The subway in Kyiv is bursting at the seams: what to do with the water on the walls and what is the point of the total development of the shopping center

< b>According to the expert, the city should conduct a comprehensive inspection of all metro stations and tunnels.

Scandals surrounding the subway in Kyiv do not subside. After an emergency situation occurred in the tunnel near the “Demiivska” station, six stations on the blue branch were immediately cut off from the city – until the end of the summer, residents of Teremki will be without a metro.

Meanwhile, experts are reporting problems at other stations on the blue branch, emphasizing that there is a real threat of their closure for repairs.

A new scandal with the blue metro line

The stations “Pochayna”, “Tarasa Shevchenko” and “Poshtova ploshcha” were in the epicenter of attention. An unknown source in the KMDA informed about their possible closure for repairs in the near future, which caused a storm of emotions in social networks. Of course, such news greatly “pleased” the residents who use these stations.

The topic was discussed for several days, until the KMDA finally announced that there have been no changes in the operation of the Pochayna and Taras Shevchenko stations yet. are planned, and the overhaul of the tunnels between the stations, which was planned in advance, will be carried out without stopping the movement of trains.

The capital's mayor's office says that the Pochayna and Tarasa Shevchenko metro stations were put into operation in 1980 and require planned overhaul of part of the tunnel section. But the final project decisions will be determined after the state examination.

“Kyiv Metropoliten” will inform passengers in advance about the start of repairs and other works that may affect the metro's operating mode,” the KMDA added.

Why are they afraid of closing metro stations?

Experts note that there is no smoke without fire. That is, in fact, there are problems on the blue branch, or rather they are on all three lines of the subway. And statements from the capital authorities are only an attempt to temporarily calm the people of Kyiv.

“All these statements coming from the KMDA are not about the metro, but about politics. Because any closure of even one metro station is a loss of political electorate for the capital authorities. And for passengers – a real disaster. Therefore, in order to convince the people of Kyiv that everything is fine with the subway in Kyiv, there is only one way, in my opinion, is to conduct a comprehensive technical inspection of the subway stations and the tunnels between them. And making this information public for the general public,” Oleg Popenko, an infrastructure expert, notes TSN.ua.

Finally, if there is subsidence in the tunnels, it is difficult to eliminate it without stopping train traffic. Of course, the work can be done at night, when the metro is not working, but it will take more time and resources. Another option is to organize a “shuttle traffic” of trains. But in this case, the movement of trains along the line will be interrupted, as it is now at the “Demiivska” station.

What do passengers need to know?

Oleg Popenko adds that there are many problem areas in the subway, but for some reason their technical inspections are not carried out.

“Passengers need answers to their questions. Therefore, the technical inspection of metro stations and tunnels will immediately show whether there are problems or not. Instead, the KMDA tells us: “everything is fine in the subway, we will not close anything.” But, I think that what is happening is the concealment of the facts of the real state of both tunnels and stations. Because we see what is done at the stations, how water flows on the walls, at what speed the train moves through the tunnel. Therefore, for me personally, the situation looks like the Kyiv authorities do not want to fully disclose information about the real state of affairs in the metro,” says Oleg Popenko.

The most problematic metro station

Expert says that the situation with the Heroiv Dnipra station is the most problematic on the blue metro line.

“The biggest problem now is at the Heroiv Dnipra station, where a huge shopping center has been built right above it. This is prohibited by all existing building codes. And this, I think, is the most problematic station in the metropolitan metro, trouble should be expected there in the near future. All violations are visible, and the station itself was damaged during construction – the ceiling was pierced with a drill in the place where trains run,” the expert notes.

Disaster from uncontrolled construction

Oleg Popenko adds that if we talk about Pochayna, Taras Shevchenko, and Demiivska stations, so much has been built near them and above the tunnels in recent years that it is only a miracle that we did not encounter huge problems a few years ago. and only now the water began to flood the tunnels on the blue branch.

“In order to check the real technical condition of the tunnels, you need to have basic access to them. But we see obvious violations with our own eyes on the surface near the stations and above the tunnels, and for this we do not need to go underground. The problem is that the metro stations were not properly maintained. Otherwise, there would not have been a problem on “Demiivska” if technical maintenance of the tunnels had been carried out in a timely manner every year. But this was simply not done. Therefore, we should demand transparent information from the KMDA regarding the state of the Kyiv subway,” assures Oleg Popenko.

What will the money be spent on?

In turn, the City Hall says that they are developing a corresponding capital repair project , which must pass a state examination. However, they do not specify how much money will be spent on it.

“Here, it is still important to understand what kind of project it is, what exactly it concerns: a project of capital repair of tunnels or stations? After all, half of the metropolitan metro stations are leaking and the water flows down the walls there. Not even during heavy rain, it just flows like that. Therefore, I would like to know what exactly this “overhaul” refers to and why it is needed. To simply spend budget funds? Unfortunately, no one tells us this,” Oleg Popenko notes.

Abandon Sovietism

According to the expert, Kyiv Metro lives according to the old Soviet rules, although the whole world has changed a long time ago.

“Instead of people having everything to explain, the metro for some reason tells us that if necessary: ​​”they will inform in advance about the start of repairs and other works that may affect the mode of operation of the metro”. This is what they tell us, because the metro lives according to old Soviet principles – until someone dies on the job, they will not be stopped, regardless of the number of violations. In Soviet times, a new bridge was also not built until the old one collapsed – they drove to the last one. Unfortunately, we have a similar situation with the metro,” concludes the expert.