Published on: 2026-10-01
Source: Moscow Government – Правительства Москвы –
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Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin and CEO — Chairman of the Board of JSC “Russian Railways” Oleg Belozerov opened the new northern vestibule and the first international communication platform in Russia Moscow — Minsk (platform No. 3) as part of the Moscow City urban railway station (MGV). Maria Zakharova, Director of the Information and Press Department, official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, also participated in the ceremony.
Thus, Moscow-City became the first urban railway station in Russia, combining international (Moscow — Minsk), intercity (Moscow — Smolensk), interregional (Moscow Central Diameters) and urban (metro, Moscow Central Circle, ground transport) routes.
“Moscow City is the largest railway station and the largest transport hub in our country. I think there are practically no such transport hubs in Europe. Here, three metro lines, two railway tracks of the Moscow Central Diameters, and the Moscow Central Circle pass through. Today is a good event: trains from Moscow to Minsk are starting to stop here, and, in fact, this city station is also turning into an international station,” said Sergey Sobyanin.
The high-speed “Lastochka” trains running between the capitals of Russia and Belarus carry 800,000 passengers annually. Now, taking into account all transfers, a train trip from downtown Moscow to downtown Minsk is comparable in duration to a flight by airplane.
The air journey takes about six to seven hours, whereas the train delivers passengers in an average of seven and a half hours without the inevitable queues for check-in, luggage waiting, and the need to get to airports.
Maria Zakharova noted that this is not only a time saver, but also the beginning of a new tradition, an innovative part of the Russia-Belarus alliance. “We have many projects, many things agreed upon by the presidents, which have been entrusted to our governments and are being implemented directly on the ground,” she said.
Compared to departures from Belorussky railway station and arrivals there, passengers will save up to 30 minutes. Those arriving from Minsk and Smolensk will be able to reach Moscow’s largest business district without losing time traveling from Belorussky railway station. Even if the final destination of the trip is not Moscow-City, passengers have the opportunity to transfer to six rail backbone lines — these are the first and fourth Moscow central diameters (MCD-1 and MCD-4), the Moscow Central Circle (MCC), the Filevskaya, Solntsevskaya, and Rublevo-Arkhangelskaya metro lines. In the future — with the opening of the final section of the Rublevo-Arkhangelskaya line — it will be possible to travel directly from the Moscow-City business center to SberCity, a new business cluster in the western part of the capital.
“For the first time, the city station is beginning to be used for long-distance trains. Here will stop the ‘Lastochka’, the high-speed train Moscow — Minsk, and the high-speed train Moscow — Smolensk. Last year, more than three million people were transported from Belarus, 786 thousand used the services of the ‘Lastochka’. This year, in nine months, 600 thousand people have already been transported, which is an increase of more than 10 percent,” said Oleg Belozerov.
Comfortable “Lastochka” trains equipped with air conditioning, media screens, and restrooms transport passengers along the Moscow — Minsk and Moscow — Smolensk routes. Each of these trains can accommodate up to 719 people. Currently, six pairs of “Lastochka” trains operate regularly on these routes daily.
International transport hub
Back in 2010, there was an old railway stop of the Belorussky direction in the place where Moscow-City MCC is now located. It was practically unused by passengers, whose number did not exceed 200 people per day. The station’s popularity began to grow with the launch of the MCC and continued to increase with the opening of MCD-1. From April to September 2026 alone, 630 thousand passengers used the Moscow-City railway station of the first Moscow Central Diameter.
The reconstruction of the railway station began in 2023 and was completed in 2026. Work was carried out around the clock in a densely built urban area using a special technology without stopping train traffic. Temporary platforms and a pedestrian bridge were built nearby, which allowed the MCD-1 train stops and usual routes for passengers to be maintained.
The new Moscow City MCD-1 urban railway station, with a total area of over 10.7 thousand square meters, includes the following constructions:
— three modern platforms equipped with canopies running the entire length, protecting from sun and precipitation, as well as information boards, benches, and SOS stands;
— two passenger vestibules equipped with turnstiles, ticket offices, restrooms, and a dynamic navigation system.
The barrier-free environment, featuring 18 escalators and eight elevators, will facilitate the use of the city station for passengers with limited mobility — elderly people, mothers with strollers, and people with physical disabilities.
The south vestibule of MGV, opened to passengers in April 2026, is integrated with the Moscow-City station of MCD-4 and the exit to the business center “iCity” (1 Yermakova Roscha Street, building 1). Additionally, it is connected to an underground pedestrian crossing under the Third Transport Ring, enabling transit passage for passengers to 2nd Krasnogvardeysky Drive. Previously, this path was closed to pedestrians.
As a result, transfers between metro stations, the Moscow Central Circle (MCC), and the Moscow Central Diameters (MCD-1 and MCD-4), which are part of the transport hub “Moscow-City”, are carried out without exiting to the street and take up to four minutes.
The northern vestibule of the MGV, opened in October 2026, has improved accessibility to the transport hub for residents of the quarters on Shmitovsky Proezd. In addition, investors built a transit passage under the railway tracks and an additional exit to the Ice City business center, which was commissioned in 2025.
