Published on: 2026-09-14
Source: Moscow Government – Правительства Москвы –
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Sergey Sobyanin opened a new permanent exhibition of the Moscow Transport Museum in the unique historic building of Konstantin Melnikov’s garage on Novoryazanskaya Street. The exhibition is dedicated to the history of the capital’s transport from the appearance of the horse-drawn tram to the launch of driverless transport.
“About six years ago, we created the Moscow Transport Museum. It was housed in various temporarily adapted premises, but it was quite popular, so the decision was made to allocate Melnikov’s garage for the museum — this is a monumental building, which turns 100 years old this year, and to establish a permanent exhibition there. For several years, experts, restorers, builders, and transport specialists worked on it. It became one of the best transport museums in the world. I am confident that it will be very popular among children, students, Muscovites, and visitors to the capital. It will be one of the most beloved and popular places in Moscow,” said Sergey Sobyanin.
The Rector of the Russian University of Transport, Oleg Pokusaev, noted that under the leadership of the Mayor of Moscow, the city’s transport has made an unprecedented leap in its development, and the renovated museum will inspire and enchant young people with this field. Additionally, Oleg Pokusaev proposed organizing regular visits to the exhibition for university students.
The new modern site of the Moscow Transport Museum can accommodate up to 10,000 people per day. After viewing the exhibition, you can visit the nearby gastroquarter “Depot. Three Stations.” Both places are located near the “Three Stations Square” transport hub, so they are easily accessible from any point in the capital. The only museum trolleybus route T in the city has also become part of the Moscow Transport Museum. Tours are regularly held here, where guests learn about the history of the Basmanny district.
On September 14, the museum is open only for organized children’s groups. From the 15th, it will operate according to the following schedule: Tuesday to Thursday from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Friday to Sunday from 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM (Monday is closed). The ticket price for visiting the permanent exhibition is comparable to prices in other city museums — 700 rubles (a 30 percent discount is available for pensioners, students, and schoolchildren).
The Moscow Transport Museum is one of the largest transport museums in Russia. The total area of the museum complex is over 20 thousand square meters — comparable to the area of three football fields or one-third of the Luzhniki Stadium’s area. It includes:
— constant exposure in the restored building of Konstantin Melnikov’s garage;
— multifunctional space “Club” (800 square meters) for exhibitions, cultural and educational events, including forums, conferences, hackathons, film screenings, concerts, and presentations. It is equipped with two projectors and screens, as well as a set of sound, lighting, stage, and engineering systems;
— archive and library center, where you can work in a comfortable reading room and use an electronic information retrieval system with remote access. The digitized archive includes more than 50 thousand storage units, over six thousand documents from the Moskvich factory, more than eight thousand documents from the Sokolniki wagon repair and construction plant, at least 500 thousand sheets of documentation from the I.A. Likhachyov automobile plant (ZIL), and 15 thousand books, photographs, commemorative albums, small-format publications, and mass-produced printed graphics on the subject of transport;
— “Autolab” with a children’s center and a restoration workshop where master classes and lectures of the engineering school “Faza” are held;
— cafe, decorated with a unique mosaic from the facade of the Moskvich factory. These are four friezes with paintings of car assembly, depicting vehicles produced at the plant in different years.
The unique museum complex is designed as an open urban environment integrated into the everyday life of Moscow, particularly the Basmanny district. The accessible green inner courtyard is intended for exhibitions of historical and modern equipment, festivals, themed fairs, and family events, as well as for socializing and relaxation. It features children’s playgrounds, a board games area, and art installations. Visitors can access the cafe, reading room, and souvenir shop without purchasing a museum ticket.
The museum will become not only an educational but also a scientific and educational platform for students of Moscow colleges and universities, where specialized classes, workshops, and lectures on the history of transportation, engineering, and city development will take place. Furthermore, it will be a cultural center attracting tourists from various regions of Russia.
“The museum immerses visitors in the city’s history through 2D and 3D videos, multimedia guides, and interactive installations. For example, you can imagine yourself as a passenger on the first Moscow Daimler bus and travel from Maryina Roshcha to Ostankino. On simulators, you can try the role of a metro train driver,” wrote Sergey Sobyanin on his channel in
Source: Mayor of Moscow’s channel on in the messenger “Max”
The Moscow Transport Museum on Novoryazanskaya Street is expected to receive over 500,000 visitors annually.
Permanent exposure
The permanent exhibition of the Moscow Transport Museum, with an area of over nine thousand square meters, occupies two floors (the first and underground) of Konstantin Melnikov’s garage. It features 13 thematic zones.
