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Firearms and folk dances make Moscow's metro a dangerous place

It’s a vital service for millions of Muscovites every day – but cops have warned that the metro is increasingly dangerous.
First deputy interior minster Mikhail Sukhodolsky highlighted the menace of a rising tide of violent crime – and folk dancing.
And he called for better policing to ensure commuter safety.

Guns and national dances
“It is not a secret for anyone that using the metro has become dangerous,” Sukhodolsky told a forum on cooperation to fight crime in Moscow. “In the metro people get out traumatic weapons, start dancing national dances in the interchanges and on the platforms.”
“How can you feel safe? Where is the police work, administration of the metro, where are the volunteers?”

Something must be done
Sukhodolsky also stressed the need for more work on railway stations and airports, RIA Novosti reported. “With Moscow’s new leadership (Sergei Sobyanin) there is a chance for someone to start work on preventing violations, and for someone to introduce improvements to the current work,” he said.
However he did not produce any clear ideas on how to proceed the situation.
The most widely reported crime on the metro is theft, followed by armed robbery, Newsmsk reported.
But the use of traumatic weapons on the metro is increasing, with several incidents on metro platforms ended in shootings.

Crippling infrastructure
Moscow metro’s infrastructure is also making the capital’s underground more dangerous.
Crowds on the platforms are the most obvious cause of concern, with more than 150 people falling on the tracks each year. Half of these are thought to be accidents, with attempted suicides causing the others.
Another common injury in the metro is being hit with the entrance doors. Some of the older ones in Stalin-built stations can weight up to 200 kilos, while the newer metallic doors are often accelerated by drafts. Hundreds of people are also injured on the escalators.

Danger zones
Last month Moscow metro police unveiled a list of the most dangerous stations, and circle line took the spotlight.
Komsomolskaya, Prospekt Mira, Kurskaya, Novoslobodskaya and Kievskaya were among the worst stations. The light blue Filyovskaya and light green Lublinskaya lines were named the safest.
But if crowded central stations are the most dangerous places to travel, heading out of town puts you at risk on the streets.
The suburbs of Golyanovo, Izmailovo, Konkovo and Vykhino are the most risky, though central Tverskoi and Presnensky districts are also in the top ten.

New stations for Khodynka
Dangerous or not, the metro keeps expanding and new stations are planned to serve recently-built houses and Khodynskoye Pole.
The stations Khodynskoye Pole and Petrovsky Park will be the start of a new Khodynskaya metro line, taking metro withing walking distance of 80 per cent of the area’s residents, as opposed to current 40 per cent.
The stations are expected to be finished by 2015 and could form the start of a new circle line allowing people to bypass the centre. The proposed line would be located between the third and fourth transport rings.

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