5 ft and 1520 mm gauge railways
Railways with a railway track gauge of 5 ft were first constructed in the United Kingdom and the United States. This gauge is commonly called Russian gauge because this gauge was chosen as the common track gauge for the Russian Empire and its neighbouring countries; the gauge was redefined by Soviet Railways to be 1,520 mm. The primary region where Russian gauge is used is the former Soviet Union and Finland, with about 225,000 km of track. Russian gauge is the second most common gauge in the world, after 1,435 mm standard gauge. In 1748, the Wylam waggonway was built to a 5 ft gauge for the shipment of coal from Wylam to Lemington down the River Tyne. In 1839, the Eastern Counties Railway was constructed. In 1844, both lines were converted to 1,435 mm standard gauge. In 1903, the East Hill Cliff Railway, a funicular, was opened. In 1827, Horatio Allen, the chief engineer of the South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company, prescribed the usage of 5 ft gauge and many other railroads in Southern United States adopted this gauge.
The presence of several distinct gauges was a major disadvantage to the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. In 1886, when around 11,500 miles of 5 ft gauge track existed in the United States all of the railroads using that gauge were converted to 4 ft 9 in; the first railway built in Russia was built in 1837 to 6 ft gauge for a 17 km long "experimental" line connecting the Imperial Palaces at Tsarskoye Selo and Pavlovsk. While of no practical importance the railway did demonstrate that this gauge was viable; the second railway in the Russian Empire was the Warsaw–Vienna railway, built to 1,435 mm and commenced construction in 1840. For the building of Russia's first major railway, the Moscow – Saint Petersburg Railway, engineer Pavel Melnikov hired as consultant George Washington Whistler, a prominent American railway engineer. Whistler recommended 5 ft on the basis that it was cheaper to construct than 6 ft while still offering the same advantages over 1,435 mm and that there was no need to worry about a break-of-gauge since it would never be connected to the Western European railways.
Colonel P. P. Melnikov, of the Construction Commission overseeing the railway, recommended 6 ft following the example of the first railway and his study of US Railways. Following a report sent by Whistler the head of the Main Administration of Transport and Buildings recommended 5 ft and it was approved for the railway by Tsar Nicholas I on February 14, 1843; the next lines built were approved with this gauge but it was not until March 1860 that a Government decree stated all major railways in Russia would be 5 ft gauge. It is and incorrectly believed that Imperial Russia chose a gauge broader than standard gauge for military reasons, namely to prevent potential invaders from using the rail system. In 1841 a Russian army engineer wrote a paper stating that such a danger did not exist since railways could be made dysfunctional by retreating or diverting forces; the construction of the Warsaw–Vienna railway in 1,435 mm was so it could be connected to the Western European network, in that case to reduce Poland's dependence on Prussia for transport.
For the Moscow – Saint Petersburg Railway, which became the benchmark, the choice of track gauge was between 5 ft and the wider 6 ft, not standard gauge 1,435 mm. However, it was just not selected with that in mind; when a railway has wooden sleepers, it is easy to make the gauge narrower by removing the nails and placing them back at a narrower position, something Germany did during WWII. Destroying river bridges had a larger effect; the 5-foot gauge became the standard in the whole Russian Empire, its successor Soviet Union. That includes the Baltic states, Belarus, the Caucasian and Central Asian republics, in the once Soviet-influenced Mongolia. Russian engineers used it on the Chinese Eastern Railway, built in the closing years of the 19th century across the Northeastern China entry to provide a shortcut for the Transsiberian Railway to Vladivostok; the railway's southern branch, from Harbin via Changchun to Lüshun, used the Russian gauge, but as a result of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 its southernmost section was lost to the Japanese, who promptly regauged it to standard gauge.