The exhibition features 53 original examples of historical vehicles: buses, trams, trolleybuses, an electric bus, urban special equipment, freight and passenger cars, horse-drawn transport. In addition, visitors will see over 220 models of retro vehicles restored by museum staff, more than 500 artifacts, and 946 units of media content, such as 2D and 3D videos, computer graphics, and footage using archival materials.
The museum visit program includes elements of immersive and interactive immersion in the history of transport development. It also features unique exhibits that are not found in other transport museums or publicly accessible private collections:
— the only one the 1872 horse-drawn tram, recreated based on the original running gear;
— tram car BF (one of the two preserved in the world);
— meter car B — the only surviving Berlin subway car in the eight-door modification;
— one-and-a-half-ton truck — the GAZ-AA truck — the most popular truck of the Great Patriotic War era; it was on these one-and-a-half-ton trucks that residents of besieged Leningrad were evacuated across Lake Ladoga via the Road of Life;
— TBEU trolleybus — the only surviving vehicle from the series of machines built specifically for operation at the Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy in 1957;
— MAZ-200 truck, which was used in the construction of the Third Transport Ring.
In the exhibition, you can see train car “Moskva” — the flagship of the new generation of Moscow Metro trains, reaching the comfort level of the world’s leading counterparts: this series features, for the first time, walk-through passages between cars, wide door openings, and USB ports for charging mobile devices.
Among the interesting artifacts are also a cab driver’s token from 1854, a tram side route indicator from the 1920s, a 1935 token for traveling on the Moscow Metro, an information sign “Train to V.S. Kh.V” (1939–1959), a pedestrian traffic light “Stop — Go” from the 1960s.
The main distinction of the museum’s permanent exhibition is that it does not merely showcase historical and contemporary specimens, but creates a holistic exhibition space. It tells the story of the evolution of urban transportation in direct connection with the development of the capital, cultural events, and changes in people’s lives. Cutting-edge museum technologies and a rich collection of exhibits will allow visitors to see how Moscow’s transport system has developed from the late 19th century to the present day, from the first master plan of Moscow to the modern transport breakthrough. One of the key areas of the museum’s exhibition is dedicated to the breakthrough development of the capital’s transport since 2010, including modern and prospective projects of the development program until 2030.
For the first time, the history of the capital’s transport system is presented in inseparable connection with the development of Moscow’s automotive industry. Through authentic exhibits, archival materials, and multimedia, the museum traces the path of the automotive industry’s development — from the first transport enterprises of the late 19th century (for example, one of the pioneers of domestic engineering, the Dux factory) to the history of the legendary ZIL and modern high-tech solutions. The exhibition demonstrates how the industry determined the development of urban transport, and how transport became a driver of economic growth and transformations in Moscow.
The first floor of the museum is dedicated to the history of ground transportation — from the horsecar of 1872 to the modern driverless vehicle. It features six thematic zones:
— “Starting Point” — a prologue about the route, the wheel, and traction as the fundamental foundations of transport;
— “From Cabman to Tram” — about the transport system of Moscow in the second half of the 19th century, when machines first began to compete with animal-drawn transport;
— “Cars for the City. 1920s-1930s” — about transport in the context of the first five-year plan and industrialization, garages in the constructivist style, ZIL (ZIS) — the Moscow automobile plant that became a symbol of the era;
— “City for People. 1950s-1960s” — about the changes in Moscow transport after the war (about the rise of transport design, the emergence of prestigious and mass-produced cars, new urban planning concepts);
— “Standby Mode. 1970s-1980s” — about the transport situation that defined the life of the new peripheral districts, and the technology that helped the city develop;
— “Today is the day after tomorrow” — about the present and future of Moscow (about the implementation of smart infrastructure and autonomous transport, the formation of multimodal routes and multi-level transport hubs, the development of kicksharing (a short-term electric scooter rental system) and green transportation);
How the first year of operation of driverless trams went in the capitalSobyanin spoke about the results of six months of testing the driverless metro
The underground floor is dedicated to the history of the Moscow Metro. It houses seven thematic zones:
— “The Metro Construction Formula” — about the first subway builders and modern technologies (giant tunneling complexes and double-track tunnels);
— “The Station Formula”. Thanks to the interactive layout, the metro station is revealed as a highly complex technological complex with ventilation systems and airtight doors, an escalator machine hall, and power substations;
— “Management Formula” – about the operation of the unified dispatch center of the Moscow Metro, here you can try on the role of a dispatcher;
— “Formula of Architecture” with the installation “Depository.” Its compartments, in the form of models, photographs, drawings, and videos, present the diversity of the architectural and artistic appearance of the Moscow metro;
— “Formula of Development” — about metro lines, the principles of their design, and the effect they have on the development of the city;
— “Wagon Formula” — about the technical evolution of subway cars. Here, engineering solutions that are usually hidden from the passenger’s eyes — from the Westinghouse brake to driverless systems — are brought out and turned into interactive exhibits;
— “Navigation Formula” — about the history of navigation solutions — from the first pointers to the metro’s digital ecosystem.
