Arbatskaya (Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya line)

Arbatskaya

Арбатская
Moscow Metro station
General information
LocationArbat District
Central Administrative Okrug
Moscow
Russia
Coordinates55°45′08″N 37°36′22″E / 55.7522°N 37.6061°E / 55.7522; 37.6061
Owned byMoskovsky Metropoliten
Line(s)#3 Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya line Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya line
Platforms1 island platform
Tracks2
Construction
Structure typePylon station
Depth41 metres (135 ft)
Platform levels1
ParkingNo
Other information
Station code042
History
Opened5 April 1953; 71 years ago (1953-04-05)
Services
Preceding station Moscow Metro Following station
Smolenskaya Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya line Ploshchad Revolyutsii
Arbatskaya
towards Kuntsevskaya
Filyovskaya line
transfer at Aleksandrovsky Sad
Terminus
Kropotkinskaya
towards Potapovo
Sokolnicheskaya line Okhotny Ryad
Chekhovskaya
towards Altufyevo
Serpukhovsko-Timiryazevskaya line
transfer at Borovitskaya
Polyanka
Location
Arbatskaya is located in Central Moscow
Arbatskaya
Arbatskaya
Location within Central Moscow

Arbatskaya (Russian: Арба́тская) is a station on the Arbatsko–Pokrovskaya line of the Moscow Metro. Along with Smolenskaya and Kievskaya, it was built in 1953 to replace an older, parallel section of track which has since become part of the Filyovskaya line. The old station had been damaged in a German bomb attack in 1941, so its replacement was much deeper and included larger stations that could double as shelters (especially in the event of nuclear attack). Although it was initially supposed to be closed permanently, the old section reopened five years later, creating the somewhat confusing situation of having two pairs of completely separate stations with the same names (Arbatskaya and Smolenskaya).

Plaque in the passage connecting Arbatsko–Pokrovskaya and Filyovskaya lines

Arbatskaya was designed by Leonid Polyakov, Valentin Pelevin and Yury Zenkevich. Since it was meant to serve as a bomb shelter as well as a Metro station, Arbatskaya is both large (the 250-m platform is the second-longest in Moscow) and deep (41 m underground). The main tunnel is elliptical in cross-section, an unusual departure from the standard circular design. The station features low, square pylons faced with red marble and a high vaulted ceiling elaborately decorated with ornamental brackets, floral reliefs, and chandeliers.