on whether to consider its depth relative to the surface of the earth or relative to sea level.
And what about the Russian metro? The Admiralteyskaya station in St. Petersburg is also more than a hundred meters deep. Most likely, this metro facility will be the deepest in Russia so far. It is inferior to the Park Pobedy station located in Moscow. Its depth is about 90 meters.
As for the average depth of the stations, in this respect, St. Petersburg is still considered one of the world leaders.
Pyongyang metro
Some experts believe that the deepest subway in the world is built in the capital of North Korea, Pyongyang. There is information that, on average, the depth of its stations varies from 110 to 120 meters, and at some points along the course of its movement the trains descend even down to 150 meters.
The subway in Pyongyang is decorated with great pomp and largely serves ideological purposes. The station names are associated with revolutionary themes. The platforms and lobbies of the stations, designed in the style of socialist realism, feature abundant gilding and mosaics, which are supposed to testify to the prosperity of communist Korea.
At stations and in carriages, you can often find portraits of the country's leaders. But advertising in the North Korean subway is not found.
The Pyongyang metro includes only two lines, which were put into operation in the 70s of the last century. The length of the rail track is a little more than twenty kilometers. The rolling stock of each train is four carriages, each twenty meters long. The dimensions of the train correspond to the length of the metro platform.
The lighting system on the lifts is quite original: the lamps in the Pyongyang subway are not embedded in the walls and ceiling, but are built into the escalators themselves. Only a few stations are open for foreign tourists; visitors from other countries are not allowed to enter other parts of the metro. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the subway in the country is of strategic importance - it can be used as a bomb shelter.
