Warsaw Metro Line 1

Warsaw Metro

81 Series train at Plac Wilsona
Overview
Native name	Metro Warszawskie
Owner	City of Warsaw
Locale	Warsaw, Poland
Transit type	Rapid transit
Number of lines	2
Number of stations	27 (6 under construction)
Daily ridership	568,000 (2012, avg. weekday)
Annual ridership	171.26 million (2015)
Website	Metro Warszawskie
Operation
Began operation	1995
Operator(s)	Metro Warszawskie
Technical
System length	29.0 km (18.0 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) (standard gauge)
System map Młociny Wawrzyszew Stare Bielany Księcia Janusza Słodowiec Młynów Marymont Płocka Plac Wilsona Rondo Daszyńskiego Dworzec Gdański Rondo ONZ Ratusz Arsenał Świętokrzyska Centrum Nowy Świat-Uniwersytet Politechnika Centrum Nauki Kopernik Pole Mokotowskie Vistula river Racławicka Stadion Narodowy Wierzbno Dworzec Wileński Wilanowska Szwedzka Służew Targówek Ursynów Trocka Stokłosy Imielin Natolin Kabaty Extensions of the M2 line are under construction, due to be completed in 2019. Eastern and western termini of the lines are at the top and bottom of the diagram, respectively. This diagram:

The Warsaw Metro (Polish: Metro Warszawskie) is a rapid transit system serving the city of Warsaw, the capital of Poland. It currently consists of two lines, the north–south Line M1 that links central Warsaw with its densely populated northern and southern suburbs, and the initial segment of the east-west Line M2 that opened on March 8, 2015. The second line (M2) is yet to be completed and a third line (M3) is planned.

The first section was opened in 1995 and gradually extended until it reached its full length in October 2008. There are additional plans to construct two more stations on this north-south line omitted during initial construction due to costs. The contract for the construction of the initial central section of the second line, running east–west, was signed on October 28, 2009 and construction began on August 16, 2010. This section is 6.3 kilometres (3.9 miles) long (including a tunnel under the Vistula river) with seven stations, one of which (Świętokrzyska) includes a transfer between the two lines.

In 2009, the Warsaw Metro won two "Metro Award" prizes in the categories of "Special Merit Award for Commitment to the Environment" and "Best Maintenance Programme". These were followed by the Most Improved Metro award in 2011. The system consistently receives very high ratings among its passengers; a survey conducted in September 2014 indicated that 98% of the respondents rated it good or very good.

Plans to build an underground rail system in Warsaw date as far back as 1918, when the idea was first floated after Warsaw regained its status as Poland's capital city. An underground railway system was expected to solve the transport difficulties of the densely built city centre. Proper preliminary planning and boring work were initiated by the Warsaw Tramway Authority in 1925, with construction expected to start in the late 1920s. The Great Depression buried those plans as Poland and the world was gripped by economic hardship.

In 1934, with the election of a new mayor of Warsaw, Stefan Starzyński, work was to resume on the metro. The mayor dusted off the plans from the mid-1920s, and with some minor adjustments, construction of the metro was planned to start by the late 1930s, with a projected finishing date of the first of two projected lines scheduled for the mid-1940s. By then, the subway network was to consist of two lines. Line 1 (north-south line, 7.4 km or 4.6 mi long) was to follow a route similar to the present-day line and was to link the southernmost borough of Mokotów with the city centre and the northern borough of Żoliborz. This line was to be connected with the newly constructed Warszawa Główna railway station and the railway tunnel crossing the city from west to the east. Line 2 (east-west, 6.36 km or 3.95 mi long) was to start beneath the westernmost borough of Wola, proceed along the Chłodna street to the pivotal station beneath the Saxon Square and then further eastwards to the Vistula river escarpment. There, the line was to go overground, cross the river through a newly built bridge and proceed to the easternmost railway station of Warszawa Wschodnia. Altogether, in 35 years, 7 lines were to be built. The works finally started in 1938, but World War II brought an end to the ambitious undertaking. The short trace tunnels made in 1938 serve as a wine cellar today.