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There’s only 3 lines, but they’re quick and efficient. Find out how to use and pay for the metro and about the world’s deepest metro station!

Top Tip

Pay with Kyiv Smart Card to avoid the queues and get a discount

While not as vast as metro systems in other capital cities like Paris or London, the Kyiv metro is fast and efficient if you want to get anywhere that is serviced by the three lines. It’s cheap at only 8 UAH and trains run every 2 minutes at peak periods slowing down to 5 or 6 minutes at off-peak times. Once you have reached your final station, take a bus, tram or marshrutka to your final destination.

How to Use & Pay

You can identify a metro station by the big green M above entrances. There are two sets of doors at each station, one for entering and one for exiting which are often in English and in red for no entry and green for “please come in”.

There are a few options for buying tickets:

  • Tokens – You can queue at the ticket office or use a machine and they’ll give you a green plastic token which you need to insert into the gate.
  • Mastercard PayPass/Google Pay/Apple Wallet – Look for the yellow turnstiles and touch your card or device on the reader.
  • Kyiv Smart Card – A reloadable card to save money on trips if you pre-purchase. Look for the turnstile with the Kyiv Smart Card Logo and big blue arrow on the floor.

Metro Lines

There are currently 3 metro lines in the city with another under construction:

New Kyiv Metro Map
New Kyiv Metro Map

All these lines intercept in a triangle in the centre of the city between 6 transfer stations. Because all transfers are focussed at only a few stations in the same area it can get very busy in the rush hour. There is one line under construction to relieve some of this congestion and choke points, but it’s likely to be a long time before we see it finished and open.

Interesting Facts about Kyiv Metro

  1. Arsenalna is the worlds deepest metro station at 105.5 metres below ground. It takes around 4 minutes to get down or up on two separate escalators.
  2. Most of the central stations are built very deep and have heavy doors so they can be used as bunkers in the event of a national emergency
  3. There are two ghost stations on the network which only exist as empty shells and have never been opened to the public. If you look out of the window as you pass by them you can often see their unfinished concrete platforms:
  4. Zoloti Vorota is named one of the most impressive metro stations in the world by the Daily Telegraph. Look up when you are there to see why.
  5. There are two different routes between Khreshchatyk and Maidan Nezalezhnosti stations. One takes 30 seconds up the escalators at the end of platform. Another is much longer at 3 minutes walk and both take you to the same place. Sometimes you have no choice as usually one is used for each way during rush hour, but you can avoid the long route at other times!
World's Deepest Metro - Arsenalna, Kyiv
World’s Deepest Metro – Arsenalna, Kyiv

3.9 No English Spoken 19th April 2019 ,

How to Find Look for the green "M"

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