Welcome to Ulaanbaatar Metroo!

AND HERE IN RUSSIAN!

BREAKING NEWS!

01. November 2001: Some tracks of the Western station will be electrified and connected to the Metroo system. Read the press release!

05. November 2001: The City Khoral (Council) of Ulaanbaatar approved the project aiming at the completion of the "ghost station" Sodoor!!! Read the amazing story of the "ghost station"!!!

01. January 2002: The Directorate of the Metroo agreed to replace existing token-based fare system with a less expensive system based on paper tickets. Tickets (good for a single ride) will be dispensed by special staff officers at the entrances to all stations. The one-way fare did not change.

BREAKING NEWS!
01. November 2001: Some tracks of the Western station will be electrified and connected to the Metroo system. Read the press release!
05. November 2001: The City Khoral (Council) of Ulaanbaatar approved the project aiming at the completion of the "ghost station" Sodoor!!! Read the amazing story of the "ghost station"!!!
01. January 2002: The Directorate of the Metroo agreed to replace existing token-based fare system with a less expensive system based on paper tickets. Tickets (good for a single ride) will be dispensed by special staff officers at the entrances to all stations. The one-way fare did not change.

Ulaanbaatar (City of Red Warrior) is the Capital of the Republic of Mongolia. It is a modern European-style city with the population of more than 700 thousand people.

The Metroo (subway) has been built in 1994 with the help of constructors from Moscow, Qazan, Tashkent, and Novosibirsk. It connects residential areas in the Western and in the Eastern parts of the city with the Center.
The Metroo operates from 7:00 to 22:30. The interval between trains varies from 15 minutes (in "rush hours") to 30 minutes. The trip costs 125 Mongolian tugriks (approximately RUR 3,00, or USD 0,11).
The total length of the main line is 8 kilometers. The Metroo carries up to 120,000 passengers a day.
The first line of the Metroo has 6 stations:

Kosmonavt Uuly - former "Sovet uuly", renamed in 1998 to celebrated the space flight of the first Mongolian cosmonaut
Choybalsan - named to honor Marshall Choybalsan, Mongolian war and revolutionary hero
Moskva Uuly - named to honor the capital of our most friendly ally, Russia
Zuun Urt - literally "Left Tent"; this was the place of a vast nomadic camp on the left bank of a now defunct creek
Baruun Urt - literally "Right Tent"
Suhbaatar - named to honor Suhbaatar, Mongolian revolutionary hero
Logoo

Mongolia is a country of camels. For centuries, camels were the only available transport in this desert land. The logo of the Metroo represents the first letter of the name inscribed in the humps of a camel.

	Ulaanbaatar (City of Red Warrior) is the Capital of the Republic of Mongolia. It is a modern European-style city with the population of more than 700 thousand people.
The Metroo (subway) has been built in 1994 with the help of constructors from Moscow, Qazan, Tashkent, and Novosibirsk. It connects residential areas in the Western and in the Eastern parts of the city with the Center. The Metroo operates from 7:00 to 22:30. The interval between trains varies from 15 minutes (in "rush hours") to 30 minutes. The trip costs 125 Mongolian tugriks (approximately RUR 3,00, or USD 0,11). The total length of the main line is 8 kilometers. The Metroo carries up to 120,000 passengers a day. The first line of the Metroo has 6 stations: Kosmonavt Uuly - former "Sovet uuly", renamed in 1998 to celebrated the space flight of the first Mongolian cosmonaut Choybalsan - named to honor Marshall Choybalsan, Mongolian war and revolutionary hero Moskva Uuly - named to honor the capital of our most friendly ally, Russia Zuun Urt - literally "Left Tent"; this was the place of a vast nomadic camp on the left bank of a now defunct creek Baruun Urt - literally "Right Tent" Suhbaatar - named to honor Suhbaatar, Mongolian revolutionary hero
Mongolia is a country of camels. For centuries, camels were the only available transport in this desert land. The logo of the Metroo represents the first letter of the name inscribed in the humps of a camel.

MAPS & STATIONS

	A scan of the official map of the Metroo that I have, unfortunately, is not of a very good quality. However, it gives a good idea of the layout of the system. The map is here. There is also an unofficial tracks map which I draw for myself. Now, let's have a closer look at each underground station.