This formed a break of gauge between Changchun and Kuancheng, until the rest of the former Chinese Eastern Railway was converted to standard gauge, too. Unlike in South Manchuria, the Soviet Union's reconquest of southern Sakhalin from Japan did not result in regauging of the railway system. Southern Sakhalin has continued with the original Japanese 1,067 mm gauge with the Russian gauge railway, constructed in the northern part of the island in 1930-1932; the railway has no fixed connection with the mainland, rail cars coming from the mainland port of Vanino on the Vanino-Kholmsk train ferry have their bogies changed in the Sakhalin port of Kholmsk. In 2004 and 2008 plans were put forward to convert it to Ru
Vystavochnaya
Vystavochnaya is a station on the Filyovskaya Line of the Moscow Metro. It was opened on 10 September 2005, was called Delovoy Tsentr before 1 June 2009; the high-tech design, the work of architects Aleksandr Vigdorov, Leonid Borzenkov, Olga Farstova, is a radical departure from previous Metro stations. The station is built with the platform on the lower level; the upper level consists of two walkways. One walkway, the larger one, is enclosed in glass and sweeps from one side of the station to the other and back in a large arc; the other walkway is open and straight, running directly above the inbound track. The D-shaped area between the two walkways extends to the full height of the station; the two rows of pillars are clad in stainless steel. The walls are faced with white plastic panels and brown marble, Alucobond was used for the ceiling; the entrance to the station is built into the lower level of Moscow International Business Center, near the north bank of the Moskva River serving access to Moscow Expocenter.
Passengers at Vystavochnaya are able to transfer to Delovoy Tsentr of the Kalininsko–Solntsevskaya line. A third station, that will allow transfers to the Bolshaya Koltsevaya line
Taganskaya (Koltsevaya line)
Taganskaya is a station on the Koltsevaya line of the Moscow Metro. It opened on 1 January 1950 with the first segment of the fourth stage of the system; the station is named after the Taganka Square, a major junction of the Sadovoye Koltso. Designed by architects K. Ryzhkov and A. Medvedev, this pylon station was built with the post-war flamboyance in mind, the overall design is based on the traditional Russian motives in decorations; the central feature of the station are 48 maiolica panels located on each face of the pylon.. These contain apart from floral elements, profile bas-reliefs of various World War II Red Army and Navy servicemen each dedicated to a group such as pilots, tank crews, sailors etc; the color gamma is balanced in such a way that the panels facing the central hall are on a blue majolica background, whilst the platform hall panels are monochromatic. Lighting comes from a set of 12 gilded chandeliers in the central hall with the same blue majolica center; the remaining decoration of the station include a cream-colored ceramic tile on the walls, powder colored marble on the lower pylons and on the walls, a checkerboard floor layout of black and gray granite.
The end of the central hall once had a large sculptural group Stalin and youth, however this was replaced in 1961 by a new artwork of the same authors depicting Vladimir Lenin, Coats of arms of the Soviet Republics and images of Hero-Cities Leningrad, Stalingrad and Odessa. This was taken down in late 1966 to make way for a transfer to the newly opened Taganskaya of the Zhdanovskaya line. Further transfer was opened in 1979 by adding a stairwell into the middle of the central hall for the new station Marksistskaya of the Kalininskaya line; because the Taganka Square is located on the hill, in order to conveniently place the large vestibule, preserve a nearby heritage building, the escalator descent had to be broken, an intermediate hall was added by placing a large cylinder and lowering to the required depth. After a dome was added, the interior work on the new lobby began, the walls of which are faced with Altai marble Oroktoy with Syringa shade, the pilasters from white marble; the dome contains Victory Fireworks by A. Shiryaeva.
On 18 November 2005 the vestibule was closed for restoration, during which old escalators were replaced. All of the decoration features were renovated, the upgrade included new turnstiles, ticket offices and security upgrade; the station was re-opened on 20 December 2006. In 1991 the rock band Lyube recorded the song Taganskaya Station about the station in its debut album titled Atas
Railway electrification system
A railway electrification system supplies electric power to railway trains and trams without an on-board prime mover or local fuel supply. Electric railways use electric locomotives to haul passengers or freight in separate cars or electric multiple units, passenger cars with their own motors. Electricity is generated in large and efficient generating stations, transmitted to the railway network and distributed to the trains; some electric railways have their own dedicated generating stations and transmission lines but most purchase power from an electric utility. The railway provides its own distribution lines and transformers. Power is supplied to moving trains with a continuous conductor running along the track that takes one of two forms: overhead line, suspended from poles or towers along the track or from structure or tunnel ceilings. Both overhead wire and third-rail systems use the running rails as the return conductor but some systems use a separate fourth rail for this purpose. In comparison to the principal alternative, the diesel engine, electric railways offer better energy efficiency, lower emissions and lower operating costs.
