"Delays and Challenges: The Story of Kyiv Metro's Vynogradar Extension"

 

Eight years without new stations. When will the subway to Vynogradar be opened?

Economic truth

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The population of Kyiv is growing year by year, the city limits are expanding, so the demand for transportation by public transport in the capital is constantly increasing. Due to the chronic problems of "Kyivpastrans", residents of Kyiv and surrounding cities are forced to buy cars or use the subway.

The load on the subway increased every year, except for the quarantine year of 2020.

At one time, the former mayor of Kyiv, Leonid Chernovetskyi, jokingly suggested that six carriages be attached to subway trains. In practice, the problem of overcrowded cars was solved by reducing the movement interval to the critical 40-50 seconds.

Proponents of various urban theories argue about the expediency of building a subway and offer an alternative in the form of light rail transport. Meanwhile, the public communications of the Kyiv authorities show that the metro is a traditional and understandable way of solving transport issues for them.

The newest station of the Kyiv metro - "Teremky" - was opened back in 2013 by the former mayor Oleksandr Popov.

In 2016, Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klychko announced the start of work on the extension of the Syretsko-Pecherska line to the Vynogradar housing estate. In 2017, a tender was held for design, and in 2018 – for construction.

Preparatory work started in the spring of 2019. It was assumed that two stations would be built by the end of 2021. However, at present, Klitschko cautiously says that they will have time to open only one during this period.

Experts, bloggers and local residents who follow the progress of the work say that the general construction contractor is not keeping to the schedule. They said that by the end of 2021 it is almost impossible to open even one station.

How is the Vynogradar subway actually being built, how much taxpayer money was spent on it, and when will the citizens of Kyiv receive the promised stations?

A political matter

The construction of the subway in Ukraine is an integral part of the political process: the opening of the stations is timed for public holidays, and the first persons of the state rush to cut the ribbon before the next elections.

The construction of new metro branches requires significant financial and time resources. Since political cycles last about five years, the government prefers to extend the subway lines - as soon as possible.

Recent examples include the continuation of the Svyatoshynsko-Brovarska branch to Bilychy, Syretsko-Pecherska - to Krasnoy khutor, and Obolonsko-Teremkivska - to Teremki. In the spring of 2019, the construction of two metro stations to the Vynogradar residential area in the northwest of Kyiv began.

Plans to extend the Syretsko-Pecherska line to Vynohradar or Windy Mountains have existed since the 1970s. The layout of promising areas has been changed more than once.

How the metropolitan metro was seen in the 1970s

How the metropolitan metro was seen in the 1980s

As a result, they decided to build the station not in the middle of the old buildings of Priory (Avtozavodska, Vyshgorodska Streets) and Windy Mountains (Chervonopilska, Osypovskogo, Svitlytskogo Streets), but near the new housing estates "Warshavskyi Mikrorayon", "Dibrova Park", "Lipinka" and "Krister Grad" (former territory of SE "Agrokombinat "Pushka-Vodytsia").

What is being built

The approved project of the first stage involves the construction of two stations: "Mostytska" (at the intersection of Severno-Syretska and Mezhova Streets) and "Prospekt Pravda" (at the intersection of Mezhova Street and Pravda Avenue).

The length of the site is 3.4 km, of which 1.3 km is being built in a closed manner. The general contractor is "Kyivmetrobud" company. She won the tender of KMDA (through KP "Kyiv Metropoliten") with a price for work of 5.98 billion UAH.

From the station "Mostytska" to the station "Syrets" the underground pedestrian shield "Halyna" is currently operating. As the EP was informed by the press service of "Kyiv Metro", on July 5 the shield covered 1,082 meters out of the total 1,256 meters or 86% of the way.

When the complex reaches the "Syrets" station, it will be dismantled and assembled at "Mostitskaya". Then "Halyna" will start digging a parallel tunnel.