Moscow holds a leading position in the world in terms of the pace of renewal of metro rolling stockSobyanin spoke about the formation of a unified transport dispatch center
The museum’s exhibition includes 94 multimedia installations. For example, you can learn about the profession of a coachman and even interact with him through an interactive project “Moscow is a city of cab drivers”. To imagine yourself as a passenger on the first Moscow Daimler bus and to travel the route from Maryina Roshcha to Ostankino will be helped by the installation “Bus and internal combustion engine technologies”. Project “Constructivist Garages” is dedicated to the history of the museum building. Here you can see what the garage and its staff were like in 1929, and find out the schedule for truck departures.
Moreover, interactive games have been prepared for visitors. For example, “Build the engine” will introduce the structure of the “Moskvich-412” engine, and the game “Hand me the tool” will suggest identifying and handing over to the road works foreman a handsaw, a clamp, or a steel maul.
The permanent exhibition of the Moscow Transport Museum features 27 simulators of various types of urban transport. Visitors can try their hand as a metro car driver or as a dispatcher at the Unified Dispatch Center, as well as become a tram driver in the city of the future. If desired, visitors can use a multimedia guide with a screen and headphones, which offers the following four routes through the permanent exhibition:
— “Where Moscow is headed” — the history of the capital revealed through transport and urban landscapes;
— “Retro-futuro-immersive walk” — a route with the most unusual objects and exhibits for those seeking new experiences;
— “The Feeling of the Road” – about transportation through the eyes of those who created and managed it;
— “How Everything Works” — an in-depth exploration of the technical design of transport and urban infrastructure.
A special children’s route with stops—interactive points featuring tasks and game animations—has been developed for young visitors. For example, on the display, kids can design their own unique car.
A special audio route has been developed for blind and visually impaired visitors. Several installations feature audio descriptions and Braille captions. Seventy-seven tactile models have been created specifically for the museum exhibition, including scaled-down detailed replicas of vehicles, urban objects, including transport infrastructure, as well as a three-dimensional map of the Moscow Metro lines.
Restoration of the historic building
The museum’s permanent exhibition is housed in the restored building of the truck garage designed by architect K.S. Melnikov on Novoryazanskaya Street (building 27, structures 1, 3). It has the status of a regional cultural heritage site.
“The building served almost a century solely utilitarian purposes: it was a freight garage, a taxi motor park, an auto repair plant, and a bus park, remaining closed to city residents. We dismantled the additions that distorted its appearance, restored the stained glass windows, and returned the building to its historic look,” Sergey Sobyanin wrote on his channel on
Source: Mayor of Moscow’s channel on in the messenger “Max”
The garage on Novoryazanskaya Street was built in 1929–1931 according to the project of architect Konstantin Melnikov. He is also the author of another monument of Soviet avant-garde — the Bakhmetyevsky Garage on Obraztsova Street.
Due to the small size and wedge shape of the plot, the garage building was designed in the shape of a horseshoe. Along its curve, parking spaces for trucks were arranged. This allowed for a compact placement of the maximum number of vehicles and also ensured their unhindered exit onto Novoryazanskaya Street. The main facade of the building is made in the form of several brick projections. At the end of each, there were a pair of gates for bidirectional traffic.
In the era of large construction projects of the 1930s, the garage on Novoryazanskaya Street was mainly used by various city enterprises and trusts. Trucks delivered bricks for the construction of the Mossovet hotel, removed the closed Sukharevsky market, took part in the reconstruction of the AMO factory and the creation of the first Moscow garages, transported soil from the metro construction shafts, and supplied the city’s enterprises with firewood.
In 1938, the building’s purpose changed for the first time: instead of a freight garage, a taxi fleet was opened with ZIS-101 and GAZ M-1 passenger cars. However, already in 1941, with the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, an auto repair plant No. 5 was organized in the garage: legendary frontline ZIS-5 vehicles were restored here. After 1945, in cooperation with other metropolitan enterprises, the garage repaired ZIS-8 and ZIS-16 passenger buses, and also produced the first serial dump trucks and garbage trucks in the Soviet Union. From 1948 to 2015, the 4th bus depot of Mosgortrans was located here.