Electric locomotives are usually quieter, more powerful, more responsive and reliable than diesels. They have an important advantage in tunnels and urban areas; some electric traction systems provide regenerative braking that turns the train's kinetic energy back into electricity and returns it to the supply system to be used by other trains or the general utility grid. While diesel locomotives burn petroleum, electricity can be generated from diverse sources including renewable energy. Disadvantages of electric traction include high capital costs that may be uneconomic on trafficked routes. Different regions may use different supply voltages and frequencies, complicating through service and requiring greater complexity of locomotive power; the limited clearances available under overhead lines may preclude efficient double-stack container service. Railway electrification has increased in the past decades, as of 2012, electrified tracks account for nearly one third of total tracks globally. Electrification systems are classified by three main parameters: Voltage Current Direct current Alternating current Frequency Contact system Third rail Fourth rail Overhead lines Overhead lines plus linear motor Four rail system Five rail systemSelection of an electrification system is based on economics of energy supply and capital cost compared to the revenue obtained for freight and passenger traffic.
Different systems are used for intercity areas. Six of the most used voltages have been selected for European and international standardisation; some of these are independent of the contact system used, so that, for example, 750 V DC may be used with either third rail or overhead lines. There are many other voltage systems used for railway electrification systems around the world, the list of railway electrification systems covers both standard voltage and non-standard voltage systems; the permissible range of voltages allowed for the standardised voltages is as stated in standards BS EN 50163 and IEC 60850. These take into account the number of trains drawing their distance from the substation. Increasing availability of high-voltage semiconductors may allow the use of higher and more efficient DC voltages that heretofore have only been practical with AC. 1,500 V DC is used in Japan, Hong Kong, Republic of Ireland, France, New Zealand, the United States. In Slovakia, there are two narrow-gauge lines in the High Tatras.
In the Netherlands it is used on the main system, alongside 25 kV on the HSL-Zuid and Betuwelijn, 3000 V south of Maastricht. In Portugal, it is used in Denmark on the suburban S-train system. In the United Kingdom, 1,500 V DC was used in 1954 for the Woodhead trans-Pennine route; the system was used for suburban electrification in East London and Manchester, now converted to 25 kV AC. It is now only used for the Wear Metro. In India, 1,500 V DC was the first electrification system launched in 1925 in Mumbai area. Between 2012-2016, the electrification was converted to 25 kV 50 Hz AC, the countrywide system. 3 kV DC is used in Belgium, Spain, the northern Czech Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, former Soviet Union countries and the Netherlands. It was used by the Milwaukee Road from Harlowton, Montana to Seattle-Tacoma, across the Continental Divide and including extensive branch and loop lines in Montana, by the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad in the United States, the Kolkata suburban railway in India, before it was converted to 25 kV 50 Hz AC. DC volt
Perovo (Moscow Metro)
Perovo is a Moscow Metro station on Kalininsko-Solntsevskaya Line. It was opened on 30 December 1979 along with the Kalininsky radius at a depth of nine metres. Named after Perovo District in the Eastern Administrative Okrug; the architects Nina Aleshina and Volovich adopted a single-vault design with hinged aluminium lighting elements. The decorative design of the station is devoted to the Russian folk arts; the walls are decorated with blocks with screw-threaded rocks, original patterns above the entrance portals. The walls are black gabbro below; the floor, which has several high marble stalls surrounded by benches, is faced with grey and brown granite. The station has two exits, both interlinked with the underground subways under the Zelyony Avenue and 2nd Vladimirskaya street. Presently the station has a low passenger traffic of 49300 passengers
Aviamotornaya (Kalininsko–Solntsevskaya line)
Aviamotornaya is a Moscow Metro station in the Lefortovo District, South-Eastern Administrative Okrug, Russia. It is on the Kalininsko–Solntsevskaya line; the station was opened on 30 December 1979. The station is built in a three-vault configuration 53 metres underground; the central hallway contains a sculpture made out of tetrahedra. The architects of the station are A. F. Strelkov, V. I. Klokov, N. I. Demchinsky, J. A. Kolesnikov, E. S. Barsky; the theme of Aviamotornaya is flying. The columns holding up the ceiling are glazed in a light marble tone; the floor is made up of granite plates coloured in different shades of grey. The wall at the end of the central hallway is faced in a metal sculpture depicting Icarus. There are decorations detailing the main constellations; the escalators of the station caused a significant disaster on the Moscow Metro on February 17, 1982, that killed at least eight people. As evening rush-hour approached, escalator #4 was turned on at 16:30 Moscow time; as the first commuters began to use it to descend, a poorly-attached step came loose, completing the cycle of coming all the way down and back up on the opposite end of the chain.