The gap between these stations has a large height difference. Mostytska will be located 56 meters higher than Syrets. This section will be the second steepest after the section "Beresteiska" - "Shulyavska" (difference of 74 meters).

The construction of the "Mostytska" - "Prospekt Pravda" track will not require the help of "Halyna". This part of the branch is built in an open pit, secured by the "wall in the soil" method. The length of the race is 2.4 km.

Since Mezhova Street is small in width, it was proposed to make the tunnels on a certain section two-level.

Photo by tov-tob.livejournal.com

Photo by tov-tob.livejournal.com

In addition, there will be not two but four tunnels on this section. Two additional ones are for a promising fork branch in the direction of Lake Sinye, where at least one more station and depot should be built later.

Due to width restrictions, they decided to make the "Prospekt Pravda" station with shore platforms located not between the tracks, but on their outer side, as at the "Dnipro" and "Chervonny Khutir" stations. In parallel with the construction of distillation tunnels, work continues on the future stations.

Photo by kyivcity.gov.ua

Photo by tov-tob.livejournal.com

In February, the metro and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development signed a loan agreement for 50 million euros for the purchase of 50 new metro cars - that's ten trains. They will run on the Syretsko-Pecherska line, which will allow keeping the intervals of train movement on the extended section.

Under the terms of the loan, the city will receive a 12-year installment payment.

Work slowdown

In the fall of 2020, local residents noted a decrease in the activity of workers on open sites and a decrease in the number of equipment.

In December, the Cabinet of Ministers extended the terms of payment to subcontractors for the construction of the Vynogradar subway from 24 to 34 months. The government explained that it will take more time to pay the advance due to the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. The actual settlement date for the work under this project is October 2022.

As it became known to the EP, at the end of June, the total amount of funds for financing works on the construction of the subway for the years 2017-2021 amounted to UAH 4.07 billion.

Nataliya Makogon, deputy head of "Kyiv Metro", informed the EP that the work is being carried out "in a continuous process according to the construction calendar". However, the calendar plan does not take into account the risks associated with the spread of covid and quarantine measures.

"Complicating the execution of works is connected with the presence of quarantine restrictions when implementing relations with foreign companies," Makogon explained.

The calendar plan referred to by the utilities does not include dates or even months when the work will be completed. In the table opposite each stage, it is stated that the date of commencement and completion of works "is determined by a separate additional agreement".

In a comment to the EP, representatives of "Kyivmetrobud" admitted that the construction is being delayed. "Due to the epidemic situation that has developed in the world and in Ukraine, the construction schedule has been somewhat disrupted. However, we are trying to catch up," the general contractor's press service reported.

Neither "Kyiv Metropoliten" nor "Kyivmetrobud" answered questions about the estimated opening dates of one or both metro stations.

"Kyivmetrobud" completed 86% of the work on one tunnel in ten months. In order to have time to open traffic between "Syrets" and "Mostytska" by the end of 2021, the speed of construction of the second tunnel must increase at least twice.

According to local residents , work on pits along Mezhova Street has not been carried out since December 2020. Realizing that it will not be possible to complete the construction by the end of 2021, on June 14, Klitschko signed an order by which he allocated UAH 543 million from the extension of the Syretsko-Pecherska metro line to the completion of the Podilsk bridge crossing.

Although a little, a few weeks before such a decision, the mayor assured that one station would be opened by 2021.

"There is a slight violation of the terms. But the Kyivmetrobud company guarantees that we will be able to open the station by the end of the year... At least one station should be opened this year. We have everything financed, there should be no problems," Klitschko said.

If it wasn't there, but the completion of work on the legendary unfinished project (the construction of the Podilsk bridge crossing began in 1993) became a challenge for the mayor in his "infrastructural confrontation" with the President's Office.

Earlier, "Ukrzaliznytsia" handed over the Darnytskyi railway-road bridge to the balance of "Ukravtodor" for the completion of exits and putting it into operation.

