Rizhsky suburban railway line

The Rizhsky suburban railway line (Russian: Рижское направление Московской железной дороги) is one of eleven suburban railway lines used for connections between Moscow, Russia, and surrounding areas, mostly in Moscow Oblast. The Rizhsky suburban railway line connects Moscow with the station in the northwest, in particular, with the towns of Krasnogorsk, Dedovsk, Istra, and Volokolamsk. The stations the line serves are located in Moscow, as well as in the towns of Krasnogorsk, Istra, Volokolamsk, and the urban-type settlement of Shakhovskaya in Moscow Oblast. Some of the suburban trains have their southeastern terminus at Streshnevo and Moscow Rizhsky railway station in Moscow, others commute from the Kursky suburban railway line. In the northwestern direction, the suburban trains terminate at Nakhabino, Dedovsk, Novoiyerusalimskaya, Rumyantsevo, Volokolamsk, and Shakhovskaya.^[1] The suburban railway line is served by the Moscow Railway subsidiary of Russian Railways with the join stock of CSPC. The tracks between Moscow Rizhsky railway station and Nakhabino are also used by Line D2, one of the Moscow Central Diameters.

Rizhsky Suburban Railway
A CSPC EP2D train traversing on the Rizhsky suburban railway line.
Overview
Native name	Рижское направление Московской железной дороги
Status	Operational
Owner	Russian Railways
Locale	Moscow and Moscow Oblast
Termini	Shakhovskaya Moscow Rizhsky
Stations	44
Service
Type	Commuter rail
System	Moscow Railway Moscow Central Diameters (Rizhsky–Nakhabino)
Operator(s)	Central Suburban Passenger Company Russian Railways
History
Opened	30 June 1901 (1901-06-30)
Technical
Line length	155 km (96 mi)
Track gauge	1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in) Russian gauge
Electrification	3 kV DC overhead line
Route map Legend to Rzhev Shakhovskaya 149 km Bukholovo 141 km Blagoveshchenskoye 133 km Volokolamsk Dubosekovo Matryonino Chismena Lesodolgorukovo 91 km Ustinovka Novopetrovskaya Rumyantsevo Kursakovskaya Yadroshino 73 km Kholshchyoviki Chekhovskaya Novoiyerusalimskaya Istra Troitskaya Moscow Outer Ring Railway‎‎ Manikhino I Moscow Outer Ring Railway‎ 50 km Snegiri Miitovskaya Dedovsk Malinovka Pavlovskaya Sloboda Nakhabino Anikeyevka Opalikha Krasnogorskaya Pavshino Penyagino Volokolamskaya Trikotazhnaya Tushinskaya Pokrovskoye-Streshnevo Streshnevo Krasny Baltiyets Grazhdanskaya Dmitrovskaya Moscow Rizhsky passenger and freight station passenger and freight station with interchange to other lines passenger only station passenger only station with interchange to other lines

The suburban railway line follows the railway which connects Moscow with Riga via Rzhev and Velikiye Luki. It is electrified between Moscow and Shakhovskaya. Between Moscow and Volokolamsk, there are two tracks, west of Volokolamsk there is one track.^[2] The distance between Rizhsky railway station and Shakhovskaya is 155 kilometres (96 mi).

History

The construction of the railway between Moscow and Vindava (Moscow–Vindava Railway) started in 1897. On June 30, 1901, the passenger traffic between Moscow and Volokolamsk was opened. Vindavsky railway station, currently Rizhsky railway station, was opened on September 11, 1901.

Temporary Moscow terminal building used in 1901 at Podmoskovnaya station (2012)

The railway had only one track; the construction of the second track between Moscow and Volokolamsk only started in the 1950s.^[3]

Shakhovskaya railway station

In 1945, the section between Moscow and Nakhabino was electrified. It was used by seventeen suburban trains per day in each direction. One of these trains continued to Lyublino, and sixteen others terminated at Rizhsky railway station. In 1954, the section to Guchkovo (currently Dedovsk) was electrified, and in 1955, the section to Novoiyerusalimskaya was electrified. In 1959, the line was transferred to Moscow Railway. In 1959, the electrification to Volokolamsk was completed, and for a long time Volokolamsk served as the end station of the line. The traffic between Volokolamsk and Rzhev was performed by steam engine-led trains, later by diesel trains. In 1990, direct trains from Moscow to Shakhovskaya were launched, but the section between Volokolamsk and Shakhovskaya was only electrified by 1991, so that the trains between 1990 and 1991 were pulled by a diesel locomotive between Volokolamsk and Shakhovskaya.^[3]

