Home

English Signs Come to Moscow Metro

  • Print

 

For years Moscow has lagged behind St. Petersburg when it comes to making life easy for tourists when getting around the city and, especially, using the Metro.

For years the Russian capital’s Metro was a challenge for foreign visitors to navigate.

Unlike Moscow, Saint-Petersburg, the northern capital of Russia, installed English-language maps, signs and information points throughout its subway system in the late 2000s.

Moscow Metro Gets English Signs

Recent visitors to Moscow may have noticed some signs that change is afoot, however. 


In many stations of the Moscow subway, signs have appeared on the floor – with large lettering in Russian and English – indicating the direction to follow in order to change lines.

 

 

Previously, foreign visitors using the Moscow metro had to rely solely upon deciphering the Russian-language signs hanging from the ceilings.

 

However, there is still work to be done: The floor navigation still needs to be visible enough during peak hours as well. With a small stream of people this is not going to be a problem. But try to read the signs on the floor when the traffic inside the metro stations turns into a massive flow of thousands of passengers.

 

One of the biggest problems for tourists in the Russian capital remains the absence of English translations of the names of subway stations in the station vestibules and on platforms.

 

The Department of Transportation in Moscow has not commented yet as to when this problem will be solved. However, Latin transliterations of station names can already be found in the subway cars themselves.


Finding the right exit

Colorful stands have been installed at the Metro station exits, at four key Metro stations that cover the downtown area (Okhotny Ryad, Teatralnaya, Ploschad Revolyutsii (English: Revolution Square), Lubyanka and Kuznetsky Most).

Moscow students volunteer to help foreign tourists get around the city

 

The stands at the exits now display schematic diagrams of the station’s concourse and surrounding area, with detailed information about the main attractions and infrastructural facilities. 

The schematic diagrams are the work of British specialists who have already implemented successful projects in New York and London