Moscow's Vykhino: From 'Busiest Station' to Ingenious Solution

Moscow's Vykhino Metro Station: A History of Overcrowding and Innovation Vykhino metro station in Moscow was once notorious for its extreme overcrowding. The station's design, coupled with high passenger volume, created a daily struggle for commuters. The situation was so severe that it led to the relocation of the electric train stop beyond the platform, a significant infrastructural change. "The platform simply wasn't physically large enough for the number of passengers," explains Vladimir Konnov, a former train driver featured in a recent video documenting the station's history. "It resulted in huge crowds and crushes." The video shows archival footage of packed platforms and trains, vividly portraying the chaos. Konnov further describes the "Vykhino Effect," a term coined to describe the cascading congestion that spread to other stations on the line. Trains would become so full at Vykhino that passengers couldn't board at subsequent stops. To address this, reserve trains were deployed, running empty to pick up passengers at stations further down the line. This solution, while effective, highlights the scale of the overcrowding problem at Vykhino and the lengths to which authorities went to resolve it. The station's history serves as a reminder of the importance of careful urban planning and infrastructure development in managing high-volume transportation hubs.