At 17:00, as it passed the upper mechanism, it got stuck and deformed the upper working gears and rods. This broke the clutch between the driving gears of the engine, the thread, now free to move in any direction, began to accelerate from the weight of the passengers. Automatically the engine was turned off and the brakes were applied. However, the standard working brakes lacked the strength to stop the momentum of the thread, or to reduce its acceleration. For such a case, all escalators are equipped with additional emergency brakes, Aviamotornaya's escalators had received new models three months prior. Moreover, two days before the accident, there had been a routine safety check, which found that the emergency brakes were incorrectly configured throughout. However, not the case; the chief mechanic in charge had used instructions for the old braking system to install the new brakes on the particular escalator model at Aviamotornaya. The resulting wrong configuration in both mechanism and circuitry did not allow for them to automatically turn on.
When the escalator supervisor saw that the thread had accelerated to 2.4 times faster than its maximum rate and attempted to manually operate the brakes, nothing happened. 110 seconds after it began, the accident was over. With the exception of a vague note in Vechernyaya Moskva, the state-controlled Soviet press made no reference to the event; this resulted in thousands of rumours and panic spreading throughout the city. No person was sucked into the machine bay. All of the eight people who died were crushed at the base of the escalator by other passengers who did not have time to move away, forming an obstruction; some did attempt to jump out of the way by climbing onto the balustrade, but the thin plastic coating could not withstand the weight and collapsed, yet those who did fall through would have hit a solid concrete foundation with no moving parts of any sort a few metres under the balustrade, with most suffering minor injuries. As the wounded were carried off, at 17:10 the station was put on exit only and at 17:35 closed altogether.
An investigation was launched, where it was determined that the speedometer was wrongly wired to the emergency brake and that all of the three other escalators at the station were prone to similar disaster. After the accident, the Soviet medics have 30 injured. Media related to Aviamotornaya at Wikimedia Commons Metro.ru — Station information
Rasskazovka
Rasskazovka is a station on the Kalininsko-Solntsevskaya line of the Moscow Metro. It opened on August 30, 2018 as part of the "Ramenki" - "Rasskazovka" extension and is the southern terminus. Excavation was due to start in September 2014, by June 2015, work was under way on the construction of the main reinforced concrete structures and waterproofing the inner surface; the first tunnel reached the station in November 2015, while the second tunnel was completed in February 2016. By October 2016, the station was 90% complete; the platforms were completed in June 2017. In May 2018, the metro station Rasskazovka is ready for commissioning. Rasskazovka station is the final station on the line after Novoperedelkino, it is on Borovskoye Highway in the village of Rasskazovka in the Novomoskovsky Administrative Okrug of Moscow, bordering the district of Novo-Peredelkino. The station is about 5 km from Vnukovo Airport. A future extension of the Kalinin-Solntsevo Line will take the line toward Vnukovo International Airport.
According to the head of the Moscow Department of Construction, work toward the extension could begin after 2020. The extension would include two new stations and Vnukovo
Kalininskaya line
Solntsevskaya line
Lines of the 
Sokolnicheskaya line
Zamoskvoretskaya line
Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya line
Filyovskaya line
Koltsevaya line
Kaluzhsko-Rizhskaya line
Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya line
Serpukhovsko-Timiryazevskaya line
Lyublinsko-Dmitrovskaya line
Bolshaya Koltsevaya line
Kakhovskaya line)
Butovskaya line
Moscow Monorail
Moscow Central Circle
Nekrasovskaya line