The restoration project, developed by architects Yuri Grigoryan (LLC “Project Meganom”) and Boris Savin (LLC “Pharos”), provided for the return of the garage’s historical appearance. In particular, the slanted pediments, brickwork, lantern, and lost strip inclined stained glass windows that form the roof outline of the building were restored. In addition, later utility buildings and extensions that had distorted the original appearance of the architectural monument were dismantled.
In the garage building, they restored unique metal trusses. In addition, specialists conducted additional inspections, based on the results of which they made repairs and replaced elements that had lost their load-bearing capacity.
In accordance with Konstantin Melnikov’s original design, the unique glazing was recreated: the ribbon stained-glass windows of the roof, the vertical stained-glass windows of the end facades of the main building, and the facade stained-glass windows of the former repair workshops. The original glazing was lost in the 1960s and replaced with glass blocks, which were removed during the restoration.
During the restoration of the building, an underground level was created to house an exhibition dedicated to the Moscow Metro. Initially, builders reinforced the foundations of the architectural monument, after which they erected a wall in the soil set back from the inner borders of the walls. Later, the meter-long train cars were lowered through a specially prepared installation opening in the first floor slab, more than 22 meters long, and installed in the design position on a model of the rail-tie grid.
Thanks to restoration and the creation of a museum, these architectural monuments have been given a new life and transformed into an open public space that can welcome millions of Muscovites and visitors to the capital each year.
Moscow Transport Museum
The Moscow Transport Museum is an organization subordinate to the city Department of Transport and Road Transport Infrastructure Development. A scientific and restoration team of specialists has been formed to work in it, engaged in the study, attribution, and restoration of historical equipment and artifacts, which will allow maintaining the museum collection in functional and historically accurate condition.
The institution’s collections include more than 350 specimens of passenger cars and trucks, taxis, buses, trolleybuses, municipal service vehicles, legendary one-and-a-half-ton and three-ton trucks, bicycles, and motorcycles. In terms of richness and uniqueness of the collection, the Moscow Transport Museum has no equal in the world and surpasses in scale and variety of exhibits (including multimedia and interactive ones) the famous transport museums of Lucerne, London, New York, and Beijing.
Thanks to the collection of the archive-library center, which holds unique blueprints, historical photographs, and thematic books, the Moscow Transport Museum is among the leading specialized research venues in Russia and other countries around the world, as well as a sought-after educational center for students of colleges and universities specializing in transport and technology.
Before the opening of the new building on Novoryazanskaya Street, the museum held exhibitions and other events at various city venues, including VDNH (pavilion No. 26), the Northern and Southern river terminals, and the Museum of Moscow. Over the past six years, more than a million people have attended the museum’s thematic special projects, festivals, lectures, master classes, and tours.
Museums of Moscow
Today, more than 450 museums and galleries are open to the city’s residents and guests. Among them are city, federal, private, and departmental institutions. The total area of exhibition spaces and collections storage of these museums exceeds one million square meters, and the collections hold more than 17.2 million items.
Last year, more than 2,500 exhibitions were held in the capital, including those involving museums from other regions of Russia and foreign countries. Only the city-affiliated museums in 2025 were visited by over 19 million people.
The city pays special attention to updating the infrastructure and material-technical base of museums, implementing modern technologies in the organization of exhibition spaces, and creating comfortable conditions for guests. For example, in May 2026, the new building of the Vasily Nesterenko Moscow State Art Gallery was opened. And in the summer, after extensive restoration, the restored Church of the Ascension in Kolomenskoye reopened to visitors, where an exhibition space was introduced for the first time.
The restoration of the Ostankino estate continues: last year the Egyptian Pavilion was opened here, and soon the Italian Pavilion will open its doors. On the Day of Remembrance and Sorrow, the Museum of Memory was opened.
Last year, the “Biocluster” launched at VDNH, bringing together advances in biology, cutting-edge educational methods, and projects in modern art. Soon, two new exhibitions will welcome guests at the “Biocluster” venues — the “Floratopia” exhibition in Pavilion No. 29 “Floriculture and Landscaping” and the “World of Dinosaurs” project in Pavilion No. 17 “Forest Industry.”
Three cultural facilities have been built in the capital at the expense of the budget since the beginning of 2026Sobyanin: The Church of the Ascension of the Lord in “Kolomenskoye” is open after restorationThe eighteenth-century silvering effect was restored during the renovation of the Egyptian pavilion of the Ostankino estate
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