Corporate conflict

Another reason for slowing down the pace of work was the corporate conflict in "Kyivmetrobud". It flared up in December 2019 and resulted in mutual accusations of company representatives of raider capture.

Then the supervisory board decided to dismiss general director Vasyl Kobil and appoint Oleksandr Metelitsa in his place. The chairman of the supervisory board, Oleg Tokarev, explained this by "the slow pace of work on the continuation of the "green" branch."

The Ministry of Justice recognized the shareholders' meeting as fictitious and reinstated Kobil, hinting that Tokarev was the raider. On January 21, 2020, Kostyantyn Salia was appointed as the head of the enterprise, and the Minister of Justice, Denys Malyuska, announced that the second raider attack on "Kyivmetrobud" had been repelled.

"It turned out that there are people who have not heard about the end of the era of raiding," the minister wrote, adding that this time his ministry "set a record" for responding to the situation and "resolved the issue" in eight hours.

Kobil remained the director of the company, and Russian businessman Serhiy Kiyashko remained the ultimate owner. Now the company is registered to foreign offshore companies, the beneficial owner is unknown, and the company is managed by Andriy Pronin.

In January 2020, the court seized UAH 2.6 billion from the accounts of Kyiv Metrobud. According to the investigation, the company's management placed part of the funds on deposits. "Kyivmetrobud" transferred the received income to companies from the orbit of the "gray cardinal" of the capital, People's Deputy Vadym Stolar . Later, the arrest was lifted.

The pandemic and corporate conflict are not the only reasons for the weakness of "Kyivmetrobud". Due to a long pause in the construction of the subway, the company lost personnel and material and technical resources. According to the first deputy mayor of Kyiv, Mykola Povoroznyk, it has been idle since 2013.

"The layoff did not lead to increasing the company's potential, so that it would go in and immediately build two or three subway stations a year. The problem with specialists, the problem with management is serious enough," he lamented .

Заголовок: "Delays and Challenges: The Story of Kyiv Metro's Vynogradar Extension"

Підзаголовок: "Exploring the Construction Struggles and Project Progress"

Вступ: The expansion of Kyiv's metro system has been a long-awaited project to accommodate the city's growing population and increasing transportation demands. Among the developments is the Vynogradar extension, intended to serve the residential area in the northwest of Kyiv. However, the construction process has been marked by delays, setbacks, and challenges. In this blog, we delve into the history of the project, the reasons for its slowdown, and the current status of the Vynogradar subway stations.

Абзац під опис для пошукових роботів в блог: Discover the latest updates on Kyiv Metro's Vynogradar extension project, its construction challenges, and the impact on the city's transportation. Stay informed about the progress, potential opening dates, and the implications for commuters and residents.

Теги: Kyiv, metro, Vynogradar extension, subway construction, transportation, infrastructure, delays, challenges, public transit.

Ключові слова: Kyiv metro, Vynogradar extension, subway construction delays, transportation challenges, public transit in Kyiv.

Гештеги в твіттер:

1. #KyivMetro

2. #VynogradarExtension

3. #SubwayConstruction

4. #TransportationChallenges

5. #PublicTransit

6. #InfrastructureProject

7. #KyivTransport

8. #CityDevelopment

9. #UrbanMobility

10. #CommuterIssues

11. #KyivInfrastructure

12. #CityGrowth

13. #TransportationUpdates

14. #MetroConstruction

15. #VynogradarSubway

Заключення (висновок): The construction of the Vynogradar extension for Kyiv Metro has faced several obstacles, leading to delays in completion. Despite efforts to accelerate the project, the timeline for opening the stations remains uncertain. As the city continues to grow and transportation demands increase, the timely completion of the Vynogradar subway stations is crucial for enhancing the public transit system in Kyiv. Further updates and actions from the Kyiv authorities and construction companies will determine the fate of this significant infrastructure development.

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