The construction of the Moscow City railway station was carried out in parallel with the development of the surrounding areas, where now the new business cluster “City-2”, the business center “Top Tower”, and a number of other facilities are being built.
The new modern MGV has significantly improved transportation accessibility both for the Moscow-City business center and for the Greater City — the adjacent urban areas on both banks of the Moscow River. In total, more than 570,000 residents of the Presnensky, Khoroshevsky, Dorogomilovo, Khoroshevo-Mnevniki, and Filevsky Park districts live within the catchment area of the new station. Thanks to the active development of these territories, this figure is expected to grow to almost 700,000 by 2030.
“The ‘Moscow-City and Business Center’ hub is among the top three largest transport junctions in Moscow, used by over 130,000 people daily. By 2030, the passenger flow will increase by more than 30 percent, reaching 175,000,” wrote the Mayor of Moscow.
Source: Sergey Sobyanin’s channel on in the messenger “Max”
Its creation is an important part of the large-scale development program of the largest Central Transport Hub (CTH) in Russia. More than 31 million people, or almost 25 percent of our country’s population, live in the area it covers. The CTH handles 75 percent of all suburban passenger transportation (about three million passengers per day).
Thanks to the operation of the transport hub “Moscow-City and Business Center”:
— travel time when traveling from Belarus will be reduced by 30 minutes;
— transfer time between different types of transport will be about four minutes;
— the annual passenger traffic of the “Lastochka” trains on the Moscow — Minsk route will amount to 800 thousand people;
— today, more than 130 thousand passengers pass through the hub daily;
— by 2030, its passenger traffic will reach 175 thousand passengers per day;
— the area of the new infrastructure, including the vestibule and platform No. 3, is 3.4 thousand square meters;
— the share of passengers choosing urban transport exceeds 80 percent;
— the hub serves eight surface transport routes;
— the total number of trips on the MCD since the network’s launch has exceeded two billion.
Stages of the creation of the Moscow-City IFC
In 2010, the metro stations “Mezhdunarodnaya” and “Delovoy Tsentr” of the Filyovskaya line were operational, as well as a railway platform used by an average of 200 passengers per day.
In January 2014, the “Delovoy Tsentr” metro station on the Solntsevskaya line opened.
In September 2016, the Delovoy Tsentr MCC station (now Moscow-City) opened.
The “Delovoy Tsentr” metro station opened in February 2018 The Big Circle Line. In September 2026, it became part of the Rublyovo-Arkhangelskaya line.
In 2019, the railway station of the Belarus direction became part of the MCD-1.
In 2023, the reconstruction of the outdated station began and temporary infrastructure was opened.
In April 2026, the Moscow-City MGV opened its doors to passengers. It includes a southern vestibule, a transit underground passage, and two platforms.
In October 2026, the northern entrance hall and the new international platform No. 3 were opened.
Development of passenger infrastructure of the MCD
In accordance with the infrastructure development schedule of the Central Transport Hub, approved by Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin and the CEO – Chairman of the Management Board of JSC “Russian Railways” Oleg Belozyorov, construction and reconstruction work was completed in 2025–2026:
— MGV Petrovsko-Razumovskaya MCD-1 (platform No. 1 and concourse open in December 2025);
— MGV Kurskaya MCD-2 and MCD-4 (platform No. 2 and tunnel opened in autumn 2025);
— MGV Moscow-City MCD-1 and MCD-4 (three platforms, two vestibules, including the southern one integrated with MCD-4, opened in April and October 2026);
— MGV Sickle and Hammer MCD-4 (platforms and concourse, integrated with the metro, opened in September 2026).
In addition, the Leningradsky railway station was extensively renovated globally, with its passenger terminal reopening after reconstruction in May this year.
Work continues on construction and reconstruction:
— MGV Zheleznodorozhnaya MCD-4 (platforms No. 3 and 4, northern vestibule, transit gallery with stairs to the platforms);
— MGV Begovaya MCD-1 and MCD-4 (three platforms and a vestibule integrated with the metro);
— Tsaritsyno MGV MCD-2 (vestibule integrated with the metro).
Moscow city train stations — the new standard for the capital and regions
Currently, on the MCD, MCC, Paveletsky, and Yaroslavsky railway directions, there are 90 Moscow city stations operating, created over the past 10 years. Among them, 57 are on MCD-1, MCD-2, MCD-3, and MCD-4, 31 are on the MCC, and two are on the Yaroslavsky and Paveletsky directions (Rostokino and Verkhnie Kotly). More than 60 percent of all MCD and MCC passengers use modern city stations.
By 2035, the number of MGVs is planned to increase to 125.
MGV sets a new standard and level of comfort for rail transport not only for Moscow but for all of Russia.
Each MGV is not just a stop, but a full-fledged transport hub with heated passages, escalators, elevators, canopies over platforms, and accompanying services.
MGTs create convenient transfers, connect territories on both sides of the railway, and become points of development for adjacent areas. As practice shows, within a radius of 500 meters from new transport hubs, the number of cash registers increases on average sixfold, indicating the development of small businesses, service sectors, trade, and job creation.
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