In the 1930s, a side one-track stretch between Nakhabino and Pavlovskaya Sloboda 55.804905°N 37.08758°E / 55.804905; 37.08758 (Pavlovskaya Sloboda) was built. Although there was no direct connection between Moscow and Pavlovskaya Sloboda, it was served by the same locomotives as the main direction. In 1964 the section was electrified. In the 1990s, the military installations in Pavlovskaya Sloboda were disestablished, and the number of passengers dropped. Following the general trend, the Russian Railways decided to close down the branch. It was closed down in 1996 and subsequently demolished.^[3]

In 2018 old Leningradskaya station was closed because of moving of the platform to the west towards Streshnevo station of the Moscow Central Circle. The new station was open on 1 October 2018, and on 12 June 2019 the interchange between Streshnevo and Leningradskaya (later renamed Streshnevo) started operation.^[4][5]

On 21 November 2019 Moscow Central Diameters started operation. Subsequently, Tushino, Leningradskaya, and Rzhevskaya were renamed to Tushinskaya, Streshnevo, and Rizhskaya to have common names with metro stations located close to them.^[6] On 25 June 2021, Pokrovskoye-Streshnevo was closed, and Shchukinskaya was opened.

Stations

Following the standard notations in Russia, a railway stop is called a station if it is a terminus or if it handles freight, and is called a platform otherwise.

Station	Type	Connections	Coördinates
Shakhovskaya	station	onward to Rzhev	56.030137°N 35.511235°E / 56.030137; 35.511235
149 km	platform
Bukholovo	platform
141 km	platform
Blagoveshchenskoye	station
133 km	platform
Volokolamsk	station
Dubosekovo	platform
Matryonino	platform
Chismena	station
Lesodolgorukovo	platform
91 km	platform
Ustinovka	platform
Novopetrovskaya	platform
Rumyantsevo	station
Kursakovskaya	platform
Yadroshino	platform
73 km	platform
Kholshchyoviki	station
Chekhovskaya	platform
Novoiyerusalimskaya	station
Istra	platform
Troitskaya	platform
Manikhino I	station	Greater Ring of the Moscow Railway
50 km	platform
Snegiri	station
Miitovskaya	platform
Dedovsk	station
Malinovka	platform
Nakhabino	station
Anikeyevka	platform
Opalikha	platform
Krasnogorskaya	platform
Pavshino	station
Penyagino	platform
Volokolamskaya	platform	Volokolamskaya metro station
Trikotazhnaya	platform
Tushinskaya	station	Tushinskaya metro station	55.827215°N 37.440784°E / 55.827215; 37.440784
Shchukinskaya	platform	Shchukinskaya metro station
Streshnevo	platform	Streshnevo metro station
Krasny Baltiyets	platform
Grazhdanskaya	platform
Dmitrovskaya	platform	Dmitrovskaya metro station
Moscow Rizhsky	station	Rizhskaya metro station

References

1. Рижское направление [Riga direction] (in Russian). tutu.ru. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
2. "Online railway map of Russia and the C.I.S." Steam Engine IS. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
3. Старостин, Михаил; Александр Поздеев. "История пригородного движения с Рижского вокзала" [The history of suburban traffic from Riga Station]. Krasnogorsk City Portal. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
4. "Московская железная дорога | Московская ЖД". Archived from the original on 2018-10-01.
5. "Открылся второй вестибюль станции МЦК "Стрешнево" с переходом на платформу "Ленинградская" МЖД" [The second entrance hall of the Streshnevo MCC station has opened with the transition to the Leningradskaya platform of the Moscow Railway]. www.interfax.ru. 13 June 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
6. "Власти Москвы предложили поменять названия ряда станций МЦД" [Moscow authorities have proposed changing the names of a number of WDC stations]. RIA Novosti. 14 December 2019.