Kosmonavt Uuly

		Plastic token of the Metroo - good for a single ride
	Kosmonavt Uuly station serves Orbit residence area at the West of the city. This is where most of the Metroo passenger traffic originates. The station has only one track and only one platform. During the "rush hours", it is sometimes virtually impossible to get on board a train even here at the end of the line - forget about the next stations! There have been plans to build the second track, However, bad economic situation in Mongolia does not permit to allot enough money for the reconstruction. The issue of the upgrade will become more vital when the population of the city approaches one million, and the Metroo trains have to circulate more frequently than now.

Choybalsan

	"Choybalsan" has two tracks are placed in between the passenger platforms. This station is close to the Geological Institute. It is the first station on Central Prospect - the main street of the city. The rest of the Metroo line closely follows the Central Prospect. With a noticeable exception - Moskva Uuly station.

Moskva Uuly

	Moskva Uuly station is the heart of the Metroo. Here, the passengers can interchange with surface trains of the Ulaanbaatar Railway. The Metroo station has been built right under the railway terminal. Here, one can find the Central Control Office of the Metroo (the door is at the eastern end of the east-bound platform). On the left: Ulaanbaatar Railway Station

Zuun Urt

	Station Zuun Urt is conveniently situated at the intersection of Barn Gol street and Central Prospect. The station has two rows of 16 columns each, symbolizing 32 ancient tribes of the Mongols. This is an island-style station, with the passenger platform in between the tracks. Please click on the icon to get the full image and appreciate the statues of Buddha seated at every column of the station.

Station Zuun Urt is conveniently situated at the intersection of Barn Gol street and Central Prospect.

The station has two rows of 16 columns each, symbolizing 32 ancient tribes of the Mongols. This is an island-style station, with the passenger platform in between the tracks.

Please click on the icon to get the full image and appreciate the statues of Buddha seated at every column of the station.

Baruun Urt

		Baruun Urt station. Click at the icon for a better image!
	One more station at Central Prospect, the station is close to Lenin Club. It is situated in the middle of the Ubis area. The name of Baruun Urt station is yet another reminiscence of the pre-industrial times. This is yet another island-style station. It is distinguished for its original architecture symbolizing the endless sky over the Altai mountains. There is also a fine image of Suhbaatar on the floor of the station.

Suhbaatar

		The last station of the line offers access to the Military Club (Ofitseruudyn Ordon). It is located at the eastern end of Central Prospect. The station has two dead-end tracks. Although this almost never happens, ideally the trains can alternate the tracks for arrivals and departures. Woman have been always treated with great respect in nomadic societies. Since those times, little has changed. Women drivers are not uncommon in the Metroo. To the left: Woman engineer drives a train at the Suhbaatar station.

The last station of the line offers access to the Military Club (Ofitseruudyn Ordon). It is located at the eastern end of Central Prospect. The station has two dead-end tracks. Although this almost never happens, ideally the trains can alternate the tracks for arrivals and departures.

Woman have been always treated with great respect in nomadic societies. Since those times, little has changed. Women drivers are not uncommon in the Metroo.

To the left: Woman engineer drives a train at the Suhbaatar station.

ROLLING STOCK & FACILITIES

		Battery-powered locomotive at the interchange yard of Ulaanbaatar railway station.
	Rolling stock of the Metroo is an eclectic collection of mostly used cars from various subways in Russia and Uzbekistan. It consists of 28 passenger cars (collected in 6 consists, plus 4 spare cars), and two track maintenance machines. It happened so that at the time of the opening of the Metroo, the contact rail had not been laid out along all the tracks, so battery-powered locomotives were used to pull the Metroo trains for the first several months. Now, these locomotives (there are two of them) are used for shunting the Metro cars to and from the railway yard.

Links to our friends

The only train maintenance facility of the Metroo is located at Moskva Uuly. The depot has 6 tracks which is enough to store all available trains. The depot is connected to the Ulaanbaatar railway (UB RLY) station to facilitate the exchange of Metroo cars with the UB RLY. However, the gate is closed and sealed most of the time to protect the depot from sand and dust.

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